Are you…that Georgia fan?
Earlier
this week Doug pointed to this
handy quiz where you could find out if you were "that guy". Other
than letting the occasional "my bad" slip, I think I came out of
the quiz OK. Since Doug also brings us the
Friday Random Ten+5, we’ll steal borrow heavily from his
format to present 5 ways to tell if you’re "that Georgia fan".
Yes, we’re only six weeks from kickoff, and pretty soon we’ll be face-to-face
with…that fan. At one point or another, this has probably been most of us.
You wear red pants.
Admit it: you don’t wear the red pants hoping that you go unnoticed. They look
pretty damn sharp, and you’ve embraced your inner attention-whore. The red pants
are widespread enough now that the pants by themselves aren’t enough to make
someone "that fan". Not everyone rocking the red pants is a tool,
but tell me you’re surprised by what this guy is wearing:
Red pants – check. Black polo – check. White hat (possibly mesh, possible reading "Herschel for Heisman") – double check.
You start the "drunk obnoxious Georgia fan" cheer.
Calling the Dawgs is as much a part of the pregame ritual as being, well, drunk
and obnoxious. Put them together and you should have the perfect cheer, right?
But the novelty tends to wear off when it’s 11:30 a.m. and it’s already the
29th time this morning you’ve heard some lush with no rhythm take three or four
minutes to slur, "Whut’s that comin’ down thuuuu track?" Bonus points
if your version includes "all dressed up in red and black."
You’re the tailgate emcee.
We all have our game day playlists. Division of labor at a tailgate is a good
thing – you need someone who knows how to work the grill, someone who could
zero in on a satellite signal from the deck of an Alaskan crab boat, and good
tunes help too. Your friends might love your clever mix of David Allan Coe and
acceptably mainstream hip-hop played at 130 decibels, but the guys three cars
down who are just trying to watch Gameday wish you’d catch bird hepatitis.
You get involved in sit down / stand up arguments.
I’d like to think we live in a world where standing and sitting at a ballgame
is less
scripted and regulated than a Catholic Mass. By God, if I want to jump up
when Rennie Curran adjusts someone’s spine or if I want to kneel in fervent
prayer on 4th-and-1, I will. But there is a give and take here. The only thing
worse than the "down in front" nazi is the guy who stands on principle
knowing there’s an elderly fan or kid behind them who can’t see.
You provide play-by-play and color commentary to everyone
sitting around you.
We all talk about what’s going on, but I can see that the last play was a Southerland
run that gained 4 yards. Why, yes, the defense is in man coverage.
If you could only run down to the sideline and get some info on that injury,
I could turn my radio off. Bonus points if you a) ever put on the Munson voice
or b) launch a rant on the wrong player or coach. (Um, dude, Chandler was on
the sideline for that whole series.)
Have a great weekend! Only six of them left until we have better things to do.
6 Responses to 'Are you…that Georgia fan?'
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Rusty
July 18th, 2008
7:42 pm
I’m not him,but I’ve been close.How about the dozens of drunken high fives,and the sulking temper tantrums after losses?…Not that I’ve ever done any of that.
Groo
July 18th, 2008
9:23 pm
I think you just described most every trip I’ve had to Jacksonville.
Thinking Bulldog
July 22nd, 2008
9:44 pm
A Masterpiece Groo…one for the ages. I have forwarded to many N-D friends. I think we will find out there is nothing new under the sun. Only the words to the cheer and the color of the pants changes.
Doug
July 24th, 2008
8:02 am
Fortunately, I only hit on one of the five (the red pants thing), but I have a sneaking suspicion I could be five-for-five by the new year. It’s just shaping up to be that kind of a season.
Thanks for the links.
View From the Plainsmen « Thinking Bulldog
July 25th, 2008
2:27 pm
[…] further the point made by Groo in advising you to not be “That Georgia Fan,” an Auburn friend writes: Ok, let me be perfectly clear. I don’t mind a UGA fan that […]
JoeDawg
August 7th, 2008
11:05 pm
You accidentally described almost EVER Clemson grad with a Parks and Rec degree. I think you owe them (all 250,000 of them) apologies…