Go TEAM

What does it mean to be a “good sport”? This weekend, there were several occurrences that kept me thinking of the real meaning of this . . . a lot.

I should preface this discussion with a statement: I am a true-blue Georgia Bulldawg. My blood bleeds red and black. Sic’ Em . . . Finish the Drill . . . Ain’t Nothin’ Finer in the Land . . . and all the other UGA catch phrases . . . I know and say them all. I’m even referred to as a “double dawg” because both my undergraduate and graduate degrees are from that blessed university in Athens, GA. I always do and always will root for the Georgia Bulldawgs. NOTHING can change that . . . even the fact that I married a Georgia Tech graduate.

Jim’s friends are the ones who kept me thinking about what it means to be a “good sport” this weekend, as we tailgated before the GT/Boston College game. I take a LOT of crap from those guys about where I went to school. You see, Tech HATES Georgia for many, many reasons . . . one of which is that we usually beat them in football. We are in-state rivals and are – in a way – bred to hate one another. That being so, I have to take a lot of crap for that . . . because I am a Georgia fan and represent what they hate. And when I say A LOT of crap from my husband’s tech friends – I mean not just “a lot” THIS Saturday. I take a LOT of crap from them EVERY Saturday . . . and pretty much any other chance they get to tear down the Dawgs any other time of the year.

Really, guys, it’s getting old. I know that you hate Georgia. I know that we lost to South Carolina last week – of which I was reminded about every 10 minutes at the tailgate yesterday. I know that our basketball team is terrible, that we always lose to Florida, that we cheated you last year on the play where the whistle should have been blown, that our student body does not necessarily possess the same cumulative IQ and SAT scores that GT’s does . . . etc. All the ridicule and jokes are OLD and – I have heard them ALL. Enough, really.

But in my situation, being a good sport means that I just take it. I laugh and joke along when they ridicule me and my school. I let it roll off my back. I let those guys vent all of their inferiorities and frustrations about my University to me, and I don’t dish it back to them. Part of that is because I’m not that great with “come backs” – but, mostly, I just take it because it’s a waste of time to argue back. That only fuels the fire. Instead, I am a good sport and wear pseudo-Tech colors while I root for them (only when it does not affect UGA, of course) . . . and I just listen to the s*it they dish about my school.

But – when I’m being a good sport – am I being disloyal to my team? My dad certainly thinks so. See, another part of being a good sport for me is to watch, attend, and even – dare I say it? – support the Yellow Jackets.

My dad tells me I’m not a “true fan” because I do this. But – I must make you aware that my dad is a FANATIC. He doesn’t just love the bulldawgs, he lives and breathes them. Because I can’t support UGA athletics in quite the same way, my dad is constantly attacking my loyalty. He is so awful to me when I do things such as attend the tailgate that I attended this weekend.

My dad’s badgering, too, is getting old. I can’t DO what he does . . . watch EVERY sporting event and totally blast EVERY competitor that the Dawgs have. I have a husband that belongs to another loyalty, and I have to respect that. I love JIM – not the Yellow Jackets – but sometimes loving him means that I have to support what he supports. I think that makes me a good sport WITHOUT sacrificing my ability to be a true fan. (And Jim DOES return the favor!)

I should get a prize, really. Who else has to deal with this crap? Why can’t I just watch football like everyone else?! I guess I should have known when I married into a “house divided” (incidentally, another thing that is “getting old” – everyone is always calling us that!).

I always love football season and count the days until it begins. This year, I’m exhausted already. How much longer until Thanksgiving?