Sports are a great unifier. As the Governor of our great state of Georgia Brian Kemp said in Sanford Stadium, it’s about Red and Black, not Red or Blue. Reverend Chuck Hodges, in one of his Sunday morning messages at Athens First United Methodist, talked about his love for the Georgia Bulldogs and college football. “Everybody is for something.” There’s definitely something positive about that.

Togetherness. Passion. Unification. It is uplifting … even more so with —if you haven’t noticed a television commercial or two— a Presidential election on the near horizon.

When the Dawgs score a touchdown, you’re not asking the guy clad in red and black who you just high fived who they are voting for?

Sports are also a tremendous distraction. Especially college football in the deep south. Things might be really bad, but for those three to four hours on a Saturday this time of year, that focus, it’s all about the Georgia Bulldogs.

Every Monday during football season, powered by the technical expertise of the famous “Road Dawg” Adam Gillespie, I interview Georgia’s two-time National Championship Head Coach Kirby Smart for the Bulldog Radio Network. It’s one of the favorite parts of my job.

This is something I’ve been doing since the 2021 National Championship season. We’ve had a slew of victories and enormous clashes to talk about.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago, as we were meeting at the Butts-Mehre building following his weekly press conference, it was the first time we had done our interviews following a regular season loss. Georgia, fueled with a valiant comeback, had come up just short in Tuscaloosa. The setback ended an incredible 42-game regular season winning streak, the second longest in college football history, it should be noted.

The first thing we talked about was how important that game was. Not for rankings, playoff positioning or the race in the rugged Southeastern Conference for the two programs that have been the kingpins of college football. No, what was most important about this game was that it gave a lot of people going through awful ordeals, a chance to pause and focus on this great passion of the Georgia Bulldogs and college football.

Hurricane Helene, with an awful and cruel fury, cut a devastating swath of death and destruction, wreaking havoc upon millions of people throughout the southeast, including our beloved Georgia. Millions of lives were turned upside down by the wrath of Mother Nature.

The game in Tuscaloosa kicked off in the immediate aftermath.

A lot of people – A LOT of people – needed that break. It’s funny to call a Georgia football game a break, because —and yes some might call it immature and irrational— I still live and die with the Dawgs. Always have, always will. Georgia Football has been at the center of my universe for as long as I can remember. Yes, it is a big part of my job. It’s my business and profession. But first and foremost, I’m a fan. I love the University of Georgia. I love the Georgia Bulldogs.

Of course, I am not alone, many Bulldog brethren share the love, passion and angst.

Then something really awful happens and it puts things into perspective, and you remember what and why you really love it. As great as winning is, and the Bulldogs are winning now under Kirby’s watch at a bigger and longer rate than at any time in the grand history of the Georgia program, you remember it’s about more than the glory of victory. It’s the love, the pageantry, that togetherness, those sights, sounds and smells, the memories, those sacred Saturday’s we so savor.

The Sunday morning after the game at Alabama, a family from Augusta sat next to the Hall of Famer Kevin Butler, the Road Dawg and yours truly for the Bulldog Brunch at the Hilltop Grille. They hadn’t had power or water since the storm hit. They were trapped in their house because downed trees had blocked their driveway and street. But they finally got out, and made it to Athens and got to watch the game on TV with their daughter who lives here. Even though Georgia lost, they needed the Dawgs that night, and everything that goes with it.

This past Saturday’s game against Auburn marked a very special day.

My wife Emily is fighting cancer, tenaciously and bravely battling this dreaded disease. We have an army of love, support, friends, family, doctors, nurses and prayer that is absolutely overwhelming and indescribably uplifting.

Like her psychotic fan of a husband, Emily loves Georgia. The goal when she began a new round of treatment this summer was to make it to the Auburn game. A lot of wonderful people came together and she was there —with over 90,000 of our closest friends– at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium.

Like everyone else, including of course her husband, she was twisting and turning with every play, cheering Georgia on.

The unifier.

The distraction.

It was better than chemo.