We’re on a three week journey examining the fanbases of each of the fourteen SEC schools. Yesterday was Auburn; today we *hic* examine the *hic* Georgia fan.
The University of Georgia is one of the top academic institutions in the Southeastern Conference. Georgia boasts some accomplished alumni and some of the brightest minds in the South matriculated in Athens. Georgia boasts some of the best and most intelligent sports blogs on the Internet.
Yet, Georgia fans are known less for their erudite commentary and more for their behavior at football games.
Or, I should say before and after football games.
While Ole Miss has a reputation for parties, it is hard to beat Georgia fans in the party department. Specifically, it is hard to beat Georgia fans in the consumption of alcohol.
There is a reason Atlanta has drive-thru liquor stores. Georgia likes to drink.
And drink.
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is one example.
All the tiny liquor bottles dropped at the SEC Championship Game as Alabama defeated Georgia is another. There were so many little bottles in our section—some consumed and some not—that I considered buying stock in a distillery. One Georgia fan was so angry and so intoxicated that as the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated Georgia for the 2012 SEC Championship, that he left a team jacket worth over $75 on his seat. It wasn’t surprising. This fan fell up the stairs in a fog of anger and alcohol.
Of course, most of that alcohol is imbibed before a game. Georgia fans have a habit of partying hard before kickoff. This is what makes them so…trashy.
I am not sure how Georgia fans treat other SEC schools, but when Georgia visited Alabama in 2007, there was a much bigger mess than usual on campus.
What can you expect when Georgia fans trash their own campus? In fact, the University of Georgia was forced to respond to the mess in 2009. Some described sections of the campus as looking like a “garbage dump.” Most Georgia alums were outraged at how students and alums were treating the tailgaiting areas.
However, this type of bad behavior is not only a thing of the past.
This season Georgia fans decided to be ever so trashy. They egged and rolled the home of Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray and linebacker Christian Robinson following Georgia’s loss to South Carolina.
Why did Georgia fans decide to trash their QBs house? Sure, it was a bad blowout loss at the hands of South Carolina 35-7. However, it isn’t like losing is rare for Georgia. Since the Blackout game against Alabama in 2008, Georgia and Mark Richt have underachieved. In the time from the loss to Alabama until the loss to South Carolina, Georgia was 6-20 against ranked opponents, according to this report. The brightest minds in college football wondered if Mark Richt might be on the hotseat. Commentators like Paul Finebaum summed up the Richt regime in Athens: “Some might say there’s no crime in losing to Boise State and South Carolina, ranked No. 4 and No. 11 respectively. Perhaps. But this has become the norm in Athens, a town that has seen five of its SEC brethren win national championships in recent years while the hometown team more closely resembled an EKG screen during cardiac arrest.”
Richt has won games. Earlier in his career in Athens he snagged two SEC Championships. However, Richt and the men who preceded him have accomplished less with more. The post-Vince Dooley era has unfolded with Georgia getting killed by Florida with regularity. Ray Goff? Losing record against Florida. Jim Donnan? Losing record against Florida. Mark Richt? Losing record against Florida.
Georgia is one of the most talent-rich states. It produces a significant amount of major college football talent. Yet, all this talent is not enough.
For all of Georgia’s history and for all of the Georgia fan’s arrogant talk, the Bulldogs have accomplished very little outside of the Dooley era. When your last taste of real significance came in Ronald Reagan’s first term in office, it’ll give you a taste for alcohol.
This has left many Georgia fans unfulfilled. And what do you do when you’re unfulfilled? You drink, apparently.
Georgia fans are diehard. One Bulldog fan’s obituary complained about a horrendous Georgia football loss to South Carolina. That is dedication and love. And longing for fulfillment on the football field. Maybe this is why Bulldog fans indulge so much in alcohol and trashy behavior.
Past reviews:
Alabama – February 11
Texas A&M – February 12
Tennessee – February 13
South Carolina – February 14
Vanderbilt – February 15
Auburn – February 18
Tomorrow:
Kentucky
I just watched the SEC championship again. I noticed, again the reaction on Coach Saban’s face about ” Watch the clock”. On the fake punt. After the ‘ Dogs made theirs and looking at Richt’s face,it was almost as if he was saying “How you like that Nick?” The last part of that game was really funny to me. RTR
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I was in Athens, GA Friday night for a concert. I had been to Athens but never “downtown” where I was all night Friday.
And now this article makes even more sense.
First, we wanted a bite to eat. I thought we’d be able to find a place to eat and grab a beer easily. It’s a college town, after all.
Long story short and about two dozen doors later, we hadn’t found a place to eat. Every place that served booze was open, but none of them served any food of any kind. We had to get to the edge of downtown just to find a Pita Pit and Mellow Mushroom.
