Are you ready for some football?

OK so who had the best Saturday this past weekend? I did, I did! As I mentioned, kuntry bride, my friend Paige, and I all went up to Athens for Football 101 for women up at UGA. It's a program they started 5 or 6 years ago that has had a lot of success. Basically, the Georgia football coaches put together an entire day of football fun for ladies only... we learn about the game (more than you would ever want to know), we get access to all the private stuff like the locker room and all the fab facilities the football players use everyday. They fed us a great seated lunch at the Georgia Center while Coach Mark Richt answered questions from the audience. (And yes, fellow Dawgs, he's even cuter in person. I got his autograph and he's got big hands. FYI.) Then later in the afternoon we got to throw on some jerseys and go out on the practice fields and put what we learned to work (sorta). Oh and (again, fellow Dawgs) I rode an elevator down with Mike Bobo at one point - just us two. That was kinda funny... we had a bit of awkward small talk. He was the QB when I started at UGA and is now the offensive coordinator.

I gotta tell you, I have a whole new appreciation for our football players. Ninety minutes outside in the heat and I was done. Like forever. After some fun on the field, we walked up campus a bit to the stadium and got to go out on the field to get a player's view. Pretty wicked, indeed. Probably a lil different when it's filled with 100,000 screaming fans, but yeah.... still cool. And we also got to peek inside the boys' locker room at the stadium. Which is cool, because now I can actually picture where they are at halftime when Coach Richt is chewing our boys out pumping our boys up for the second half!

Saturday got me ALL geared up for football season and it's only June... haha! Georgia girls, if you ever get the chance to do this, DO it! It sells out every year and I just happened to get lucky... I was able to snag my boss' tickets by chance this year. It's a very limited event and it sells out wicked fast. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics (they're kinda lousy because they're all from my phone - we were so unprepared!)...

Waiting in line for a photo opp and autograph from Mark Richt - UGA's head coach.

Professor Mike Bobo teaching us some plays. This went WAY over our heads. Information overload.

This was a video viewing room where the players watch... videos. Loved the giant Uga! And that "Finish the Drill" motto was EVERYWHERE.

The locker room was seriously the coolest part. Pretty damn swanky. This was one of many "halls" of lockers.

A closer look at some of the lockers. Inside each one (you can't see it here), they had brass plates with every past player that wore that particular number. Lots of history here...

This is the ceiling in the center of the locker room. The halls of lockers extend from every side and this open area is in the middle.

We also got a peek inside the weight room and the head trainer talked about their workouts and a couple of the players came out and did some hefty demonstrations for us. Remind me never to complain about my workouts ever again!

They had countdown clocks to all the big rival games. This one was my favorite.

Here we are outside getting coached by Tereshinski

Huddlin' up. Can you tell which one I am?!

Sanford Stadium

Looks a little different without all the fans!

SEC Football: Is there anything better?!

Well the answer is no, so don't try to convince me otherwise. We beat each other up year after year because we have so many killer teams. Georgia's schedule this year is really tough, as usual... I really don't like being ranked #1 - it's a curse if you ask me. But we'll see how things pan out in the next few months! Anyway, I just got this email with some football funnies - and amazingly, I hadn't seen these before. So I just had to share!

And just a warning - we in the South take our college football very seriously. Yeah, we all have NFL teams, but I couldn't tell you the first thing about the Atlanta Falcons. Haven't been to a Falcons game since... hell I don't even know. I couldn't care less about the NFL. It's all so commercial to me. College footall is where it's at down here! I can't even describe the sense of pride you feel when your team comes running out on the field and the stadium just ROARS. Gotta love it! Hopefully the spacing is not too screwy - I copied and pasted this from an email. Enjoy, and GO DAWGS!

SEC Football

Planning for the fall football season in the South is radically different than up North. For those who are planning a football trip South, here are some helpful hints.

Women's Accessories:
NORTH: Chap Stick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.
SOUTH: Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks, waterproof mascara, and a fifth of bourbon. Money not necessary - that's what dates are for.

Stadium Size:
NORTH: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.
SOUTH: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

Fathers:
NORTH: Expect their daughters to understand Sylvia Plath.
SOUTH: Expect their daughters to understand pass interference.

Campus Decor:
NORTH: Statues of founding fathers.
SOUTH: Statues of Heisman trophy winners.

Homecoming Queen:
NORTH: Also a physics major.
SOUTH: Also Miss America .

Heroes:
NORTH: Rudy Giuliani.
SOUTH: Herschel Walker & Peyton Manning.

Getting Tickets:
NORTH: 5 days before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus.
SOUTH: 5 months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus, make a large financial contribution, and put name on a waiting list for tickets.

Friday Classes After a Thursday Night Game:
NORTH: Students and teachers not sure they're going to the game, because they have classes on Friday.
SOUTH: Teachers cancel Friday classes because they don't want to see the few hung over students that might actually make it to class.

Parking:
NORTH: An hour before game time, the University opens the campus for game parking.
SOUTH: RV's sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for the weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.

Game Day:
NORTH: A few students party in the dorm and watch ESPN on TV.
SOUTH: Every student wakes up, has a beer for breakfast, and waves to the idiots up north who wonder why 'Game Day Live' is never broadcast from their campus.

Tailgating:
NORTH: Raw meat on a grill, beer with lime in it, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.
SOUTH: 30-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn. Cooking accompanied by live performance from the Dave Matthews Band, who come over during breaks and ask for a hit off bottle of bourbon.

