Game day is finally here---if only by a matter of moments---and a few odds and ends need to be attended to before I hit the hay this evening and light out for the Classic City in the morning:
I am pleased to report the addition of the latest in SportsBlogs Nation's growing stable of intercollegiate athletics webloggers, Sunday Morning Quarterback, who has already made a name for himself at his old blog. By moving to SportsBlogs Nation, S.M.Q. simply removes all doubt that this is the finest sports blogging network around, bar none, no exceptions, no contest.
My compliments go out to Rakes of Mallow on the distinct upgrade in his surroundings.
Honestly, Rakes, would you really rather be in rural Indiana than here?
I let the latest poll question go a few votes longer than normal---until 128 ballots were cast, to be exact---because I wanted to take Bulldog Nation's temperature right up until the eve of the game. The question was: "How many Georgia quarterbacks will play against Western Kentucky?"
55 respondents (43%) said the 'Dawgs would play three Q.B.s . . . most probably Joe Tereshinski III, Joe Cox, and Blake Barnes. Another 43 votes (34%) were cast for the proposition that a pair of signal-callers would play, which restricts the snaps to Joe T. and Cox. 17 voters (13%) thought that every scholarship quarterback would see playing time before a lucky fan was called in from the stands to run the victory formation.
Only eight ballots (6%) defended the idea that Tereshinski, Cox, Barnes, and true freshman Matthew Stafford would all line up under center over the course of the afternoon and just five votes (4%) were filed in favor of the notion that Joe T. would go the distance.
Not a lot of folks expect him to get playing time unless some guy gets called down from the upper deck to run the offense for the series after him.
The new poll question is up and running. This time, I'm asking you to choose the best conference in college football . . . excluding the S.E.C., of course (because I don't want the vote to be unanimous).
In order to help get you into the spirit of college football season, I have exhumed the following posting of mine (which, admittedly, is in need of updating) from the archives at my old site, Kyle on Football:
Nevertheless, I thought it might be worthwhile to come up with a similar drinking game for "College GameDay," if only to ease the aggravation suffered by L.D. and Orson Swindle whenever they watch E.S.P.N. Attached below are the initial rules of the game; feel free to alter and augment them in the comments section and at your own college football viewing parties next fall.
The E.S.P.N. "College GameDay" Drinking Game
Rule No. 1: "My Friend." At the beginning of the game, someone must be designated as "My Friend." The host will choose which participant is My Friend and My Friend must sit to the host's immediate right. Whenever Lee Corso says, "Not so fast, my friend!" everyone except My Friend must finish his drink as quickly as possible. Whichever participant takes the longest to finish his drink becomes the new My Friend, because he followed Lee Corso's direction by being "not so fast." The new My Friend and the old My Friend then trade seats. Whenever Lee Corso says, "Not so fast, my friend, [fill in the blank]-style," My Friend must put on an appropriate item of team-specific headgear (if the "not so fast" was "[team name]-style"), speak in an appropriate fake accent (if the "not so fast" was "[cultural or geographic reference]-style"), or do an impersonation of an appropriate coach or player (if the "not so fast" was "[coach or player name]-style").
Rule No. 2: "The Runt." Former "GameDay Final" panelist Trev Alberts landed himself in hot water by describing Ole Miss as "the runt of the litter." At the beginning of the game, in honor of Trev Alberts, someone must be designated as "The Runt." If there is one Ole Miss fan present, he automatically becomes The Runt. If there are two or more Ole Miss fans present, the most diminutive Ole Miss fan present is The Runt. If there are no Ole Miss fans present, the shortest fan of the school with the smallest enrollment is The Runt. Anytime a "GameDay" panelist makes a comment so asinine that it makes you reflect back wistfully on Trev Alberts's competence and sanity, you must announce, "I miss Trev," at which point The Runt gets to choose between (a) punching you in the arm or (b) making you take two drinks.
Rule No. 3: "Meeeechigan"/"Warshington." When Chris Fowler refers to Michigan as "Meeeechigan," everyone takes one drink. When Lee Corso refers to Washington as "Warshington" or to Washington State as "Warshington State," everyone takes one drink, except My Friend. However, if "Meeeechigan" and "Warshington" are referred to in the same segment (if, for instance, the subject of the 1992 Rose Bowl comes up), My Friend must finish his drink.
Rule No. 4: "The Greatest Ever." If any contemporary player, team, or game is declared "The Greatest [Fill in the Blank] Ever," everyone takes one drink, except The Runt, who gets to punch anyone who is a fan of the player or team, or who watched the game, being touted as "The Greatest Ever." If the discussion of "The Greatest Ever" involves an interview with Pete Carroll or a Southern Cal player, everyone must finish his drink, except The Runt, who gets to punch everyone in the arm once.
