Do you remember when you became a Tech fan?

[684Bee]

I was born a Jacket. My dad is an IE, and I remember him teaching me the PG version of the fight song when I was 3 years old. We had many mutt fans in our family, but I was a daddy's girl - and I liked being different. I can relate to @Ash . I knew I was destined to go to GT from an early age because of my dad, and I made it my life's goal to graduate from GT. My dad actually didn't want me to attend Tech because when he attended in the 60s, it was hard for women - and honestly, I don't think he enjoyed it much. I fought him tooth and nail and finally wound up at Tech. I was there during the 1990 season as my first season at Tech! What a fun time. It was hard, but everything about going to school at Tech was all I ever dreamed it to be. Graduated at the top of my class (don't get too excited, I was a red-headed step child as a mgt major) I've been to 2 other colleges and taught at a 3rd, and NOTHING compares to Tech. It's special. And that is what I remember every game day, win or lose...

I tried to memorialize some of my love of Tech in a romantic mystery book I published this year (Red Dawg) that is dedicated to my dad: . Not to plug my own stuff - every dime of proceeds go to my church's charity to help soldiers - I just thought it might be appropriate in this thread to share since it is part of how much I love Tech.

Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Yoda]

Born into it. Old man graduated from Tech. Guess it was the Dewberry days when I officially became a fan.

 

[danny daniel]

My Dad grew up just off Techwood Dr. He went to O'Keefe HS but only finished the tenth grade. He was not so much of a football fan but he was a great fan and admirer of Bobby Dodd. He and Dodd were in their prime about the same time. I heard from my Dad about Coach Dodd from the time I was very small. My Dad had this misplaced vision of my playing for Coach Dodd one day. I did start and play HS football at 133 lbs but no way was I capable of playing at the college level. I was at Tech during Dodd's final years as head coach and afterward coached myself for 25 years. My daughter was at Tech for the 1990 NC. We will always be GT fans. The rest of the extended family are Dawg fans. Such is life.

 

[GT_EE78]

always was a fan that i remember as my dad was. Dad was possibly because he had a first cousin who played there and was team mvp in 1941.

http://laurenscountysportshistory.blogspot.com/2009/05/fiddling-fullback-story-of-wex-jordan.html

 

[GT_EE78]

always was a fan that i remember as my dad was. Dad was possibly because he had a first cousin who played there and was team mvp in 1941.

http://laurenscountysportshistory.blogspot.com/2009/05/fiddling-fullback-story-of-wex-jordan.html

Should have summarized as it's kind of a long read.....
After leaving Dublin High School, Wex played two seasons of football for Middle Georgia College. The following Fall, Wex enrolled at Georgia Tech. He was coached by the legendary W.A. Alexander. The backfield coach was Bobby Dodd. Wex was cited by his coaches as having his best games against Notre Dame, Alabama, and Georgia. He was awarded the Rhodes Trophy as the most valuable player for the 1941 Yellow Jackets.

For his outstanding play at guard, Wex Jordan was named to the All - Southeastern team by the sports staff of the “Atlanta Journal.” The only other Georgian on the team was his rival, Frank Sinkwich.In his senior year of Army R.O.T.C. at Tech, Wex was chosen as Captain of Company B of the First Battalion. He majored in Civil Engineering, attained honor graduate status. He entered the Army Air Corps and earned his wings in 1943.
Second Lieutenant Jordan was killed piloting U.S. Army Air Corps P-38G Lightning #42-12845, when his craft stalled and spun out of control at Point Loma, near San Diego, California. He served with the 329th Fighter Group, 330th Fighter Squadron.died 11 Nov 1943 (aged 22).

 

[GTBatGirl96]

I just missed being a fan for one of our best sports years ever (1990). My dad went to UNC, and I grew up a Tarheel/ACC fan. My grandfather (mother's side) attended NC State, and had seasons tickets for a while, and I remember going to games with him. Up until about sophomore year in high school, I was convinced that I was going to Chapel Hill and major in history or pre-law. And this is probably going to get me kicked off this board, but I remember cheering with my dad for UNC in that game where they tied us in 90. He still reminds me that game is our only blemish. I did turn down dook, so he got over that I didn't go to Carolina.
When it became apparent that engineering was a better fit, I was drawn to Tech due to their reputation, so I really started to be a fan around that time (~91). I remember watching our bowl game that my senior year (I think it was against Stanford, and I think it was decided by only a couple points) with my grandfather who was bedridden after a heart attack. He died of a stroke a week later, and that was the last quality time I spent with him. I think he would have been very proud to see me at State, and I feel kind of bad I didn't give them more consideration, but I'm really glad I went to Tech. I think later that spring was the NCAAT where James Forrest had that incredible buzzer beater to send us to the next round.
So then I finally got to campus, and found out we lost our coach and spent most of my undergrad in the BL years. ugh. We did have a few good years in MBB then; I still remember distinctly the night Bobby Hurley ran into a wall by the name of Malcolm Mackey, and Beesball had Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra, and Jay Payton.

