FAYETTEVILLE — The Georgia Bulldogs have a proud, storied historyand much of that starts with Uga, the inveterate mascot of the school. In the last 50-plus years, few mascots have rivaled Uga's dignified yet cantankerous reputation for old-fashioned, hardnosed sportsmanship and teething on opposing players.
The pure white English bulldog lineage of Uga began in 1956. Uga was once voted as the nation's best college mascot by Sports Illustrated. While Uga VI may have succumbed to heart failure in 2008, the heartbeat of the long-time Georgia tradition carries on. The newest descendent to the Uga throne recently sat down with the Northwest Arkansas Times to discuss his upcoming visit to Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Times: Georgia compiled an 87-27 overallrecord during your predecessor's reign from 1999-2008. Uga VI is the school's all-time winningest mascot in victories and winning percentage at 76.3 percent. How in the world do you compete with that success?
Uga VII: You take it one game at a time and hope you can live long enough to win that many games.
We went 10-3 last year and I'm in the doghouse because of it. The high expectations are ruff.
I just hope that all my dogged determination doesn't get lost between the hedges.
Times: What is the toughest aspect about your job?
Uga VII: The travel can be brutal. I even getwinded traveling to home games. I'm not Wonder Dog. I get tired easily and need to lay down a lot. Sometimes I'm so tired I can't even lift my leg. Standing there looking mean isn't as easy as it looks. Plus, I can't eat as much as I want to on game day because they don't want me doing my business on the field. But there's only so much a Southern gentleman can take.
Times: Your grandfather made headlines for biting Auburn's Robert Baker in a 56-49 Georgia win Nov. 16, 1996. How does that make you feel?
Uga VII: Proud. Hungry. Itchy. But let me set the record straight - that Baker cat was taunting grandpaw. If you look closely at the picture, it looks like Baker is trying to give him a treat. You don't tease an Uga. You just don't do it.
Times: How many people have suffered Uga's wrath since 1956?
Uga VII: Fifteen, not counting Alabama cheerleaders, Florida fans or Steve Spurrier.
Times: What are you most looking forward to during your visit to Razorback Stadium?
Uga VII: This will my first time to Fayetteville and I'm looking forward to catching a whiff of Tusk. Oh, the sausage and bacon that guy's carrying around. He's like a walking buffet.
I imagine it's pretty intoxicating. I understand there are a lot of hills there so someone will have to carry me.
I'm also looking forward to making obscene gestures on college football's biggest Jumbo-Tron.
Times: Who's your favorite NFL football player?
Uga VII: Uh, well, I have several but I can tell you that one of them isn't Michael Vick. Making dogs run on treadmills just isn't right.
Times: This will be the second straight week you will appear on ESPN.
How have you dealt with the fame?
Uga VII: It's been tough with the paparazzi always hounding me and the liberal media sniffing around for interviews.
But since I'm not a cat, I only live once and so far I'm enjoying the attention. I really like it when the Georgia players rub my chin because they never wash their hands after using the bathroom. I guess you could say being a famous mascot really stinks, but in a good way.
Heath Allen is a sports writer for the Northwest Arkansas Times and has completely lost his mind.
News, Pages 9 on 09/20/2009