Rule No. 5: "The Lean." If, prior to predicting the outcome of a particular game, Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, or Kirk Herbstreit makes reference to a given statement being indicative of a "lean," everyone must lean 45 degrees to the right and take one drink. If anyone falls over while leaning, My Friend drinks what is left of his drink, because, hey, what are friends for?
Rule No. 6: Lou Holtz. Anytime Lou Holtz mentions Notre Dame while discussing a game in which Notre Dame is not playing, everyone takes one drink. If he does it twice in the same segment, everyone takes two drinks, and so on until the end of the segment. If you try to speak and you find that you sound like Lou Holtz, stop drinking and have someone call you a cab.
Rule No. 7: Rece Davis. When Rece Davis says a player has logged on and is "part of the gone network," everyone takes one drink. When Rece Davis makes a popular culture reference that you don't get, you must announce, "I don't get it!" then take three drinks. The first person to explain the reference to you takes one drink. All other players take two drinks.
Rule No. 8: Jim Donnan. Anytime Jim Donnan appears on screen, all Georgia fans present must finish their drinks and all Florida, Georgia Tech, or Tennessee fans must raise their glasses in salute to Jim Donnan before taking one drink. Anyone who is not a Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, or Tennessee fan must listen to Jim Donnan's analysis and take as many drinks as necessary to feel as drunk as Jim Donnan sounds.
Rule No. 9: Shillin'. Whenever Chris Fowler previews an E.S.P.N. noon game between middle-of-the-pack Big Ten teams before previewing a more significant game on C.B.S. or N.B.C., everyone takes one drink during each commercial break until the more important game on another network is discussed.
Rule No. 10: Mark May. Whenever Mark May attributes a substantial degree of a team's success to its offensive line, everyone takes one drink. Whenever Mark May says something and Lou Holtz replies, "That's a good point," everyone takes one drink. Whenever Mark May says something and Lou Holtz replies, "That's a good point," then goes on to disagree with Mark May's point, everyone takes two drinks. Whenever Mark May predicts that Georgia will lose its next football game, all Georgia fans present must finish their drinks.
Rule No. 11: Desmond Howard. If you can't understand what Desmond Howard is saying, take one drink. If you're pretty sure he's making a good point, despite your inability to understand what he is saying, take two drinks.
Rule No. 12: Kirk Herbstreit. If your wife or girlfriend comments on how good looking Kirk Herbstreit is, you must take one drink and your wife or girlfriend must take two drinks. If your wife or girlfriend expounds upon this in greater detail (e.g., "I like it better when he's calling the Thursday night games with Mike Tirico, 'cause he looks so cute when he's wearing his glasses!"), you and your wife or girlfriend must each finish your drinks and you must ask, "Do any of you know a good therapist for couples' counseling?" If anyone knows a good therapist for couples' counseling, that person automatically becomes My Friend and The Runt gets to punch the new My Friend in the arm once.
Rule No. 13: Keith Jackson. Whenever Chris Fowler sends the show out to Keith Jackson for a preview, everyone must do a Keith Jackson impersonation. The last person to say, "Whoa, Nellie!" must take one drink.
Rule No. 14: Brent Musburger. Whenever Chris Fowler sends the show out to Brent Musburger for a preview, the rules of The Brent Musburger Drinking Game apply during the preview, with My Friend serving as "Gary My Man" and The Runt serving as "The Pardner."
Rule No. 15: Theme Song. While the "College GameDay" theme song is playing, the first person to say, "I miss Bubba Sparxxx," must take one drink. Anyone who voices his disagreement must take one drink while The Runt punches him in the arm.
Rule No. 16: Holly Rowe. If Holly Rowe starts to look good to you, stop drinking.
Rule No. 17: Lee Corso. If Lee Corso predicts that your team will win its next football game, you must finish your drink, pour yourself another drink, finish that drink, and let The Runt punch you in the arm nine times. If Lee Corso says something that makes sense to you, stop drinking immediately and never drink again.
When I first wrote and published it, the preceding piece got the attention of Sports Illustrated's "On Campus" page, Fanblogs, and Every Day Should Be Saturday, sparking a comment thread in which I owned up to having a thing for Bonnie Bernstein.
What can I say . . . I like gals who wear red and black!
I'll have a game day open thread up before I hit the road, so feel free to leave your comments about the game there. In the meantime, you heard it here first: Georgia 44, Western Kentucky 7.
Go 'Dawgs!