And yeah, by 8:30 PM the streets and bars were littered with drunks. When we left around 1 AM traffic wasn’t a problem. Well, car traffic wasn’t a problem, that is. I’ve never seen so many drunk people who didn’t know what a crosswalk was and didn’t mind staring at headlights. It was eye-opening.
I know it’s a college town. But downtown? I was disappointed. It’s ugly, and there really isn’t anything to do but drink. There was only one place that had any live music (I have heard for decades Athens is a live music mecca, maybe just not on Friday nights in February), but good grief there were a lot of bars. Bars next to bars. Bars under bars (literally). Bars above bars. One bar was four stories tall. Great.
The stadium isn’t so bad. The campus is surprisingly pretty compared to some campuses. But Athens, wow, I was disappointed with downtown. Shocked might be a better word. It was really disappointing.
Unless, of course, you’re a drunkard. It’s a perfect place for that.
Maybe you were the one who was drunk. There are many places to eat in downtown Athens. The fact you couldn’t find any (when there are restaurants everywhere downtown) may speak to your drunkeness.
This post is moronic. What’s more likely, that damn near every other person who has been to Athens figured out where all the places to eat and see live music are and loved it, and that you are a clueless moron, or that all of them are easily fooled, and you are the true critical genius we’ve been waiting for? Downtown Athens is the most concentrated area of bars and alcohol serving RESTAURANTS in the country, so that can take some navigational savvy for a first timer, something you were quite obviously lacking.
I disagree.
But good grief, why so upset? You didn’t tell me anywhere to go, regardless.
I walked into twenty places, maybe more, all in downtown Athens, GA. They were clearly open and clearly had a bar, which was important because we wanted a drink.
None of them had food.
Let me know what I missed. I’m sure there are restaurants there somewhere. One was a hamburger place with no beer. Another was Waffle House.
But don’t tell me what I didn’t see. That doesn’t make sense. Even if there are restaurants there somewhere, there are an awful lot of bars that are absolutely not restaurants in any way. I had a cell phone with GPS and location-based searches, which I only decided to use after the first few bars and the first 4 people we asked for a place to eat and get a drink.
And downtown Athens is ugly. It’s filthy. I’m not trying to piss you off, but I was disappointed. It’s an ugly place to be. It’s no ghetto, but I expected a lot more, that’s all. I’ve had fun at Georgia games. I know lots of rich and priveleged UGA grads and I couldn’t believe downtown Athens is where they used to play. It’s got nothing on downtown Tuscaloosa, for example, or Clemson, or Gainesville, or Nashville, or even Knoxville, which is actually kinda nice.
When we found “Herschel’s” at the ass-end of downtown they had a 90-minute wait for a table. We ended up at Mellow Mushroom. I wanted to find a good local place and get a beer. Didn’t work out, and after walking all over downtown I don’t think my opinion is going to change. I was disappointed. Downtown Athens needs a facelift and fewer bars.
Then again, the bars define Athens. So don’t get mad at me. Embrace it or do something to try to change it. Tuscaloosa did it, you can too. Roll Tide.
Food is for wimps.
There’s no way you could have missed ALL the restaurants in DT Athens, it’s literally impossible (unless you’re an idiot, not that I’m calling you one). My personal favorites are Transmetropolitan, Little Italy and Copper Creek (all of which you can also drink at). Here’s a list…
http://www.downtownathensga.com/businesses.php?category=24
This is a list of the bars (yes, there are lots) of which MANY play live music (40 Watt for example). You’ll also notice several places are on both lists, (In other words they serve food AND booze). My personal favorites are Allgood Lounge, 8e’s, Copper Creek and Genco. Here’s the list…
http://www.downtownathensga.com/businesses.php?category=29
Also, it’s ridiculous to judge DT’s cleanliness based on gameday weekends. No college town with a big football program is clean on gameday weekends. I’ve been to games coast to coast, it’s the same every where. Yes, on gamedays it does get a bit over the top, but by Sunday afternoon it’s all cleaned up.
@UGA-Alum2006
This was not a gameday weekend.
This was a Friday night in February.
It’s not trash. It’s everything. It’s dirty. It’s broken street lamps and HPS ballasts. It’s broken benches.
It’s ugly.
I’ll amend that by saying I’ve been to an awful lot of college campuses. Dozens. From Michigan to Stanford to Texas and everywhere inbetween. Downtown Athens isn’t a dump except compared to college towns, especially in the South East. I was disappointed, but maybe I’ve been spoiled by other college downtown areas, I admit.
