Saturday full of revelations for the 2008 season

Saturday was not only a tune up for CMR and the players, it was a tune up for our tailgate club as well.

Overall, I felt the team, fans, and our tailgate club preformed to expectations. We didn’t over achieve, we didn’t under achieve. We did our jobs, took some notes on help-needed areas, and got a glimpse of some good things to come. One by one, the faithful began arriving for some yard-bird hors d'oeuvres and light morning cocktails before heading to the battlefield to remind our little southeast Georgia cousins that we still rule the state.

I’m still trying to figure out this blogging thing. After checking the web for what the real writers are saying, wanting to be funny and entertaining, and give something that will spark you to comment and be a part of the story, I find myself scratching my watch and winding my butt. This week, I thought I would give a Blogging Dawg Report Card on my observations from Saturday.

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Blogging Dawg’s Report Card: Week 1

Timing: We left a little after 6 from the meet point at Tater Chip Dawg’s house, putting us in the parking deck around 7:45 and forcing us to park on the second row. We will need to work on this to make sure we get the premium spots as the schedule gets more intense. Grade: B-

Good to see you: For the most part, every one showed up. PhotoDawg and his lovely wife with Daughter of PhotoDawg arrived with cocktails and camera in hand. Heritage Dawg (Tony), Tybee Dawg, Tractor Dawg, Calhoun Dawg and Mary, Lebanon Dawg and Son, TaterChip Dawg all were dressed and ready for action. The patron saint and patriarch of this motley cure, Barker Dawg arrived fashionably late with his Queen to hold court and shepherd us through another season. Missing – CrazyAss Dawg and his band of Low Country Gypsies and Gas Dawg. Grade: A-

Traffic: The most unusual note on Saturday was the wacky traffic pattern. About two hours before game time, the traffic around the East Campus Parking deck was clogged and the buses were having trouble getting to Lower River Road for the trip over to the stadium, and the wait time for the bus made you feel like you were at MARTA Five-points. On the positive side, we drove straight to the loop after the game, stopping only to make the turn at the light. Grade: B

Fan Participation: I thought the fans showed up earlier this Labor Day weekend than in the past, but I think everyone was still trying to knock the crust of Friday night out of their eyes by the time the BullDawg Battle Hymn was played. I can’t think of a time when there was not a unified roar from the BullDawg faithful when the video of Herschel running over Bill Bates in 1980 graced the scoreboard. I was a little embarrassed Saturday – my God people, we had family in the house. Wake up and be proud of your heritage. To be fair, it felt like it was about 120 in the shade. Maybe the heat sucked some of the life from us. Grade: B

UGA VII in the house: After a brief tribute to his dad, the Dawgs got to meet THE new Dawg. On paper, he’s Loran’s Best, to the world, he’s UGA VII – the top mascot on the planet. With the James Bond theme (007 pun intended) VII went to his new corporately sponsored Dawg Mansion and took a nap on a fifty pound sack of ice. Charles Seiler reported he didn’t pace himself, but it worked out OK. Calhoun Dawg sent me a text message confirming that the UGA VII was indeed a man after a shot of the new king’s testicles on the scoreboard. Grade: A +

Puppies Performance: Not a bad outing. After all, we had them 38-0 at one point. The final score reflected a policy of not needing to run the score up on your cousins and giving everyone a chance. I was so alarmed about the 11 penalties that I began referring to the off-sides calls as the Ghost of Inman even though many of these were defensive calls. AJ, Walsh, and King lived up to the hype while Stafford, Knowshon and Co., delivered as expected. Downside? Kick coverage was just plain awful. Injuries on the O- and D-lines leave a big question mark. Glad to see Kris Durham has plans for something other than plant manager at Mohawk Carpets as he was the leader of the receiving corps. Grade: A-

Video: It's Saturday in Athens