Cocktail Thursday: UT-Martin Edition

Are your Georgia Bulldogs getting ready to kick off yet another national title defense, this time without many of the contributors who made the past two national championships possible? Then you could probably use a drink. I can help you with that.

There are a lot of things that have made being a Georgia Bulldog fan a lot of fun over the past couple of seasons. But one which has contributed significantly to my enjoyment of the past off-season was the general tenor of my discussions with opposing fans. After the first championship win over Alabama many of our SEC and national coevals we’re convinced that Kirby Smart and his guys had gotten lucky. That Stetson Bennett would be a liability and that the losses on defense would catch up with the Red and Black in 2022.

So much for that narrative. Watching Florida and Auburn fans contemplate that they might never see their teams ascend to the SEC mountaintop again, that there’s a new dynasty in the making and it ain’t them was really the creamy schadenfreude topping on a sundae of football delight.

The other thing that has been a true joy has been watching fans of opposing college football teams gamely come up with excuses and wishful thinking about how the Bulldogs aren’t really that special. Over the past few months I have watched opposing fans get their knickers in a twist over the Bulldogs supposedly easy schedule, continue to swear that a friend of a friend of their brother-in-law knows that Kirby is cheating, and generally accuse the University of Georgia of being a lawless place totally devoid of any sense of decorum or morality.

I could not care less. As my former colleague Spencer Hall once ryely noted as an Urban-era Florida fan, class is what you whine about after you lose. There is no more effective come back, and no better palate cleanser for the soul than simply being able to point to the metaphorical scoreboard.

What is the appropriate drink for reveling in the salty, sour complaining of haters to your left and right? A Southbound Brewing Islandia Sour. The brewmasters at this Savannah purveyor of great beer have come up with a refreshing, fruity elixir with notes of pineapple, mango and passion fruit. It’s sour, but it’s a pleasant, not overpowering sour. Kind of like watching Alabama and Tennessee fans wonder if they’ll get over that championship hump again.

This thread will also be the ad hoc open thread for anyone intrepid enough to comment on the Florida/Utah Thursday night tilt. Have a great evening, and….

Go ‘Dawgs!!!