“Dog Days” in Athens
By Kyle J. Levstek
Six Saturdays a year, 86,000 people travel from far and wide to Athens, Ga. It's not a rock concert or a political rally or even a religious event, but it is a little bit of all three. People make this pilgrimage to see one thing -- the Georgia Bulldogs play football.
Athens is utterly picturesque during the fall. When the leaves of the tall oaks and maples begin to turn, the oranges and yellows of the natural wilderness color the city. The buildings and dormitories are built in a classical and elegant style reflecting the University's noble past.
But when Saturday rolls around, the city is flooded with swarms of "Dawg People" and the only colors allowed in the town are red and black.
I arrived in Athens for the twelve o'clock game at 8 a.m. I thought we would be among the first to arrive at the bookstore parking lot on Baxter Street to begin the tailgating festivities for this not-so-important game against Northwestern State, but, boy, was I wrong. Vans and SUV's crowded the lot, all surrounded with folks doing the usual tailgating activities, with two fellows throwing a football, several men cooking a breakfast of hot dogs and brats over a miniature grill, and even some having an early morning drink in preparation for the game.
As I walked across the lot, I encountered the perfect example of what a "Dawg Person" is. It is someone who has only one team, the Georgia Bulldogs. "Dawg People" will never turn on the team, no matter what the score. There is a complete devotion to the team, regardless what one has to do to see the game.
"Fish Tank" is one of these people.
He is huge, bearded and has a tattoo of a bulldog on his bicep. "Fish Tank" spoke with wisdom and conviction when reflecting on the game day experience; "I haven't missed a game in three years. Only time I missed before that was because my wife was having our baby. This is what I live for."
Just then someone played "Bulldog Boogie", and "Fish Tank" and his companions were lost in song, singing for his team to hunker down and be victorious.
Game time was nearing, so we began the trek to the stadium. We passed more fans in gas station and restaurant parking lots with red tents and Georgia flags flying high. We saw babies with Georgia T-shirts and little girls dressed as Georgia cheerleaders.
Just outside the stadium grounds, we encountered one of the true die hard "Dawg People." Walking through the lot I saw a red RV with the Georgia emblem painted on it. I met Mrs. Morrison, a ninety year-old woman with almost that many years worth of memories and stories about tailgating in Athens. "I have been coming out here for over forty years, ever since my boys graduated," tells Mrs. Morrison; "Now we all tailgate as a family. "Three generations of fans, all celebrating the excitement of Georgia football season.
As I continued down the street I could hear the Redcoats playing. Nearing the stadium I could make out the sounds of the alma mater being played.
The Georgia Redcoat band has a tradition just as storied as the football team. The band forms itself into two lines with an alley in between. As they play the Georgia fight song and "Glory, Glory", the football team walks between them into the stadium. This is the "Dawg Walk". This is the pageantry of college football at its best. While the team marches in, fans on the bridge above show support by shouting "How 'bout them Dawgs!" and "Go Dawgs!" I was captivated by thousands of fans celebrating the arrival of the team.
When the last player walked through, the game time rush had begun. As people hurried off to their seats to watch the real reason for coming to Athens, I pondered the excitement of the hours before. The people I met, the stories they told the total game day experience that shaped a great tradition. I realized what one of Fish Tank's buddies had told me before, "Without the tailgate, the game just ain't the same."
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Kyle Levstek is a Junior at Kennesaw State University and resides in Dallas, Ga.
Copyright © 2002 by Kyle J. Levstek. All rights reserved.
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