Chapter 1

1.The Dream Grows

There’s two times of year for me: football season, and waiting for football season.

—Darius Rucker

When I was growing up, my dad took me to two or three home games each football season. We woke up early, dressed in red and black Georgia gear, and made thehour-and-fifteen-minute drive from Atlanta to Athens. On the road we listened to the pregame show to catch the breakdown of the matchup, an analysis of our opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and the injury reports—all the details dedicated fans like us wanted.

The excitement I felt driving into Athens on game day can only be compared to the excitement I felt each Christmas morning. No matter how early we arrived, people were already tailgating on Milledge Avenue, a street that leads into the Georgia campus. Fans parked their cars off the main street and then set up canopies, chairs, and barbecues on the grass in front of houses and local businesses. People spent the hours before kickoff watching TV, grilling out, tossing a football, and talking about the upcoming game. It was anall-day event.

When we turned from Milledge Avenue onto Baxter Street, we caught our first glimpse of Sanford Stadium. We parked and moved with the crowd toward the west end, where the stands are lower than the rest and provide a view into the stadium from a block away. As we walked over the bridge overlooking the west end zone, the whole field came into view.

My dad and I always arrived three to four hours before kickoff. Sometimes we tailgated with his friends, and sometimes the two of us hung out and got something to eat. Either way, we always made our way to the stadium about two hours before game time to attend the Dawg Walk. Almost every college program has their version of this event: the team takes a bus to the stadium, and fans line up to greet the players as they exit, holding banners and giving high five