My Obligatory "I'm Not Dead" Post

Just thought I'd mention it, since I haven't posted in two months.

In the meantime, I had fun at the Dragon*Con Parade on Labor Day weekend...



...and Dragon*Con night at the Georgia Aquarium.



Georgia Tech football was really fun for six weeks, and then not fun at all the last two. And guess who we're playing for homecoming next week? *gulp* I can narrow it down for you - it is an ACC game and the opponent is undefeated. At least it is a night game and we'll all have a good time until kickoff. Wonder how long I can keep my buzz going?

While I'm being all productive on blog updates, I also put something up on that other blog I started (and have neglected for two months) as well.

I think PDM and I will probably do another mini-vacation around New Year's Day that is within 5-6 hours driving distance of Atlanta. Any suggestions? Would prefer to be near a state park or some other natural place where we can do a few winter day hikes. Last year we did northeastern Florida (Amelia Island) and had a good trip. The beaches were great (and deserted) but we would also consider going north to the mountains as well.

That's about all I've got for now.

To Hell With Georgia!

It's rivalry week. Get yer hate on!

Yes, LL, this means I'll be rooting for Boise State next September, because my two favorite teams are GEORGIA TECH and WHOEVER IS PLAYING GEORGIA.


"What's the good word?"

TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!


"How 'bout them dawgs?"

PISS ON 'EM.


Carry on.

Only the good stuff.

Two good things about the game this weekend:

1) A USAF C-17 flyover.





2) Honoring the REAL 1990 National Championship team. The one that had zero losses and didn't need five downs and a questionable call to get their 11-0-1 record. No other team was undefeated that year. I was there for the season, and was in the stands at the Citrus Bowl. That 1990 team rocked! They were honored at halftime and Coach Bobby Ross addressed the crowd. Hmmmm, maybe we should have had him in the locker room firing up the 2010 team.

Not so fast there, Adams...

In the waning days of his eight years as our governor, Sonny has finally said something I agree with. Will wonders never cease?

Given our state's budget shortfalls and cuts in education, why on earth should UGA start an engineering program that directly competes with Georgia Tech's College of Engineering? Tech is consistently ranked among the top five engineering programs in the nation. If the state needs to produce more engineers, existing programs could be expanded to serve more students for far less cost than creating one from scratch.

Aftermath

Respecting the 24-hour rule, I can now say a few things about the game on Saturday. Apparently, my team just isn't all that good. I didn't see much to encourage me on Saturday. Usually, I can find a bright side. Not so much this time. It is possible we made our opponent look better than they are. They looked very good to me.

I cannot remember EVER being that hot during a football game. Maybe you don't notice when you are winning, and we usually don't drop a home game in September. At any rate, the Atlanta area set a heat record for 9/25 and I believe it. We were in the sun until the middle of the second half, sweating our asses off. The concession stands in our area ran out of bottled water around halftime. The EMTs had their hands full with dozens of cases of heat exhaustion. I got a raccoon sunburn on my face (everywhere except where my sunglasses covered). We were behind the entire game and it was miserable. The only bright spot was the almost comeback when we brought it within 3, but that didn't last.

But you know, that was last week and tomorrow is another day. We've got another game on Saturday. PDM and I will cook another awesome meal, and have people over, and hopefully our team will get it together and kick some butt! And no matter what happens, we will enjoy this season of college football. I'm not a Tech fan because they win. It is in my blood. They are my team, no matter what.

Fun on The Flats

Opening Day was a success - good friends, good weather, good game.

Came home to beer brats and more football on the tube. Glad the season is finally here and there is even more reason to look forward to Saturdays (plus the occasional Thursday night). Go Jackets!

Brace For Impact

It's game day!

Nesbitt 4 Heisman

John Heisman was the head coach at Georgia Tech from 1904 to 1919. No Georgia Tech player has ever won the trophy named for him. Maybe this year?



Side note: the first player (other than Nesbitt) featured in this video was my favorite GT football player while he was on the Flats -- Gary Guyton. He has a good thing going with the Patriots now. My current favorite is Roddy Jones. He is a senior, so next year I will have to pick another one.

Paging Dr. Lou

It's not college football without Dr. Lou. Here he is courtesy of Lucas Cox.

Are You Ready?

College Football starts this week. I'm more than ready, and will be celebrating all week on the blog. For starters, here are some highlights from one of our best games last fall - Georgia Tech's upset win over Virginia Tech on October 17, 2009. It was very satisfying.

Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover it.

What is with Georgia Tech and bowl games?!?

