Conversations Overheard During The National Championship Game

On Monday night, the Georgia Bulldogs played the Alabama Crimson Tide for the College Football National Championship.  It was an exciting game and at times frustrating for fans of both teams.  I'm not going to go into all that here though.  Instead I'm going to recount some conversations that may or may not have been overheard in a Chili's in Southern California during the game. 

"So help me, if someone changes that television over to hockey I will take a damn hostage."

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"I'm rooting for Georgia because Alabama shouldn't even be in this game.  It should be Ohio State."

"Yeah, but didn't Ohio State lose to Toledo or someone by 60 points?"

"%&^* You!" 

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"You know who has it the worst right now?  Auburn fans."

"Yeah, but it couldn't happen to more deserving people, right?" 

###

"You know what I hate the most about an all-SEC championship game?"

"What?"

"Nothing at all."

###

"Ugh.  That did it.  We just lost."

"How can you say that?  It's the fourth quarter with nine minutes on the clock and we still have a seven point lead."

"Trust me.  We just lost."

(Approximately twenty minutes later)

"See.  I told you we'd lost."

"I hate watching games with you."

### 

"Tell me more about your book."

"It's called The Wash and it's available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble."

"Is it about football?"

"No, but it's better than the officiating in this game."

Okay, that last one was a cheap plug, but what are you going to do?  I'll be back with another Southern California post next week and maybe a little something else as well. 

Until then, have a great weekend!

Happy New Year!!

I doubt anyone's checking this today but if so, WHY?  You should be either so hungover that the act of reading physically hurts, or you should be gearing up for some fantastic college football games!

My Dawgs will take the field a mere hour and a half from me but I'm not forking over $500 per ticket to see them play in person.  I'd rather spend a fraction of that and watch them at my house or my local watering hole with my family.  

Here's to 2017, a year that was a lot of fun in a ton of different ways and here's to a fantastic 2018 for all of you and your families.  

Happy New Year everybody!

How 'Bout Them Dawgs!

I don't talk about sports often on this blog.  In fact, this is the first time.  There's a reason for that.  One, I'm not much of a sports writer and two, when it comes to my team I've found that sometimes I hold victories and defeats a little too close.  

Watching my Georgia Bulldogs lose would sometimes ruin a Saturday for me.  Three years ago, I made the conscious decision to not let my football team's performance effect my life in such a way.  Not writing about them helps me keep that focus.

That said, I watch almost every single game.  I root hard while they're playing and I repeatedly use language totally becoming of the sailor I am. My wife tends to stay on the other side of the room but trust me, she swears too.  


Fifteen years ago, I flew across the country to see my Georgia Bulldogs win the SEC Championship.  That year had been a mixed bag.  We had no shot at all of being the in the National Championship game, but seeing us beat Arkansas and win our conference was enough for me. When we went back three years later and won it again, I couldn't make it to the game but I told myself we'd be back soon enough. I was right but both times we got beat.  Once by LSU and again the following year in what may be the most heartbreaking loss I've every experienced when we came one play away from beating Alabama and punching our ticket to the National Championship game against Notre Dame.

It's been a long twelve years since we've held that Southeastern Conference Champions trophy, which is what makes last Saturday night so sweet.  Watching my Dawgs dismantle Auburn (28 unanswered points) and punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff was a thing of beauty.  I have a lot of friends back in Athens right now who are happier than they've been in years.  

It's a four week wait until we play on New Year's Day.  It'll give us time to get healthy and get ready for what will certainly be the biggest contest we've had all season.  For now though, I hope those players and coaches take a day or two just to let this win sink in.  It's been a long time coming and they've made the entire Dawg Nation proud.