Dawgs in the National Championship

There was an overwhelming fear that weighed on the shoulders of every human in the bar that night as the clock wound down to the final seconds.  The score was tied at 20-20 and Alabama lined up to win the game with a 36-yard field goal.

“We’re running out of the tunnel tonight and this guy over here next to me, 27, comes by me and says ‘I’ll go anywhere with you and I’ll follow you anywhere and I’ll fight for you because I believe in you,’” said Georgia football’s head coach Kirby Smart as he fought through tears in the post-game conference.  Fight was exactly what the Bulldogs did for four full quarters of football.

Under the blue, yellow and red neon lights of the bar, the students of the University of Georgia shared more than just a school and a glass of beer.  The students felt the same fear, the same hope and the same prayers.  It was fear that the success of the season came down to the last few seconds, and to a field goal that was sure to win the game.  It was hope that by the grace of God and football, something would go wrong with the kick.  And it was a prayer that the Bulldogs would have one more chance at bringing home the title.

Then there was the hike; the beginnings of a play being executed.  The snap went to the holder and there in that split second it was up to the swing of a foot.  In the loudest silence, Alabama kicker Andy Pappanastos missed the 36-yard field goal to win the game.  The Bulldogs would have a chance at overtime.  Within moments, silence turned to a sound one can only explain with a feeling.  That sound was an answered prayer.