The University of Georgia in Athens is a pretty place. Set in rolling hills with many stately old trees and buildings, it has a real 'old-time' college atmosphere - as well it should, having been founded in 1785 or 1801, depending on how you look at it. Many familiar sights abound for the seasoned SEC traveler, The Varsity, the famous 'trestle' (scandalously, now hidden from view when inside Sanford Stadium). The appearance of Stegeman Coliseum (where the Gymdogs prowl), however, well, I suppose it is an acquired taste. Oh, it has a certain 'old field-house' charm to it, I suppose. And it's only fair to admit that a non-Alabama fan once told me, with some justification, that Coleman Coliseum reminded him of one of those homemade 55-gallon oil drum Bar-B-Q grills. Making something that big look good must be a challenge. All sorts of designs have been tried in the SEC, with indifferent success. LSU's coliseum appears to have been influenced by the 'Early UFO' period of architecture. Florida's structure simply defies description, inside and out. Auburn's building has to be considered a wild success in coliseum architecture by managing to be almost entirely nondescript. I'm told by fans of schools I've never visited (e.g., Tennessee, Kentucky, etc.) that their coliseums are actually quite attractive. I'm skeptical. (Might be one of those 'eye of the beholders' things?)

Perhaps my opinion of the 'old field-house' was affected by the weather. It was, in a word, miserable. During the drive over the cold rain varied between a nasty mist, a driving downpour, and everything in between. Has it rained at every meet this year, or does it just seem that way? A not inconsiderable portion of the announced sell-out crowd was 'disguised as empty seats', no doubt because of the weather. If fact, the crowd that was there seemed a bit subdued, at least at the beginning of the meet. Our mood was a bit subdued, as well, when we learned that Andree Pickens had sustained a 'mild concussion' in practice during the week. Thankfully, she appeared to be in good health and spirits. And, although as a precaution she did not compete, Andree' spent the evening hustling around helping with the warm-ups and cheering on her teammates.

Those teammates of Andree's knew they had big - well, I guess you can't say shoes - 'grips' to fill. And, while it would be ridiculous to say that they didn't miss her, they did a remarkable job. The meet was a back and forth affair, as we have become accustomed to with Georgia this year. It really did once again come down to the last gymnast on the last event. Bama's prowess on balance beam showed up in a big and timely fashion, actually managing to put pressure on Georgia's floor exercise rotation (no small feat). After the meet, Coach Yoculan said, "Not having Pickens hurt them, but I don't think we had that good of a meet . . . It was a close meet, a great win, but when we have a good meet we'll blow them away."* Brave words, but with an element of truth to them. Georgia does have a lot of potential. I am particularly impressed with one of their freshmen, Cory Fritzinger. However, I don't agree with Coach Yoculan's comment that they could "blow" us "away." Georgia scored a 49.7 on the floor exercise, three tenths of a point short of perfect, yet still beat us by less than two tenths. If they score 49.7 on floor in an away meet, or in a tournament at home for that matter, then maybe I'll start becoming a believer.

No, I think these two teams have shown themselves to be almost dead even this year. We tied them in a six-team tournament and we beat them at home by the same margin by which we lost to them in Athens. That's about as even as you can get. You can always play the 'what if' game: what if Andree' had competed, what if Georgia hadn't 'blown-up' on beam. But the truth is, you're always going to have something, some obstacle, to overcome in every gym meet. How you are able to react to those problems is the important thing. Alabama went to the site of this year's National Championship, they competed before the most 'hostile' crowd they will see this year, they competed without the help of one of the best gymnasts I've ever had the privilege to see - and still Georgia had to be almost perfect in the end to beat them. Of course you'd rather win, but if you must lose, make it a loss you can use to spur you on toward your ultimate goal.

*Quoted from the Sunday, March 4, 2001-edition of the Athens Daily News/Athens Banner-Herald.