For nearly two months now, I have been leading the charge for a clash of top-tier athletic programs between Georgia and Michigan.
It appears that I am going to get my wish this weekend . . . only not in the sport I had intended.
The Red and Black will travel to Ann Arbor for the final regular season gymnastics meet of the year between No. 1 Georgia (14-0) and No. 9 Michigan (11-1-1).
Not so much what we in The Movement were expecting.
This will be the 12th dual meet between the Red and Black and the Maize and Blue since 1996. The Gym Dogs are 10-1 in their last 11 meetings with the Wolverines.
Suzanne Yoculan's squad is not intimidated by the prospect of having to compete in the opposition's home arena. Including a pair of wins over fifth-ranked Oklahoma, Georgia has beaten seven of the gymnastics teams currently ranked in the top 10 and three of those victories (over No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Alabama, and No. 6 Utah) were on the road.
A win in Crisler Arena on Saturday would make this the sixth season since 1992 in which the Gym Dogs completed their regular season schedule with a perfect record. Three of the previous five such squads went on to win the N.C.A.A. championship and none finished lower than third in the final standings.
Suzanne Yoculan, a proven winner and an outspoken coach who is believed capable of crushing ordinary mortal men like Xenia Onatopp in "Goldeneye." Also, she has a peninsula in Mexico named after her.
Saturday night's meet against Michigan presents a real challenge for Georgia. In addition to their top 10 ranking, the Wolverines boast five returning all-Americans from last year's squad, which captured the Big Ten crown and earned a fifth-place finish in the N.C.A.A. championships.
Coach Yoculan's 2006 gymnastics squad very well may be on the verge of achieving something quite special and we as Georgia fans should hope that, if the Bulldogs and the Wolverines ever again meet in football, the two schools will be represented on the gridiron on that Saturday by teams as talented and accomplished as those who will be competing on the balance beam this Saturday.
Go 'Dawgs!