Once upon a time, in 2018, hearts across the Bulldog nation broke

After a battle of a National Championship game in which the Dawgs led for most of playtime, Bama came back for Saban to win another one of his God-knows-how-many titles.

The next morning, a rainy day in January, it felt like the entire state of Georgia was in mourning. So instead of rehashing all those feelings of disappointment—especially with what happened at the SEC Championship in December—over here at Pretty Southern, we decided to pivot to positivity.

Taking down Christmas decorations this weekend, it hit me to craft a little poem, inspired by “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Just a little something to inspire y’all as we brace for this game.

And now Pretty Southern is proud to present,’Twas the Night Before the National Championship

‘Twas the National Championship, when all through the South;
Not a Bulldog was bragging, not even the loudest mouth

After eating oranges over Michigan on New Year’s Eve;
No one forgot what happened with Bama back in 2018

Even with season failures to teams like Auburn and A&M;
The Red & Black nation braced for Saban to beat us again

The Dawgs up in Indy were tucked in their hotel beds;
While visions of winning danced in their sweet heads

Our boys in silver britches, and Coach Kirby in his cap,
Said this was not the year to mess up another snap

When out on the field there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our seats to see what was the matter.

Away to the end zone, Stetson threw like a flash,
Our offense showed up, and will continue to bash

Jordan Davis holds our defense in his 6-foot-6 power
We all know now was the time for UGA’s finest hour

Because what did our scorned hearts most fear?
But Bama once again crawling up on our rear

Memories of past upsets came flushing back,
We held onto hope we could thwart this attack

Our coaches will watch ardently calling this game,
They’ll holler, and shout, and praise them by name:

“Now, Bennet! Now, Davis! Now Bowers, and Dean!
Go Kendrick! Go Young! Saban don’t be so mean!

To the top of the scoreboard! Let’s tear down this wall!
Now pass away! Dash away! Score touchdowns for all!”

We know in our hearts this team can carry us so high,
And Larry in heaven sayin’ “sugar’s fallin’ from the sky”

So up in the rankings, our Bulldogs had flown,
We can’t handle another season that wasn’t our own

And in just a few more hours, we’ll have final proof
If Saban is really the devil, and that’s the real truth

The Bulldog Nation does believe this win can do down;
Even if it’s been 40 years since we won our last crown

Hairy Dawg is ready to rock, all lit up for his team
With UGA ten, our “Que” ready to smile and beam

Millions will be watching, our Dawgs are back,
And ready to prove we are the mightiest of a pack

Our rings, how they can twinkle! Our trophy, so merry!
The winners won’t be in crimson, but red like a cherry!

Saban’s curt ‘lil mouth will yell, frown, and then pout
His nickname is ‘bug zapper’ for when his eyes do pop-out

The stumps of his legs carry up to grimacing teeth
We can only pray this game will end with a wreath;

Around his protégé Kirby’s neck, cementing his place
As one of the greatest coaches, filled with much grace

Our coach is a bit chubby and plump, but after COVID, who ain’t?
We have to laugh at ourselves, because this isn’t for the faint

Coming from a tough few years, we’re ready for a win
Because what better way for this new year to begin?

So now it’s game time, for the Dawgs to finish their work
And we’re all done with the critics, so don’t be a jerk

And so we close our thumbs to form into a fist,
Our right arms are flexed, and curled at the wrist

To commence the kickoff comes the sound of a whistle;
That stadium will rock, and every fan will bristle

The Bulldog Nation will cry from the roof

“GOOO DAWGS! SIC EM! WOOF WOOF WOOF”

Editor’s note: this article is contributed by Shane Vaiskauskas whose last byline I’ve Never Been Here Before was published after UGA’s SEC Championship in 2018

Rivalry week. Hate week. Bedlam week. Blood week. The final week of the college football regular season has come and gone, and with it have gone the hopes and dreams of the preternatural 20-year old athletes who compete and the soft-bodied, well-heeled boosters who finance them.

