I'm proud to call myself a member of the Bulldog Nation. There have been a couple of down days for me as a UGA fan since the glory days of Herschel Walker but not many, and especially few since Todd Grantham left Athens for Louisville. The day Mark Richt was fired was something of a downer. But we look for ways to move forward... When Devon Gales of Southern University was paralyzed in a game against UGA in Sanford Stadium, Dawg fans donated generously to a fund to help pay his rehabilitation-related expenses. Although Devon has been released from the Shepherd Spinal Center, his rehabilitation efforts are far from over. Now the Triumph Over Tragedy foundation is raising funds to convert the Gales family home to become handicap-accessible. I'm proud to be one of many who rallied to support this tenacious young man with such a positive attitude in spite of the unfortunate injury that made him a household-name for Bulldog fans. I fully intend to support Triumph Over Tragedy both now and in the future, now that I've learned a little about their organization and know about their work. Another worthy cause that I'm proud to say Bulldog fans support is the Mission Dawgs outreach to Georgia's homeless. UGA fans have teamed up with the Hope Springs Church in Athens to assemble and distribute what are being called "Goodness Bags" for the homeless. The Goodness bags contain toothbrushes, tooth paste, deodorant, combs, baggies, chap stick, soap, socks, gloves, blankets a McDonald's gift card for five dollars plus five dollars cash, some crackers, hand sanitizer, … [Read more...]
Devon Gales and the Bulldog Nation
Life is more important than football. Most people play sports simply because they love the competition. I certainly do. For example, if you want to see me run, you basically have two options: either put a gun to my head, or a tennis racquet in my hand. Even when the outcome of the contest has been determined, true competitors never stop playing hard. Naturally, I'd prefer that you chose the tennis racquet over the gun. I will run to win a point, or if a very large animal is chasing me, but jogging and pleasure are mutually exclusive ideas, in my opinion. Of course, everybody knows that Georgia plays Alabama in Sanford Stadium this coming Saturday. But we can talk about that contest later, after the game has been played. Today we need to talk about what happened last Saturday, the tragic accident that occurred in the game against Southern University. The halftime show by Southern's renowned marching band was supposed to be the major highlight of the game. And the band was terrific. They put on an incredible show for the crowd in Sanford stadium. Heck, they were entertaining people on their way inside the stadium. And somebody forgot to tell Southern's football team they weren't supposed to play hard and make the game competitive. At the intermission the score was only 20-6, in favor of Georgia. The previously unstoppable Bulldog running game had only gained thirty-five yards prior to halftime. To their credit, Southern's players never stopped trying to execute their game plan, refusing to play the role of a "cupcake" opponent, even late in … [Read more...]
