Commissioning's Over: Back to Football

Last weekend was just too busy to write about football. It was all I could do to upload my commissioning photos and post on the blog about Davis's big day. But now that's over, and I can think about football again.

I recorded the Georgia-South Carolina game on the DVR, and I watched it Sunday night. I have to say, it looks like Mark Richt did light a fire under his Bulldogs last weekend. Although the score didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, that last half was pretty darn exciting.

This week, Georgia's shifting gears, transitioning from a contest against Steve Spurrier's Division I SEC team to playing Coastal Carolina University, a school I'd never heard of until I saw Georgia's schedule a few weeks ago. I didn't even know what their team name was until a few minutes ago. It's the Chanticleers.

We're playing roosters again.

At least South Carolina's roosters have a tough name. Gamecocks fight each other till the death. What do Chanticleers do? They crow. In fact, they crow so loud that they fail to notice the lurking foxes that eventually take them by the throat.

I should have more respect for the Chanticleers. Obviously, someone in their athletic history read The Canterbury Tales.  I suppose I should recognize that Chanticleer was a proud rooster, pride's always a good attribute for a team. But Chanticleer's pride was also his downfall. The only reason he saved his own life was because the fox was just as prideful as he was. But I'd be willing to bet that many football fans don't know (or have forgotten) who Chaucer's fictional rooster is, and even if they do remember, Chanticleer is, well, it's just not a good football team name. It's not tough enough.

Chanticleer is only slightly better than the football team name Macon, Georgia's former Central High School had. When the school still operated under the name Lanier High School, named for Georgia's Sidney Lanier, the athletic teams were named the Poets. I get the connection, but honestly, poets just aren't at all intimidating. It seems to me that if a school is going to name its team after poets, at least make them epic poets. And if a team is going to be named after a chicken, why not the Leghorns? Or the Wyandottes? Even the Appenzellers.

But the Chanticleers? 

But let's set the name aside for now. The Chanticleers don't even talk tough. I guess they know they'll be playing out of their league this weekend. During yesterday's press conference, CCU head coach David Bennett said, "We are the small guys. Hey, they're the dogs. We are going to have to fight the dogs off." He also added, "We can't worry about the score. We've got to go play the game." Hmm. To me, that's code for "We're going to lose. But that's okay because the Dawgs need a win. We'll be the ones to give it to them."

If Georgia doesn't beat this team, those Dawgs will have egg all over their faces.