We didn’t miss all the restaurants. But apparently when we asked for help they directed us away from a restaurant you recommended right across the street? I dunno. I’m just saying, maybe it’s not always like that, but I think the bottom line is we can all agree there are absolutely far more bars than restaurants (or even restaurant/bars) in downtown Athens, GA.
There are a ton of bars in downtown Athens. I know there must be restaurants there, we just struggled. But there are too many bars, too many drunks (I can’t imagine what it’s like on a gameday weekend or any weekend outside of February), and I think the fan review in the article is spot-on. I think most of the people we saw Friday night would have been proud of it, so don’t get upset with me because of it, be proud of it, who knows, maybe some of the dozens of bars are some of the best in the South, I don’t know, I haven’t heard anyone say anything about them, just giving me grief for me and the people I asked not being able to find a place to eat for a while but finding dozens of places to drink.
You’re a loser. Go Dawgs
32-28. Not sure if you fully know what the term ‘loser’ means.
Oh, you played in that game? Or maybe you just equate your football team’s winning with your personal worth in life…
Oh brother, here we go…
Tired typical response from the overly sensitive fan of the losing team.
In all honesty, how can anyone – or anything – associated with the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama actually insult ANYONE else? Yes, there are some of us who have been to the “other side” of Tuscaloosa. You know, the part that they don’t let the football players go to, where the black folks and white folks mutter and lstare at each other like they’d like to slit one another’s throats, where the shelter is that everyone hears all the nasty stories about, where all the bums hit you up for cash when you are just trying to walk into Burger King.
I mean, dude…you’re in frickin’ ALABAMA. And this is coming from someone who was born in Dothan. By birthright, you don’t get to call other people trashy and intoxicated without people looking at you like you’re completely insane. It is what it is, just own it. An Alabama fan insulting Georgia fans for being “trashy” is like a redneck momma in a trailer park telling folks she wished her kids would wear more dockers.
Of course, since this is all about classiness and folks having a good ‘ole time, Alabama football’s player drug policy kind of says it all from this point. Let me recap:
First failed test- None
Second failed test- 15 percent of games (one game)
Third failed test- One year
Fourth failed test- Dismissal
Would you like me to recap Georgia’s? I’ll spare you the embarrassment, but here’s a hint: there wouldn’t be a fourth failed test. Don’t worry, LSU is right there with ya in terms of classiness on this level. Wonder where they got their current starting qb from? Oh, right…
I really don’t know what else to say. This is one of the more pathetic, pointed, insecure musings I’ve ever read. Good luck to your team next year, and for God’s sake, tell your players to stop robbing people. That’s simply uncultured, no matter how many scholarships you need to drop.
No team has had more player arrests in the SEC than Georgia. Glass houses, anyone?
This is the kind of moronic thinking that put Obama in office. WE HAVE PLAYERS ARRESTED BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SYSTEM OF DISCIPLINE AND WE ENFORCE IT!
Coming from a fan of a program whose AD gets busted with a hooker.
Mark Richt has had more players busted in his tenor there than Miami in the entire 1980’s.
Brilliant, Georgia fan. Just brilliant.
Dawg – the fact that we are from Alabama – I grew up in Tuscaloosa – makes us professional critics on what is trashy and what isn’t. It’s an even greater insult to you pathetic, needy, insecure GA Bulldog fans that a native of Alabama would feel the need to call you trashy and redneck. Your post is like saying that Jeff Foxworthy has no right to call anyone a redneck … dude – we know redneck losers when we see them, and Athens is absolutely full of them. Drunk, unruly, loud, with a high tolerance for criminal behavior from their “role models”.
Don’t even get me started about leaving Dothan to live in Georgia. Pathetic – everything I hated about Dothan is what’s good about Georgia.
@DawGone
I thought you were right. I thought Tuscaloosa had a lot of bars.
Until I went to Athens, GA.
Wow.
But this article is about the fans. Alabama fans don’t get wasted drunk and trash campuses and houses and throw eggs at their own QB’s house like Georgia fans do. I thought it was something most Georgia fans were actually proud of, it sounds like you are not but to try and say it’s Alabama and not Georgia that is more inclined to cause problems when over-drinking makes it sound like you haven’t been to both Alabama and Georgia games, that’s all. Read above—–I found dozens of places to get a drink in Athens before I found a restaurant, and it had a 90-minute wait regardless at the edge of downtown.
I’m not hating on Georgia. I like Georgia and the university. I like the program. I kinda like Richt even. But I feel sorry for Athens, at least downtown. It’s a mess, and it’s dirty, and it’s bar after bar after bar. Tuscaloosa has bars, but not like Athens. I can’t think of a block on the Strip or in downtown Tuscaloosa without a few places to eat. Be proud of Athens, but you’re wrong about Tuscaloosa.
