I haven’t talked much about the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party this year. Especially when one considers that, as October wound down last year, I dedicated an entire week to a diatribe of loathing against the University of Florida. I invited the enemy into my bosom to speak in favor of his loathsome, repitilian team. I made a lot of grand statements and talked a lot of trash.
And then, this happened. So, I decided to go for a more understated approach this season.
It isn’t just that I’m still sore from that thrashing or that I’ve found love in my heart for the bastards from Gainesville. I hate the Gators more than any other sporting team on the planet. It is just that I’m a pragmatist. It is hard to talk much trash when you’re headed for a near certain ass whooping. The Gators are the defending National Champions, they are the unaninamous number one team in the country, they’ve won 16 of the last 19 games with the Dawgs. Georgia, on the other hand, is unranked, having struggled to a 4-3 record on the season. They have been wildly inconsistent on both sides of the ball. They are about 16 point underdogs in Saturday’s game.
God I hate losing to the Gators.
But here is the thing: the Dawgs can win. Florida has shown more than one weakness in the last several weeks. A really bad Arkansas team nearly took them out in Gainesville. An even worse Mississippi State team gave them a good scare last week. Florida is beatable. They have never had a perfect season, despite winning two of the last three national championships. I think that they are due a loss this season as well. And every now and again the good guys get to win.
The Dawgs can win.
But the probably won’t.
I fully expect the team that collapsed in Knoxville a few weeks ago to take the field in Jacksonville on Saturday. Georgia seems to have some sort of mental block when they step out onto the field at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. I am pretty certain that Florida’s stifling defense is going to shut down Georgia’s ineffective offense. I’d be willing to put a large sum of money on I hope I’m wrong, because I have a chance to watch this game live on the TV. For the second time in four years, and the second time this season, the Dawgs will be playing on Australian free-to-air TV. So, come 6 a.m. Sunday morning, I’ll be there with the rest of the Bulldog Nation. Fairly certain of defeat but still hopeful, as our boys take the field. I’ll drag my boys downstairs to watch my alma mater take the field against their most loathsome opponent. And I’ll watch the whole blasted game. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be surprised.
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One of my favorite British acts, The Broken Family Band released their latest LP, “Please and Thank You” earlier this year. If it stands up to 2005’s “Welcome Home Loser” it is worth the purchase price. Get these two and more by the Broken Family Band at 
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