Getting to the Stadium:
NORTH: You ask 'Where's the stadium?' When you find it, you walk right in.
SOUTH: When you're near it, you'll hear it. On game day it is the state's third largest city.

Concessions:
NORTH: Drinks served in a paper cup, filled to the top with soda.
SOUTH: Drinks served in a plastic cup, with the home team's mascot on it, filled less than half way with soda, to ensure enough room for bourbon.

When National Anthem is Played:
NORTH: Stands are less than half full, and less than half of them stand up.
SOUTH: 100,000 fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.

The Smell in the Air After the First Score:
NORTH: Nothing changes.
SOUTH: Fireworks, with a touch of bourbon.

Commentary (Male):
NORTH: 'Nice play.'
SOUTH: 'Dammit, you slow sumbitch - tackle him and break his legs.'

Commentary (Female):
NORTH: 'My, this certainly is a violent sport.'
SOUTH: 'Dammit, you slow sumbitch - tackle him and break his legs.'

Announcers:
NORTH: Neutral and paid.
SOUTH: Announcer harmonizes with the crowd in the fight song, with a tear in his eye because he is so proud of his team.

After the Game:
NORTH: The stadium is empty way before the game ends.
SOUTH: Another rack of ribs goes on the smoker, while somebody goes to the nearest package store for more bourbon, and planning begins for next week's game.

HOW MANY SEC STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?

At VANDERBILT: It takes two, one to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at Harvard.

At GEORGIA: It takes two, one to change the bulb and one to stabilize the rolling beer cooler the bulb changer is using for a ladder.

At FLORIDA : It takes four, one to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to get stoned off the old one. [All while wearing jean shorts, I'm sure.]

At ALABAMA : It takes five, one to change it, three to reminisce about how The Bear would have done it, and one to throw the old bulb at an NCAA investigator.

At OLE MISS: It takes six, one to change it, two to mix the drinks and three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion.

At LSU: It takes seven, and each one gets credit for five Semester hours.

At KENTUCKY : It takes eight, one to screw it in and seven to discuss how much brighter it seems to shine during basketball season.

At TENNESSEE: It takes ten, two to figure out how to screw it in, two to buy an orange lamp shade, and six to phone a radio call-in show and talk about how much they hate Alabama.

At MISSISSIPPI STATE : It takes fifteen, one to screw in the bulb, two to buy the Skoal, and twelve to yell, 'GO TO HELL, OLE MISS'.

At AUBURN: It takes one hundred, one to change it, forty-nine to talk about how they did it better than at Bama and Georgia, and fifty to get drunk and roll Toomer's Corner when finished.

At SOUTH CAROLINA : It takes 80,000, one to screw it in and 79,999 to discuss how this finally will be the year that they have a decent football team.

At ARKANSAS : None. There is no electricity in Arkansas.

Random Laughs: Ugly Betty

Yeah this is totally random, but I was watching this old episode of Ugly Betty on Tivo and I was just cracking up. I adore this show, and the Slater-Bradford wedding episode is one of my favorites. If you're not watching this show, you are SO missing out. I can't wait for it to come back this fall! Here are a couple of my favorite scenes from this particular episode...

The first showcases Posh Spice's scenes - she had a guest appearance (as herself) as Wilhemina's last minute MOH. My favorite scene is Wilhemina's final gown fitting with Vera Wang (playing herself). This is mayjah! And who wouldn't want a booty bop from Vera Wang?!




And then later at the wedding... when the ceremony is interrupted, Wilhemina probes her assistant to stall. So he shoves Amanda up there to entertain the guests with her vocal stylings.



Just a couple of good laughs for Thursday. Enjoy! :-)


Oh and on a completely random note - how the hell do those volley ball chicks keep from getting wedgies?! There's got to be some seriously powerful product they're using to keep those suits in place. And the hub and I also discussed how all these athletes must have waxers on staff. There's some serious hair removal going on here.

Reader Poll: What Olympic sport would you add?

While driving to work this morning, my local radio show was talking about starting a new sport as a way to get into the Olympics - jokingly, of course. Sort of. And that got me thinking about what sport I'd add to the Olympics if anyone asked for my input. Which they should! But they usually don't.

I think my idea is totally awesome though. Bestest and I always joke that if people would just listen to us, the world would be a better place. Humility at its finest! Anyway, so if *I* were to add a sport, it would be partner stunting - as in cheerleading. Now I'm not about to get into the controversial topic of whether cheering is a sport or not... but y'all, if people can win gold medals for jumping on a freaking trampoline, surely this is worth consideration.

Now I'm not talking about full squads competing here. There are lots of elements to cheerleading. I cheered for many years, so yeah I have my opinions on it, sure. The gymnasts have got the tumbling covered, so no need to have more of that. I don't really care about seeing actual chanting or dance numbers... but stunting? Yes, that could work. And I think the best bet - at least initially - would be partner stunting. Teams of two - a guy and a gal - that perform a routine throwing trick after trick after trick. The routines are about a minute long - I found one on You Tube so you could see what I'm talking about.

Totally medal worthy, don't you think? I guess the question is... do any other countries do partner stunting? Well I bet you they'd start!

So today's question, readers... what Olympic sport would YOU add?

The US girls have landed...

Don't you just want to pinch Shawn's little cheeks? And by cheeks I mean her face or her bum. Both are equally cute and pinch-worthy.

Go Team USA! Woot woot!