Georgia State Update

Alright. Want to hear about something that's NOT Disney?



Georgia State is 366 days away from it's first football season. Tomorrow, the one year countdown begins. There's a reception in the Student Center Ballroom where the new schedule will be discussed with the fans along with an introduction to the entire football team, including the incredible Head Coach, Bill Curry .

Seriously, check out that link. His record is quite impressive. Here is his profile:

Full Name: William Alexander Curry

Date of Birth: Oct. 21, 1942

Hometown: College Park, Ga.

Family: Married to the former Carolyn Newton

Children: Billy and Kristin; Grandchildren: Alex (10), Elliot (9), Evelyn (5), Claire (3), Brett (infant).

Education: Georgia Tech, 1965 (B.S. in Industrial Management); College Park (Ga.) High School

Playing Career:

Three-year letterwinner (1962-63-64) at Georgia Tech. Team captain in 1964.

Played 10 years as a center in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers (1965-66), Baltimore Colts (1967-72), Houston Oilers (1973) and Los Angeles Rams (1974)

Played in three Super Bowls with Green Bay (Super Bowl I) and Baltimore (Super Bowl III & V) and won three championships (Green Bay, 1965 & 1966; Baltimore, 1970)

NFL Pro Bowl, 1971 & 1972

Served as President of NFL Players Association

Coaching Career:

1976 Assistant Coach, Georgia Tech

1977-79 Assistant Coach, Green Bay Packers

1980-86 Head Coach, Georgia Tech

1987-89 Head Coach, Alabama

1990-96 Head Coach, Kentucky

2008-Present Head Coach, Georgia State

Honors:

Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, 1985

Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year, 1989

Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year, 1989

Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (AFCA), 2007

Member of Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

President Gerald R. Ford Legends Center Award, 2008

Other Experience:

Television analyst and contributing writer, ESPN, 1997-2007

Director of Leadership Baylor, Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tenn., 2006-08

Author of "Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle: Lessons from a Football Life"

Distinguished Executive Fellow, Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University

...

Don't just look at the numbers. They don't tell the whole story of this man. He is a great speaker and a sincerely nice person. If you ever get the chance to shake his hand, do it. You will be a better person for it.

The rest of the football staff will also (presumably) be there. I've seen most of these guys around, but don't really know them all that well. Except Assistant Coach of the Defensive Line, Chris Ward. Coach Ward is a nice guy so I certainly hope the D-Line does well to accurately represent the type of coach they play for.

PLUS there's a sneak peek at the new logo tomorrow! I love logos and the whole element of design, so I'm pretty gitty about the prospect. My understanding is it is sorta similar to the Florida Panthers logo.



A little preview of the schedule as well. Georgia State will play at the Alabama Crimson Tide in November of 2010. Yeah, we probably will get killed, but that's okay.

I miss Georgia State Athletics. I left after the semester ended in the Spring for school and the Braves.

There are some fantastic people there. Bobby, Carlos, Kevin. Everyone. The sense of humor is great and right up my alley. Not enough people in this world are that type of funny.

Carlos is a hockey fan, so we take in a few games when we get the chance. Of course, he's a Devils fan. He's almost all there upstairs in the brain, but he's got some work to do (Go Thrashers!). He used to be a Jersey Lifeguard, so I feel safe working at the Sports Arena.



Bobby's a little better in the sports department. He's not a hockey fan (boo!), but he IS a Braves fan (yay!). He worked for the Braves front office before jumping down here to Orlando, Florida and working for UCF (Central Florida). Now he's the head ticket guru for the Panthers. We seem to be living an odd, parallel-ish life. He could be my father. Probably not, but maybe. Or me in an alternate reality where being short is cool.



Olivett's there too. That's it. Nothing much more to say.

Of course I'm kidding. The wicked humor on this guy, just like the whole bunch. Kevin is probably the most likely to start clapping along with the servers in a restuarant when it's someone's birthday. Everyone else joins in. He's obviously the alpha male of the marketing department. He expects results. He achieves results. And he makes it a truly fun (almost uncomfortable) work environment.

Here's an example of the fun. I may have already told this story, but it's funny enough to repeat:

Okay, so I'm working at Turner Field on Cinco de Mayo. I'm in the office at our headquarters when an employee comes in and tells me that a fan is complaining and wants to speak to a supervisor.

This happens occassionally, so I'm used to it. I step outside with a member of the front office behind me and see Bobby and Kevin standing there. I know exactly what's going on, even though we hadn't planned anything. Looking at Bobby, I ask, "Can I help you?"

"Yes sir. I was told this is where I go to get my free sombrero."
"I'm sorry, sir. We don't have any..."

"NO! That guy told me to come here!"

"Sir, calm down. We don't..."

"I will not calm down. It's my friends first Braves game and we demand our sombreros!"

"Sir I..."

"Sombreros!"

"I don't..."

"Blah Blah Blah! I want my free sombrero!"

"Sir calm down."

"I will not be calm!"

"Sir?"

"WHAT?!?"

"Sir, would you like a hug?"

"Okay."

So we hugged on it.

The look on everyone's face, including the other employees was priceless. This fan was about to clock me and now we're just going to hug it out.

A similar back-and-forth was attempted later in the season with Bobby and Carlos. Bobby tried to act as an interpreter speaking Spanish and English. It was hilarious. So funny seeing Carlos yell in fake Spanish was so funny that I was unable to keep the skit going. I broke character. Oops.

I do miss working with these guys. They play a lot, but they also get the job done.

So, in honor of Georgia State Athletics, I'm spending my day off tomorrow wearing my Georgia State shirt and football hat. Pictures tomorrow. Also, be sure to look at Georgia State Sports tomorrow as well for all those updates.

By the way, every wondered what the Disney princesses act like backstage?



Oh, and Bobby. I got your sombrero, but some duck stole it!



(Yes. It's a reposted picture. But it fits so well here!)