Games go on, but many traditions on hold
To the delight of fans young and old, an English bulldog named Uga has been stationed on the sideline at all but one Georgia home football game since 1956.
Charles Seiler, whose family has bred and cared for each of the Ugas all these years, said lots of people have told him they enjoy seeing the dog, adorned in his jersey with the big “G” on front, as much as the games themselves. Thousands of fans have their pictures taken with him.
“He’s so approachable,” Seiler said. “But in this day and age, because of what’s going on, it’s not good to approach.”
Uga X won’t be on hand for any games this season unless the Southeastern Conference changes its policy not allowing live mascots as part of its coronavirus precautions.
Many other beloved traditions, some dating to the 19th century, also are on hold or taking different forms this year because of the pandemic. The Grove at Mississippi is closed. War Eagle flights are grounded at Auburn. Fans won’t “Gather at the Paw” after games at Clemson.
These traditions and others are extremely meaningful, especially in the South, said Andrew McIlwaine Bell, who wrote the 2020 book “The Origins of Southern College Football: How an Ivy League Game Became a Dixie Tradition.”
“They create community and give people from different walks of life an awareness of their shared history and culture,” Bell said in an email to The Associated Press. “For many of us, game day rituals also bring to mind generations past, including departed friends and relatives who shared our love of college football and would enjoy seeing a modern game if they could somehow be here with us again.”
Some traditions will go on: The Ramblin’ Wreck (1930 Ford Model A) still leads Georgia Tech onto the field, Clemson players still touch Howard’s Rock before running down the hill. The Sooner Schooner is rolling along at Oklahoma.
Georgia, which opens at Arkansas on Saturday, plays its first home game Oct. 3 against Auburn and will allow about 16,000 fans inside Sanford Stadium. Uga, which stands for “University of Georgia,” will spend that day and other game days with Seiler and his family in Savannah, Georgia.
“We’ll have the game on, we’ll put his jersey on, and he’ll be able to listen to it,” Seiler said. “I have a feeling the networks are going to run out of stuff to show, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t try to catch me on a Zoom or maybe a video of him on game day sitting at the house.”
The only time Seiler can recall an Uga missing a home game was in 2009. Uga VII had died two days before the game, and Uga VIII wasn’t in place until the following week.
Diane Roberts, author of the 2015 book “Tribal: College Football and the
Secret Heart of America,” said college football “organizes our identity for us” and fans had hoped the season would go ahead so “none of our sacred rituals would be lost.”
“That would mean that things were ‘normal,’ and that the ‘rona was not the boss of us,” Roberts said in an email. “Unfortunately, the ‘rona is the boss of us.”
Other traditions that won’t be the same this season:
MISSISSIPPI’S GROVE The Grove has been the place to be for pregame socializing since the 1950s and is famous for students and older fans dressing to the nines: men in slacks, coats and ties and women in sundresses or cocktail dresses.