Although I can't promise that I will never write another political post, I am so damn tired of the political landscape and the political conversation, that I am just plumb tired, period. So, while I haven't written a blog post in some time, it is about time that I jump back in and ramble on about something....
When I was growing up, the Sports scene in Atlanta was pretty minor league. Before the mid 60's, professional sports in Atlanta consisted of the minor league baseball team, The Atlanta Crackers, playing in Ponce de Leon Ballpark...and many fond memories of going to games there still rattle around in my head. There was not a major league team in any sport until I was about 15 years old...that's when the Braves moved from Milwaukee and the Falcons were born as an expansion NFL team. A couple of years later, the Hawks moved from St Louis and Atlanta became big time with 3 major league teams.
I fondly remember seeing my first major league regular season game on Opening Day for The Braves on April 12, 1966 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. It was against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the starting pitcher, Tony Cloninger, pitched a complete 13 inning game, only to endure a 3-2 loss. The Braves featured players Henry Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Joe Torre along with Felipe Alou and other role players like Rico Carty, Frank Bolling and Dennis Menke. I have won a lot of drinks in bars betting people they can't remember who the opening day 1st baseman was....Lee Thomas.
In that same year, The Atlanta Falcons were born and drafted Tommy Nobis, Linebacker from Texas, as their first draft choice and had a bonus 1st round pick, Randy Johnson, QB from Texas A&I. The first exhibition game in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium was against the Johnny Unitas led Baltimore Colts and I was at that one too!
It wasn't until 2 years later, 1968, that the NBA arrived in Atlanta when the St Louis Hawks became the Atlanta Hawks. They played the first 5 years in Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the Ga. Tech campus before moving to the "new" Omni.
So, that's how Atlanta became a "Big-League" city. But before that, we had College Sports....Football, in particular. And since the Ga.Tech Yellow Jackets were the "home team", that's who we initially rooted for. I could even sing all of the words to "I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech!" That's the only reason I know the obscure fact that Billy Lothridge was the guy that finished 2nd to Roger Staubach in The Heisman Trophy race. He was the QB, punter and place kicker for The Jackets. I have fond memories of going to Grant Field to see Bobby Dodd's Tech teams play...both Varsity games and the annual Freshman Game against the Georgia Bulldogs.
I am not sure when I became enlightened and became a Georgia Bulldog fan, but I am sure it was well before I was accepted and went to The University of Georgia. Since that time, I began to bleed Red and Black and became a devoted fan...as a student in the late 60's and early 70's, as a season ticket holder, reveling in the Herschel Walker years and The National Championship, mourning the retirement of Vince Dooley, suffering through the tough years, not quite getting to the pinnacle during the Mark Richt years (although there were a couple of SEC Champ years in there) and now reenergized during the beginning of the Kirby Smart years.
What a year 2017 was...winning the SEC Championship, and The Rose Bowl and taking Alabama into overtime before losing the National Championship...way beyond our pre-season expectations and exciting beyond reason! Kirby followed that up with great recruiting and great prospects for seasons to come. It would be terrific if 2018 is a repeat or better, but I really believe we are a year away...there are a lot of stars that have graduated and will be playing in the NFL this year. Is it too much to expect that those young pups can instantly fill the voids left?
Whether they do it this year or not, I will continue to wear the Red and Black, sing Glory, Glory to Ole Georgia, and teach my grandsons to do the same. That is a requirement as the opening game on September 1st will be Elie and Zev's first live football game ever and I expect them to be able to sing out loud and clear: Glory, Glory!
And The Journey continues......
