Happy Thanksgiving, Dawgsports readers! I don't have to tell you that these are not the best of times. No, I'm not talking about the Florida game. Or the Kentucky game.

The fact is we Bulldog fans have a lot more things to be thankful for this holiday season than we do to be bitter about, including:

• The fact that we're 9-2  with some considering it a "down year", while our in-state rivals are 8-3 and feel like they're on top of the world.
• Nick Saban is apparently building a powerful program over in Tuscaloosa and rotating the heck off our schedule for the time being.
• We have a quarterback who we're publicly beseeching to come back for another year, rather than one everybody wishes had already graduated.
• Even with 1/3 of our team on crutches and 1/4 either in traction or suffering from ebola, rickets, or monkeypox, we're still better than we were during the Donnan Era.
• Baba O'Reily.
• The last time Georgia lost to Georgia Tech, our current freshman class was in the 5th grade.
• Speaking of which, A.J. Green is a freshman.
• So are Cordy Glenn, Ben Jones and Deangelo Tyson.
• We haven't lost to Syracuse.
• Or gone 3-9 under our supergenius spread-erific new coach.
• Sanford Stadium hasn't been hijacked by Somali pirates.
• Or the Dread Pirate Leach. Yar.
• Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, waffle fries and an ice cold Coca Cola.
• Fried chicken, potato salad and an ice cold Coca Cola (with bourbon).
• The Lone Bugler.
• Rennie Curran, the Liberian Dream.
• Mo Massaquoi not saying "To hell with this" after his sophomore season.
• Beating Auburn, no matter how small the margin or inconsequential the result in the SEC title race.
• The best crop of bloggers in intercollegiate sports. I don't know if we have any Heisman winners in the bunch, but we've got more quality depth than I could possibly link to. I'm not even going to try.
• David Greene's hidden ball play fake. It still makes me smile.
• Mark Richt changing his mind and calling Vince Dooley in the middle of the night to accept the Georgia job.

And as for me personally, I'm thankful for my family, especially my wife (who allows me to tell her that my blog posts will take "5 more minutes" when she knows that in fact that's merely how long it will take me to find the right synonym for "palaverous"). I'm thankful that Kyle King gave me a call and said, roughly "Come give this site a try. I can't guarantee you money or fame, but you'll have a good time." He was right. About the money, the fame, and the fun.

I'm thankful for the first time one of my posts was linked by the Washington Post online edition. Because, in all candor, we filthy bloggers do enjoy the occasional hat tip from those mainstream media types, even though we do occasionally give them unshirted hell. I'm thankful for all of you who click over to read this site with your morning coffee. You have no idea what an honor that is. The fact that there are 2,500 or more of you on a daily basis still hasn't sunk in, even now. That's about 2,498 more than I envisioned when I started MaconDawg's Blawg. 

And finally, I'm thankful that I live in a country where I can enjoy the tailgating beverage of my choice, so long as I don't set foot on the sidewalk with it or enjoy so many of them that I start dancing like Christopher Wulkan in a Fatboy Slim video.

Therefore, in honor of Thanksgiving, I urge you to imbibe the pregame cocktail of your choice. And I urge you to post its recipe in the comments section, along with a list of the things you're thankful for on this very special day. Here's to you, Dawgsports readers. I'm raising a glass to you today. Until later . . .

Go 'Dawgs!!!