And I will have you know that when the MBB team beat UNC to win the ACC tourney in 93, I really rubbed it in with my dad.

 

[TooTall]

Dad grew up about 30 miles east of Athens and wanted to be a jerk to some friends, so he became a Tech fan. I wore a 1990 Championship tshirt in a few school photos back in the day. I was in high school the last time we won 3 in a row and each year I made bets and was able to see quite a few of my mutt friends wearing white and gold! My sister graduated AE in 2002, which made my first in person game 1998 vs FSU. Was in college going to bars cheering on the Jackets during the Championship run in 2004. Married ,now divorced, the daughter of a Tech grad. Her mothers brother is Don Toner, the guy who sealed the win over Bama in 1962 with the interception. Try to make atleast 1 football and 1 basketball game a year. THWg!

 

[DallasBuzzFan]

I was born a fan in 1961. My dad was a member of the Lion's Club. Back then Lion's Club members would get tickets to the JV game vs Georgia every Thanksgiving. I would imagine I went from 1966 until they quit playing JV games. The first VARSITY game that I can recall was vs Clemson in 1970. (We beat them 28-7) Georgia Tech had a running back named Brent Cunningham #44. He became basically my hero on that day. I have been one of the biggest Georgia Tech SIDEWALK fans my whole life. Growing up in Cobb County, It has always been a difficult task to be a Georgia Tech fan, But I wouldn't change it for the world.

I wish I still had the #44 Replica Jersey that my Dad bought for me the following Christmas. The run at the 1:40 mark was the most exciting real live play that I had ever seen.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

I was a Tech Student from 1986 to 1990. I was a Tenn fan for the most part. I went to a few games and had a good time as a student, but was not yet a fan. Then in 1989 we got good toward the end of the season and then when we beat UGA that year, I was hooked. That was one of the best games I had been to. Then to follow it up, the 1990 season was pure gold.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

I was born a fan in 1961. My dad was a member of the Lion's Club. Back then Lion's Club members would get tickets to the JV game vs Georgia every Thanksgiving. I would imagine I went from 1966 until they quit playing JV games. The first VARSITY game that I can recall was vs Clemson in 1970. (We beat them 28-7) Georgia Tech had a running back named Brent Cunningham #44. He became basically my hero on that day. I have been one of the biggest Georgia Tech SIDEWALK fans my whole life. Growing up in Cobb County, It has always been a difficult task to be a Georgia Tech fan, But I wouldn't change it for the world.

I wish I still had the #44 Replica Jersey that my Dad bought for me the following Christmas. The run at the 1:40 mark was the most exciting real live play that I had ever seen.

GT AD Bobby Dodd said Brent Cunningham's performance in the 1970 Clemson game was the greatest performance he had ever seen.

 

[DallasBuzzFan]

In my eyes... It was truly something to see.

 

[InsideLB]

Somewhat born into it. Father was a stands physician. Two free tickets to every home game.

Saw Dorsett run all over us in a night game vs Pitt. Same game my Dad got a call on a fan who had a moth fly in his ear (was sitting way up by the lights) and was in excruciating pain. There was a Coke there and my dad grabbed it and poured it into the dude's ear. Moth floated up and out of the guy's ear. He was psyched. Saw GT/UGA fans go at it then have my Dad patch up both sides.

Always had press box passes and went and ate as many Hickory House BBQ sandwiches as we could in a sitting (typically 4-5 for me, plus a couple to eat in the second half....growing boy). Free cokes were nice too.

Suffered through the 80's...lean years, then Curry brought things up before leaving. Was out of college by the time Ross came along but loved the national title year from in Colorad. Always loved the Budweiser song, checking out cheerleaders and baton girls through binoculars, etc. 'She Blinded Me with Science' was a standard by the band. Learned to pull for Tech through the thick and the thin.

Influential event was a Georgia game when I was five or so: Saw all these rude, ill-behaving people show up wearing red and throw trash everywhere. Bad manors and talked like a bunch of hill billies. I instantly hated UGA. Still do, though living out of state helps.

Anyway, just always loved Tech and always will.

 

[Skeptic]

I grew up a mutt fan. Why? Because my entire family is made up of mutts. Nearly twenty years ago, on October 17, 1998, I became a Tech fan and I never looked back. I watched GT come back from 21 down to beat #7 UVA at a very rowdy BDS. I became a fan that day because they never gave up in that game and that’s what I’ve loved about Tech teams over the years...we leave it all on the field. The last 20 years have brought the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Even though we are down now, we will be back. Believe it. Go Jackets!




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Rookie.

 

[GT_05]

Rookie.

[emoji23]


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[GTonTop88]

Joe Hamilton and George Godsey years. I was between 10-12 years old. Didn’t really start watching every game until Godseys senior year. Before was only the GT-Uga games because all my friends liked Uga so I just pulled for the other side and we always beat them then. Been loyal ever since.