Richt coaches like he’s drunk. They have the 4th largest talent pool in the country and so very little to show for it. Saban could have taken the same players and still won back to back NC’s. Not that they would have scored, but Richt’s decision to play on instead of spiking the ball in the waning seconds of the SECCG was one of the alltime biggest blunders in college football history. His post-game defense of his decision was hilarious.
People from Alabama complaining about any other place in the world is like bitching about the lines of tourists at Versailles from the comfort of your outhouse. Alabama is a joke to everyone in the world. It’s the punch line of every joke about a place that sucks. It is in the minds of the people of the entire world a place brimming with stupid and excelling only at backwardness. There is no number of crystal trophies that will ever make people think that Alabama is anything but a shit hole.
Tell us about the thriving tourist industry in birmingham where the main attraction is..what??
And besides no one on Athens will complain if you don’t want to come.
Finally, all the drinking was necessary in order for us to be able to fuck your wives and girlfriends. They’re ugly as he’ll but we try to be good hosts.
+1 And for fun, here is a re-post from a comment on bama’s delusional self-description…..
bwahahaha. The idea that ANY fanbase wants what alabama has is hysterically funny.
Even with all the titles. Some real, some imaginary, some bought, some earned. No fanbase wishes they had what Alabama has. What exactly would they wish for?
– A weird, unneeded inferiority complex that drives them to claim titles they didn’t earn?
– A butt ugly campus with a butt ugly stadium?
– A filthy white trash redneck fan base that didn’t go to ANY university yet finds self-worth in their favorite football team?
– An ugly state with no cities of any value or worth visiting?
– A dirty football program rated at #4 in most sanctions in history. Just behind #3, your dirty little twin sister to the southeast of you?
– A booster base that cheats their a$$ off?
Continue living in your fantasy. It’s a fun place, I’m sure. Ha.
Yeah, nobody wants to dominate the landscape of college football.
And thank you for your unsubstantiated opinions.
Spot on, Jeff. Have fun living in the middle of the pack in the SEC. If you need us we’ll be at the front of the line.
Based on the replies…you are right ITK. Georgia fans are trashy.
Hopefully, being a neighboring state, Alabama’s clean and classy citizens will rub off on them.
(queue the Updyke jokes!…BTW, he is from Texas)
An ugly state with no cities worth visiting?
That sounds like someone who hasn’t seen Tuscaloosa or Birmingham, for example (you know, just the home of the SEC).
I’ve seen Athens.
I think anyone who has seen Athens would be jealous of Tuscaloosa, unless they haven’t seen Tuscaloosa.
It’s easy to point fingers and laugh at the state of Alabama from afar. But it’s only possible if you’ve never been. It might not be the crowning jewel of the USA, but good grief, trying to pretent Athens is better than many cities in Alabama is inaccurate. I mean, a butt ugly campus? A butt ugly stadium? Are you kidding? Have you really never been to Tuscaloosa, AL? I can tell you hate the Tide, but it’s worth it. I’ve been all over the SEC. If you loved the Bulldogs that much maybe you would have something to compare it to, like Tuscaloosa. But you don’t.
And you’re right. It is a fun place.
It is a fun culture.
It is fun to win.
Roll Tide.
Dawg fans think for a New York minute!!
Your college has HAD over 50 football
players get in trouble with the law in Athens in
the past 4 or 5 years!! Your campus is pretty
but come Saturday in the fall it looks like
the Delta house from Animal House!!
Birmingham, Al is a JOKE but T-Town is
great town in live and watch the best college
football program in the USA!! How many NC’S
has the dawgs won lately? RTR
Been to Tuscaloosa. Ugly town. The only good thing about the entire experience was beautiful women (which are at all SEC stadiums, except maybe Mizzou) & leaving that filthy state. Gulf Shores is about all there is interesting in AL. That’s why the Confederacy moved the capital to Richmond.
Btw, that “process” of discipline that CNS has is an illusion created by “unlearnt” bama fans. 20+ player arrests during the “disciplinarians” tenure for offenses ranging from Cocaine trafficking, domestic abuse and, lately, robbery & assault. And that’s not to mention tea bagging & tree poisoning + the books, cars, suits & rims given out by the bama nation to said players.
Bama has always been dirty no matter which side of the bowl or state you’re talking about.
Fiction is fun. I guess if you’re a Georgia fan you have to live in a pretend fantasy world, rather than deal with the reality of coming five yards short of your first taste of significance since 1980. Oh well. If you’re ever back in Tuscaloosa, stop in and see all of our trophies. There’s ALOT!
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