Rainey Thoughts

IT'S FINALLY HERE, Y'ALL!! Today is the shining beacon of happiness among the pollen-filled misery of Spring when we finally get some college football action! We rode the wave of excitement from National Signing Day and all the coaching changes right into Spring practice, and today is the day when we get to see how things are starting to shape up with the "new"team. Granted, this game means absolutely nothing, as SO much will change between now and the first game of the year. In case you forgot, this guy hasn't even made it to Athens yet: Until then, we get to watch the team without the graduating players and draft hopefuls, and we also get a first look at early enrollees. I tried to take notes during the game, but I'm too ADD for that, so I ended up just watching and enjoying the spectacle.  Here are my brief thoughts: *RED TEAM- 1st team offense, 2nd team defense *BLACK TEAM- 2nd team offense, 1st team defense Winners: Rush defense Ev...

February is a busy month. My birthday, Valentine's Day (which would be a billion times better if Spree Hearts would make a comeback...), and Winter break for the school system in which I teach give me plenty to look forward to in the second month of the new year. But my favorite day of February isn't any of these.  It's National Signing Day.  Why, you may ask, do I like NSD better than my own birthday or most other women's favorite holiday? First of all, it's incredibly unpredictable, which makes the day especially exciting.  Kids commit to schools months out, but you never know until NSD if they will stay true to their word or flip to a rival school.  Additionally, analyzing the recruits gives me something to do until football season comes back around (which seems to take FOREVER). Most importantly, it's a day packed with sentimental value.  We get to watch countless young men take the first step in making their dreams come true.  Some of these may not hav...

Lucky for me, I got to be at the game today to witness all the excitement! Any time you get to watch a game from Sanford Stadium, even one against a nobody team when most of the students have gone home for Thanksgiving, the atmosphere is indescribable.  Electric, really. At one point I even stopped (Not in the middle of the sidewalk, though. I hate when people do that.) and thought about how proud I am to cheer for such a great team.  Not just this year's team, but teams from every other year that I've been around. Great players, great leadership, great traditions.  And while many people still find reasons to complain (or look reaaallly hard to find reasons to complain), I guess I just have a different set of qualifications for what makes a team great.  The teams that come through UGA do things the right way.  They play with heart, and they continue to make me proud to be a fan. Win or lose. Observations of the day: Our offense is virtually unstoppa...

I'm baaaack! It's been a long time since my last post.  I didn't do a Kentucky recap because I was on a hiking trip and had to watch the game in bits and pieces.  So at kickoff, this was my view.  Can't really complain too much. Quick thoughts on Kentucky before we move on: I'm still a little shocked at how easy we handled that game.  I thought we'd have to give a little more effort to get the win. Kentucky, meet Lorenzo Carter. And now for this week.  I'll be honest, I'm still not 100% sure I believe the game really happened that way, so my observations are probably a bit scattered and not as thorough as usual.  But here goes nothing: Hutson Mason looked good.   Even as a huge Hutson Mason critic, I love being able to give him credit when he deserves it.  He made some great passes Saturday, and his excellent stats would have been even better were it not for some great defensive plays by Auburn's secondary.  Lots of pas...

Well, that was a disaster.  I can't say I expected to win (I didn't.  I even turned down 4 tickets because of my now-justified pessimism), but I definitely didn't expect to look so bad losing.  This team looked incredibly sloppy and unenthusiastic the entire game.  Even when they were ahead, they didn't seem to be playing with much fire.  When they FINALLY started to look even slightly motivated, it was too late.  The damage was already done. My observations are going to be brief-ish tonight, because I just want to move on from this one and not think about it anymore: We can win without Gurley, but apparently we can't win without David Andrews. That guy is the brains of our offense (now that Murray is gone), and after his injury things went south. When he was in the game, he couldn't effectively do the physical aspect of his job (heck, he could barely walk...), but when he was out of the game, it was clear how important to the offense he actually was. ...

Before I get into my recap, there's one important thing you should know about me.  I'm a realist.  I'm not a warm and fuzzy, optimistic person always dreaming up fairy-tale endings, but I'm not doom-and-gloom either.  I'm happily in between.  I am a logical thinker and I use facts and past experiences to draw conclusions about current situations.  So that's why when Uncle Dave texted me in the first half about the game, the conversation went something like this: Uncle Dave: Isn't that Hutson Mason some kind of QB! Me: So far so good! Uncle Dave: LOL you're a hard woman sweet niece Me: If Georgia has taught me anything, I've learned it ain't over til it's over. Exactly one hour later in the second half... Me: See what I mean now? My hesitation to start celebrating early after a dominant first half had nothing to do with Hutson Mason (more on him later), but more to do with the fact that I've seen too many times compla...

I have to admit right off the bat, I was extremely pessimistic coming into this weekend's game.  I figured if we were able to pull off a win, it would be by a very narrow margin.  Never did I expect we would exhibit a display of total domination that would end in our first road shut-out win vs. an AP-ranked team in school history.  The best part about the win? It was a beautiful display of teamwork and heart.  A complete team effort. I'm a Gurley girl all the way.  Like the rest of the country, I think the kid has incredible talent.  But I was also one of those people who thought he was our team.  In my opinion, he single-handedly won us most of the games we've played this year.  When Mason couldn't come through or our defense was falling apart, Gurley was Gurley.  This week proved me wrong.  This team came out ready to fight and win for a friend whom they loved and respected, and to prove to America that they are more than Gurley's as...