It is nearly midnight. I've got a wine/beer buzz that is sure to cause problems tomorrow morning and NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT. Why can't my team win a frelling bowl game? Ever? I can't remember the last time that happened. Hell, we cannot even win a damn basketball game against an inferior opponent.

In the next few weeks all of our promising juniors will announce that they are going pro. Guaran-damn-teed. We'll be left with a 'rebuilding year'. Yup.

Damn, damn, damn.

I should be used to being disappointed, but somehow it still smarts.

Buzzzzzzz

Georgia Tech is headed for the Orange Bowl! W00t!

The Next Day

Well... the sun came up today, just like usual. The world didn't end.

We didn't get home until after 2am last night, and I was up until 3:30, so I put on eye shades and slept late today. No hangover. Cooked some breakfast for PDM and our guests using the last of the eggs, bacon and cheese. Did a few hours of therapeutic yard chores to work out my frustration and disappointment. Hard labor can soothe a troubled mind. Or at least make you so tired you don't care any more. Sort of. Got in a few winks and then had a big steak dinner. Tomorrow the regular routine kicks in again. Life goes on. But I might not have a pep in my step for a while yet.

To Hell With Georgia

Clean Old Fashioned Hate is tonight. Tailgating gear is packed and ready to go. Got tickets, beer, brats, blankets. Plus lots of nervous energy to spare. I'm always anxious before the big games. Definitely wearing the lucky hoodie tonight.

Big, Brass ...

... BALLS.

It is 4th-and-1 in overtime and the other team has already kicked a field goal. The safe choice would be to kick and tie it up again. If you go for it and don't get a first down, it is game over -- you lose. Most coaches would kick. But our coach plays to win. After the game, he said "If we can't get half a yard, then we probably didn't deserve to win." Huge gamble. Very ballsy. Our guys came through just fine. Got the first down, and one play later we were in the end zone with the winning touchdown.

For the record, if the Georgia game is anything like this, my head will explode.

The game had an exciting start to set the stage for the big finish. A pair of F-18 fighter jets buzzed the stadium after the National Anthem was played. They were lower than any flyover that I've ever seen. Very cool. Take a look:

It was the shirt.

What a night! Tech won (The real Tech, not that polytechnic school from Virginny). It was the first time we've beat a top-five team at home since 1962. Coach Paul Johnson is a chessmaster. I think we've got ourselves another Bobby Dodd, folks. And I've got myself a lucky hoodie!

Immediately after the game ended, the students swarmed the field. We saw them carrying the goalposts down Yellow Jacket Alley about half an hour later, and I hear they ended up on the university president's front lawn.

Mojo

I'm superstitious about sports. Very superstitious. An otherwise rational person, I somehow can't shake the notion that what I do or wear can affect the outcome of a game. Yes, I am aware that it is silly. Doesn't matter. I've been known to change seating position, refill or not refill a drink, switch out cats, or go to another room, all because my team was doing so much better while something was different and I am trying to restore things back to good. It's all about mojo.

Which brings me to today. We have a big, BIG game tonight and it is going to be cold. Much of my cold weather Tech stuff has bad mojo for one reason or another. There is no freakin' way I can wear one stitch of the stuff I wore to the bowl game last year. Not even the shoes. Anything I wore to basketball games last winter is suspect as well. (I'm not sure if mojo crosses over between sports, but who wants to take that chance? It's bad enough that I suffered through such craptastical basketball once. I'm not going to let it ruin a perfectly good football performance.) So my choices are to wear warm weather stuff with good mojo and freeze, or find something warm that hasn't been tainted.

I've looked high and low and finally found a gold hoodie that hasn't been infected with any bad mojo. At least I think it hasn't. And I am asking the Football Gods: Please, oh please, let me keep it that way. No more bad mojo. That hoodie needs to be my new lucky shirt.

Tricksy Jacketses

Another Thursday night game is upon us. This was my favorite play from last week's game. That look on Dabo's face afterward is priceless. But he should have known better - there is NO WAY we'd let Blair try a 53-yard field goal attempt. I don't know what to expect from tonight's matchup, but I guarantee you won't see this play again!

Whiteout

Sorry, Mom. Here is a photo showing tens of thousands of people flaunting that "no white after Labor Day" rule.

Clemson really brought their A game and we were lucky to get the win. They earned my respect tonight. They never quit. I was pleasantly surprised by their fans as well - the ones I encountered were pretty cool. Not what I expected.

Game Day!

My pregame ritual doesn't usually include getting up early for a 7:30am research meeting (a real snoozefest) and working all day. But I made it through (my productivity might have suffered a bit) and am about to head to The Flats. Hope that six pack I put in the car this morning is still cold... and I hope it doesn't rain (which would turn the "white out" into a giant wet t-shirt contest).