 

[MWBATL]

For me, it was sometime in the 1969-70 seasons. I started at GT as a frosh in the Fall of 1969 with absolutely no knowledge of the traditions or history of the school and its football team. I had grown up in Louisiana listening to LSU football games on the radio on Saturday nights (in those days, very few games were televised).

All I can recall of the 1969 season was that I was mostly bewildered by the enthusiasm around me and that we weren't very good. We played 7 homes games in a 10 game schedule, went 4-6 (but beat UGa).

But by the 1970 season, I was hooked and a true blue GT fan. That year we had Rock Perdoni and a defense that was solid, Eddie McAshan and lil Brent Cunningham, and we had a very successful year. We led #1 ranked Notre Dame (Joe Theisman at QB) 7-3 until late in the 4th quarter in South Bend, and the announcers were all talking about how good we were. Mostly, they kept thinking they could run at Rock. he kept beating them. They must have failed on 3 or 4 3rd and 1 runs before they finally started to pass their way downfield for the winning score. I was devastated. That clinched my GT fandom.

 

[Old South Stands]

I rooted for both the Yellow Jackets and the Bulldogs way back when because they both represented the state of Georgia. Our Pop Warner program at Murphey Candler used to bus us out to Athens each season to see the Bulldogs if we sold enough raffle tickets. Leftover Tech tickets were given out to everybody for free or sold for peanuts, almost as an afterthought. But it was still fun to go out to Grant Field and see the games.

It wasn't until about '76 that I became a Tech fan exclusively. A friend in my fourth grade class was the son of a very wealthy alum. He invited me out to see the Jackets play UVA from the press box area. It was great seeing Eddie Lee Ivery live! I also saw the Jackets play Tulane that year. After that, I'd finally caught the bug. Plus, the Yellow Jackets sort of had Pittsburgh Steelers colors, so that helped. Geography also played a role. Growing up on the northern edge of Brookhaven, Tech was the true hometown team -- not that other team in Athens. In '77 I attended the Pepper Rodgers Football School and got best defensive lineman award for my age group (I considered it a tryout for my future football career at Tech, which sadly, never happened).

The '78 loss to UGA was when the rivalry really became personal to me, though I never really hated UGA until after 1980. When UGA won it all, I was ambivalent about the whole thing. It didn't really matter one way or the other. But then their fans started getting ugly. If you think Tech is in a down trend now, or think Bill Lewis was the worst, Tech in 1980-81 was in a truly sorry state of affairs. And yet, most UGA fans I knew went out of their way to trash Tech and put Tech fans down. What champions with any class do that sort of thing, go out of their way to dump on the nobody? The media and most fans in the state of Georgia all hopped on the Bulldog/Herschel bandwagon and never looked back. That's when I started rooting for anyone who played UGA. If the Soviets had fielded a team, I would have unquestionably rooted for them over the Bulldogs. The 1982 Sugar Bowl was one of the best games (with one of the most exciting endings) I've ever watched. I guess disliking UGA goes hand-in-hand with being a Tech fan...

 

[Jmonty71]

Truth? Growing up in Villa Rica, most everyone was UGA fans. Unfortunately, most of the UGA kid fans were a-holes... So, it dawned on me, if the kids were total jerks, the parents are probably the same. I didn't want to remotely be associated to that. So, I knew I didn't want to be a UGA fan, before I became a fan of anyone. I think it was late 80s, (88-89?) I went to GT game... Forget who we played, but I was amazed by the atmosphere, the chanting, the cheering, the game, you name it. I just remember how stifling the defense was. Playing defense, myself, I was hooked. Sadly, I don't think we ever had much better of a defense than that 88-91 time frame. I may be wrong...

 

[Skeptic]

Truth? Growing up in Villa Rica, most everyone was UGA fans. Unfortunately, most of the UGA kid fans were a-holes... So, it dawned on me, if the kids were total jerks, the parents are probably the same. I didn't want to remotely be associated to that. So, I knew I didn't want to be a UGA fan, before I became a fan of anyone. I think it was late 80s, (88-89?) I went to GT game... Forget who we played, but I was amazed by the atmosphere, the chanting, the cheering, the game, you name it. I just remember how stifling the defense was. Playing defense, myself, I was hooked. Sadly, I don't think we ever had much better of a defense than that 88-91 time frame. I may be wrong...

Dodd's defenses in the '50s probably. Maybe even in part of the '60s. For a guy who was a runner, passer and kicker, Dodd knew how to build a defense and how to recruit to it. Plus he had Ray Graves and Frank Broyles as assistants ... no slouches there.

 

[RamblinCharger]

Born into it. My dad was born and raised in East Point. He grew up going to games, and I watched with him every week as a kid. I went to my first game in 99' when we beat UNC in OT. I've been to at least a game every year since. We had season tickets for several years at the beginning of the PJ era, but as I got older it became harder to get to more than 1-2 games a year. Anyway, I've stuck with the Jackets through it all, and will continue to do so. I will pass it onto my kids one day as well. It is frustrating and also rewarding being a jacket fan. Watching teams like 00, 08, 09, 14 make it worth the struggle.