Matthew Osborne
Most folks know I am not native to Georgia, meaning I did not grow up with the Dawgs. But something this week has made me smile anyway.
I enjoyed seeing the unified sense of community that the Dawgs’ enormous success brings to Habersham and beyond. I love seeing red and black on everyone and people addressing each other with “Go Dawgs,” which can either be a greeting or a farewell.
We had something similar in Philadelphia and South Jersey, where the similar universal greeting is “Go Birds,” which this year celebrates the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
It’s a fun thing about sports, to share them with everyone around you. It is an even more awesome feeling to be able to share an all-time dynastic run like this with your whole community.
My wife said something interesting during the game Monday night that struck a chord with me. “Is Georgia Alabama now?” she asked.
So it seems.
Monday’s title game was an abject slaughter, one that actually seemed pretty predictable. But a lot of folks I talked to were reserved in their confidence after the close call against Ohio State.
Reserved, but not afraid.
These are times that you cannot take for granted. Winning two national championships in a row is not normal. It’s tough to win 15 games in a college season and to be 29-1 over two seasons. Even though the Dawgs are making it look easy right now.
This is the pinnacle of sports, the reason that we spend so much time watching them and obsessing over them.
I recently got an email from MLB.com that broke down how much time I spent watching the Phillies this summer and fall, and the figures did not even include games I saw in person, Braves games I watched on Bally’s, nationally televised games or the extra month of playoffs.
And yet, it told me I spent 18 entire days watching baseball this year, so make that about 20 or 21 probably. So about 8.6 percent of my waking hours for a year.
But they made the World Series, and the whole trip there was a terrific rush.
Folks in Georgia know about that, too, as the Braves were world champs just a year ago.
And now Georgia has racked up two national titles, with Kirby Smart proudly licking Gatorade off his own arm hair with ebullient joy.
This is what it’s about. Wear that championship gear proudly and treasure these moments.
Matthew Osborne is the editor of The Northeast Georgian. Reach him at 706-778-4215 or editor@TheNortheastGeorgian.com.