'Pink out' touches Anderson

Georgia students observe a moment of silence in honor of Wendy Anderson, the wife of Arkansas State Coach Blake Anderson, before the game between the Bulldogs and Red Wolves on Saturday at Athens, Ga. Wendy Anderson died in August after a battle with breast cancer. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/915pinkout.
Georgia students observe a moment of silence in honor of Wendy Anderson, the wife of Arkansas State Coach Blake Anderson, before the game between the Bulldogs and Red Wolves on Saturday at Athens, Ga. Wendy Anderson died in August after a battle with breast cancer. See more photos at arkansasonline.com/915pinkout.

ATHENS, Ga. -- Blake Anderson knew what was coming.

Georgia's organized "pink out" at Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon in honor of his late wife Wendy -- who died of breast cancer less than two weeks before the season opener -- had been in the works since earlier in the week. But like most things in life, one doesn't fully grasp something until they've seen it with their own eyes.

Emotions flowed through the Arkansas State University coach as he glanced at his surroundings. Sanford Stadium -- a normally hostile environment -- became a place of comfort, sadness and hope all at the same time for the visiting coach and his team.

Even after the Red Wolves suffered through a 55-0 loss to the No. 3 Bulldogs, an emotional Anderson stood at the podium underneath the east end zone stands, fought back tears and thanked Georgia fans for the support, calling it "one of the classiest moves I've ever seen."

"Hard to truly prepare for something like that, so I would say thank you to all those that showed up today wearing pink or thinking pink," Anderson said. "They don't know my wife and they don't know me, and they didn't have to do it. Very grateful, honored and honestly overwhelmed."

The pink out was organized by the Athens nonprofit organization Bulldogs Battling Breast Cancer. The group, which has raised $750,000 since its inception in 2004 to fight against breast cancer, began spreading the word Tuesday on Twitter.

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"We want to show Coach Anderson that, regardless of the score on Saturday, he and his family are in our thoughts [and] prayers," the group's account tweeted. "If you're headed to Sanford Stadium on Saturday, please consider wearing at least a little pink, in honor of Wendy Anderson. #WearPinkForWendy #NotFightingAlone"

Prior to kickoff Saturday, Georgia held a moment of silence in honor of Wendy Anderson.

There was more than "a little pink" inside Sanford Stadium, too. Nearly half of the announced crowd of 92,746 showed up wearing it.

"That was pretty special," ASU junior center Jacob Still said. "It just kind of puts everything in perspective. It's bigger than football."

The Bulldogs' student section, which sits behind the visiting team's sideline, was especially loaded in pink. The front row was particularly decked out.

Thirteen students stood and turned their backs prior to kickoff, each one of them shirtless and covered in full pink body paint with "Remember Wendy" painted on their backs in black lettering with white trim.

"I've done everything I can leading up to kickoff to try not to just lose it, and I thought I actually held onto it pretty good," Anderson said. "I somehow kind of held it together when we came out, and maybe just the thought that I'm about to go play the No. 3 team in the country maybe had a lot to do with that. It's been extremely emotional and overwhelming."

As Red Wolves players headed off the field after the game and toward the northeast tunnel, ASU Chancellor Kelly Damphousse and Athletic Director Terry Mohajir were there in the corner to greet them with handshakes.

Moments later, Anderson left the field via that same tunnel.

"We love you, Coach Anderson!" a fan shouted.

Anderson headed up the tunnel and toward the Red Wolves' locker room, continuing to do the job he came back to just a week ago in Las Vegas.

"I feel [Wendy's] presence out there," Anderson said. "She's as competitive as I am and supportive of what we did and loved those kids. It's kind of the energy that keeps you going. I don't want to let her down either, and her legacy."

Sports on 09/15/2019

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