The University of Georgia song is set to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. I wasn’t imagining things.
My 2008 started at the Sugarbowl in the Superdome (actually it started at Jackson Square and Fahy’s but I was too sleepy/bored to notice). Section 283, Row 2 is a great end-zone vantage point, from which D and I watched the Georgia Bulldogs mop the floor with the poor Hawaii Warriors (I hear the “Rainbow” is now silent). 41-10 equals Ouch. I really wanted Hawaii to win. In the end, it was football and, even better, we had free tickets. And the Superdome looks nice.
If a pre-game Haka occurred, I missed it and am sorely disappointed that I did. Hakas aren’t for weenies, Mr. Yellow Gloom-monger. It’s all about pride (and a good sight more original and fun to watch than a bunch of grown men barking like bulldogs). The New Zealand All Blacks perform one before each game and we all know that the All Blacks can take any SEC team in a fair fight. The Hawaii cheerleaders were mesmerizing on the field in these wispy and glittery headpieces, bikini tops and grass skirts (which D and many guys around me seemed to take a liking to).
Bonerama performed the national anthem but not before our very own mayor, Honorable C. Ray Nagin, was booed down by everyone not seated in the Hawaii section. A lot of the Georgia fans must be local or Louisiana immigrants because I was not aware that the mayor of New Orleans was so reviled beyond the boundaries of this city. What was going on there? It will please many readers to hear that the two Allstate executives were booed as well, but not as vehemently as Ray Ray.
Sitting in the Georgia section with our friend (a veteranarian whose claim to fame is having treated Ugga the Georgia mascot for scabies) and her husband, I realized that the Hawaii fans are much nicer than their Georgia counterparts. Around the Quarter, in the days before the game, the Hawaiians were pleasant, smiled a lot, said Hello and didn’t spell trouble. Friends who waited on them this past weekend agree with me. The visiting Georgia fans? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong – Athens is a great town, but where were all these grunting and rude Georgians during my visit there? Admittedly, I was 20 years old during my short stay there and spent most of my time visiting coffee shops and bookstores with friends who look like Michael Stipe and Fred Schneider. Athens, then, is to the rest of Georgia as Madison is to Wisconsin, Austin is to Texas and New Orleans is to Louisiana, oases of university and progressive culture in a vast expanse of The Rest Of America. The Rest Of Georgia was at this game.
When a Hawaii player was injured and lay motionless on the field for a few minutes, the entire stadium immediately grew quiet with concern, except for four tobacco-chewing young Georgia fans up behind us who laughed loudly and said, “We got that pussy good!” Then there was the erudite gentleman directly behind me who kept yelling, “Get their Honoluluan asses! Send them home!” After several loops of these words, I turned and gave him a Dude, Please look which silenced him for the rest of the game. Following that was the moment when my friend, the Georgia graduate, turned to me, said, “Some of us actually got something out of going to Georgia, you know” and smiled. Well, I got an education and huge love for Packer and Badger football when at Wisconsin, so I’m not going to comment on my friend’s statement. On the other hand, I understand what she is saying because what I didn’t learn, thankfully, was how to be a jerk of a fan. Oh well.
Go Dawgs and sorry, Warriors. A guy sitting by me openly opined, “Why do they send teams like Hawaii to play the SEC? Why can’t we get some strong opponents?” Good question, but every dog (pardon the pun) has his day. The Warriors were undefeated in their league, one only slightly better than the Big Sky Conference, and made it to the Sugarbowl. When they may not have been able to in the past, perhaps a few Hawaii players will now make it into the NFL or a similar league. Speaking of which, wouldn’t it be interesting to have an NFL team from Hawaii? Luaus and hakas before each game! I’d root for them.
Ray Ray was lustily booed by a full Superdome?
2008 seems to be starting out ok.
Are you kidding? C Ray is a nationally reviled buffoon… perhaps moreso than in New Orleans. I am made painfully aware of this whenever I am in Baltimore.
Also… I think you may be confusing what is acceptable fan behavior with what is acceptable player behavior.
Fans can be obnoxious. They don’t have to but they can bark or Haka or dress up and dance all they want. They are not competing.
The players, on the other hand, are and should be more respectful of their opponents than to do a “prideful” (your word) dance in front of them.
This is the epitome of bad sportsmanship.
As a matter of fact, Jeffrey, I was standing right above the Bulldog players before they ran out onto the field. They were jumping up and down, shaking their heads, dancing in place and singing along, i.e. pumping themselves up as Go Georgia Bulldogs played and was sung by their fans over and over again. What’s the difference between that and a Haka? It’s all testosterone-ridden posturing to me.
“What’s the difference between that and a Haka?”
Probably the choreography.
Actually, I’d say that you’re a little bit right there. It’s really not necessary to “pump” oneself up before a game as much as it is to be ready to be mentally prepared to play… know your assignments, know what to expect from your opponent, etc.
In high school, our football coach used to refer to all the whooping and hollering as “Rah rah bullshit”
But he was an old-school Lombardi type. I guess I am too.
“be ready to be prepared”
Jesus, Jeff, doesn’t anybody proofread anymore?
I’ll give you a free comma which you can use like this: “to be ready, to be mentally prepared to …”