Michigan gave up 27 points to its rival at home in a snowstorm and the media was effusive in its praise. Georgia gave up 37 points to its rivals all season (Clemson, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia Tech) and earned scarcely a word.
Because, as Maitreyi Anantharaman over at Defector wrote, “the last chapter is all that matters.” Michigan overcame its 8-game drought against Ohio State in The Game, effectively ending the Buckeyes season in November for the first time in the better part of a decade. With a berth in the Big 10 Championship Game and a path to the College Football Playoff, their October loss to little brother Michigan State is a distant memory. Likewise, Oklahoma State dispatched rival Oklahoma in Bedlam for just the 19th time in 116 tries, setting up a date with Baylor for the Big 12 title and a likely CFP berth. And with that, its season-opening sleepwalks versus Missouri State and Tulsa are forgotten like a daydream.

But now that the regular season is done and dusted, it’s time for a wake-up call: Georgia has put together the best defensive season in history. Statistically, only 1986 Oklahoma — yes, starring The Boz —allowed fewer points in the modern era, though few consider the power run offenses of 35 years ago “modern” any longer. This isn’t some statistical anomaly created by a dull ground-and-pound, clock-control offense that shortens the game and protects the defense; Georgia had the third-ranked scoring offense headed into the weekend and the sixth coming out, despite scoring 45 against Georgia Tech. Such is life when averaging 40+ points per game in 2021. It also averages the 12th-fewest plays per game—a full 10 plays fewer per game than any higher-ranked scoring offense this year—to boot.

Not that this sort of defensive season needs more context, but it follows on the heels of two all-time great offenses in 2019 LSU and 2020 Alabama rewriting record books. With losses to both teams, the prolific passing attacks of its greatest SEC competition seemingly smashed Georgia’s entire defensive model and suggested, even according to defensive guru Nick Saban, that defense was dead in college football. To then witness the greatest defensive season in history amidst the most explosive offensive era in history, backed by a comparably explosive offense? This wasn’t supposed to be possible.

Perhaps it’s poetic justice, then, that Georgia plays Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game this Saturday with nothing to lose but a perfect record.

The Bulldogs and Tide teams have been on a crash course to meet in Atlanta all season, but few imagined the stakes for one side would be so low. As the last undefeated Power 5 team, Georgia’s ticket to the College Football Playoff is as good as punched. Beating Alabama in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Georgia was agonizingly close in consecutive meetings in the 2017 CFP Championship and 2018 SEC Championship, would secure a top seed in the CFP, keep a potential 15-0 season intact, and emphatically exorcise a crimson and white demon from its psyche. Losing to Alabama would mean surprisingly little. Georgia risks a lower CFP seed, sure, and a likelihood of a rematch with Alabama in the CFP as well, but when betting with house money, a bad beat stings a lot less. Sites like 온라인카지노 are proven as trustworthy betting sites for sports fans out there.

Because win or lose, the import of Saturday’s game won’t be known until a national champion is decided in January. Georgia hanging another SEC Championship banner won’t lessen the blow of failing to capitalize on such a historically great title opportunity. Conversely, the absence of the SEC banner will scarcely be noticed in Athens with a National Championship in the trophy case. That a season balances on this razor’s edge of immortality and irrelevance is one of the cruel realities of life in the upper stratosphere of college football. Everything turns to ash if you lose your final game, but winning cures all ailments.

Because it really is all about that last chapter, and when you’re 12 games into a 12-win season, the last chapter doesn’t begin until New Year’s Eve. Though certainly, Georgia can close the book on Alabama this Saturday. Go Dawgs!

Go Dawgs!

Shane Vaiskauskas is a management consultant who lives in New York City with his wife and their daughter, plus their growing collection of board games. Shane grew up outside of Atlanta and, after the better part of a decade, graduated from the University of Georgia in 2009. He hosts a moderately popular Dungeons & Dragons podcast called Total Party Thrill, and tweets about sports and other meaningless games, @Mundangerous.

feature photo credit to Kathryn Skeean of The Red & Black. Follow Kathryn on Twitter as she’s one to watch as her career in photojournalism is just taking off