How did you become a TECH fan?

[ptjackets]

I don't know about most of you guys, but I started very early in life. When I was a little boy My Dad would take me down to Grant Field on Thanksgiving day and we would watch the Baby Jackets and the Bull Pups play. For those of you that don't have an idea what I'm talking about it was mostly the Freshman who were not eligible to play in those days. Because Daddy was a GT man I was a GT Boy! I grew up going to Tech games. when I was in College I would go on Friday nights and watch my girlfriend cheer at her high school, Then Saturday's at the TECH games then Sunday's watching the Falcons. By the end of the year I was sick of watching football. Today I'm still a TECH man. I go to every game at home and some on the road. My Son Graduates this year and I got him his own Season Tickets for his graduation present. (I think he is a bigger fan than me) He said the other day that he would trade our pet cat for a GT National Championship. I told him, I was not willing to do that but I would trade her for never loosing to Georgia again! Maybe two National Championships.
GT has been in my family's blood for over 50 years now and I'm proud that my son will continue the tradition! Go Jackets.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I grew up in Augusta. When I was 9 or 10 years old, my sister, who was in high school (or 1st year afterward), dated a Tech student, and I just thought he was the coolest guy. He turned me on to Tech football, and I have been a fan ever since. I was heartbroken when my sister broke up with him, but she ended up marrying a life-long Tech fan from a big mostly-Tech family. He actually attended and graduated from Georgia, but he always pulled for Tech. They raised their 3 kids to be Tech fans, and their son graduated from Tech. One of their sons in law attended Tech but never graduated. I never attended a game until my freshman year at Tech, but I have been to all but about 5 home games since then and have been a season ticket holder for 47 years.

 

[GT_Johnnybodkin]

To put everything into perspective- I'm 26. My step-mom graduated from Tech in the early 90s and made me a Tech fan at the age of 10 when she bought me a Tech hat. Both my parents are engineers and after seeing what they did for a living as a kid- I decided I wanted to be an engineer and loved Tech ever since.

I originally liked Tech basketball- 2004 was a really fun year to be a fan. My first Tech football game was in 2006- watching Calvin and the crew play against Duke.

I went to North Gwinnett high school where I was singularly the only Tech fan- got crap for it the whole time. However, growing up a Yellow Jacket living in Bulldog country only made my love for Tech stronger.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Grew up in Augusta as the grandson of a die-hard Tech fan. On Saturdays, my grandfather would pick me up so I could watch Tech games at his house instead of the uga games my dad would watch at our house. Been a Yellowjacket ever since.

 

[Blumpkin Souffle]

I'm pretty sure it's a case of Stockholm syndrome for me. I got out 3 years ago and moved out of state, but am probably a bigger fan now than I was even in school.

 

[Pj4prez01]

I am originally from Florida and grew up an FSU, USF, and Buccaneers fan. Coincidentally I really dislike FSU and the Bucs now. My Dad was a big fan of the option and PJ did it as well as anyone at GSU and Navy, so I grew up watching those teams play. So naturally, when PJ came to the big ACC I became a moderate GT fan. I always have liked the underdog and rooted for him. Then, when I moved to Atlanta I started going to games and really got hooked, and now hope my kids how to Tech. They are easy to root for when they run a clean program and focus on academics with the athletes.

 

[Cam]

I didn't pay much mind to colleges until I was a junior in high school. I found out about this thing called "engineering" and liked it so much that I went to look up which schools were the best at it. Turned out one of the best in the world was like half an hour from my house, so I made up my mind to go to Tech. Got into football my senior year of high school (we were undefeated until playoffs) and I enrolled at GT in 2011 fully intending on following the athletics. My first season featured the 6-0 start and victory over undefeated Clemson, so I became an immediate fan. Had so much fun, I bought season tickets every year and relished in the student section. And with the 2014 season being my senior year, I couldn't have been much happier.

Of course, with the possibility of a national championship over the next few years, I couldn't possibly leave. So, I am starting my PhD next Fall in Bioengineering to get my hands on some student section tickets. Oh, and I might work on my degree a bit too.

 

[GlennW]

My Grandfather started at Tech at age 16; graduated with a degree in Chemistry at age 20, and then taught at Tech for a few years before starting his own business. My Father went to Tech and all my Uncles (both sides of the family) who didn't become MD's went to Tech. I didn't want to be a Doctor, so I went to Tech, then off to Law School from there.

In other words, I was destined to don the White and Gold and hate the Red and Black. Funny thing; my wife got her Masters from UGA, but fear not, she's now a loyal Jacket fan with me.

 

[DrJacket]

I was about 7 years old when my cousin moved from Florida to Atlanta in order to go to Ga Tech (1973). He was my favorite, and sometimes would spend weekends out in the suburbs with us. Eventually, we went downtown to pick him up a time or two. From then on, I kept up with Tech. My best friend in high school was an equipment manager for Tech, and gave me a tear-away jersey from the early 80's. I wore that thing until it fell apart. Attended the occasional game over the years. But, I went to school elsewhere.

Professionally, I have used Bill Curry as a speaker a time or two. He's impressive. Then, one day, we got to know the CPJ's on a personal basis. Nothing to do with football. That was it for us: Locked in. Loaded. Happily.

 

[Animal02]

I oldest from went to Tech (10 years ahead of me) I had my heart set on the U of Cinn. (the had a co-op architecture program) I received a half tuition academic scholarship.West Point was recruiting me for football, Also had a 1/2 football scholly offer at Mich Tech. GT sent me an application since my brother was a alum......the application was free at the time (almost all others were $25 and in '78 that was a bit of money so I was not applying many places) Got accepted, and it ended up going to GT out of state with no scholly was still a couple thousand cheaper than it was to go to UC with a half scholly......no way was I the military type, and I was not going to play ball where they have 6-8 ft of snow on the ground. Got sucked right into all the traditions during FASET.

 

[RyanS12]

Grew up in Atl. Lived near Grady HS until the age of 10. I was a little young to get too serious about GT at the time but I moved to Michigan with my parents around the same time Kenny Anderson came to Tech. I'm a huge bball fan and he was all it took for me. Plus the 1990 National Championship didn't hurt. Everyone in my family is big into Michigan and I always liked being "different" than everyone else. As I got older I realized Michigan fans are a lot like UGag fans " Mainly the sidewalk fans" and Michigan State really didn't appeal to me. So I've been a Tech fan since 1990. And I hate the university of Michigan just as much if not more than Ugag.

 

[bartoma]

My Dad went to Tech in the 50's, and growing up, I admired the yellowjacket model airplane he flew at halftime that hung in our basement:



Other earliest memories include the GT alumni association sticker in the back window of the 1965 Mustang he bought new (and which I now have - the sticker is still there, even after restoration)...

We went to a few games, but not that many - I was a fan, but not a crazy one...

I didn't consider going to GT out of high school, because it was a bit intimidating, and frankly, I needed to get my act together... So after a year at Presbyterian, I transferred to GT in January, '83... First game I went to was the Alabama game in '84... Since then, I've bled gold and white, through all the bad times as well as the good...

 

[jwsavhGT]

I can credit (blame) my Mother (@SavhGTMom) for me being a Tech fan/grad. She became a Tech fan in the 60s because she always rooted for the underdog and she refused to become a Dwag fan like everyone else in her family. She is the reason I went to Tech, instead of UGAg as planned, because she "was not paying to send me to school to party." I thank her everyday for making that decision for me. I have experienced the highs & lows that being a Tech fan brings. I was in school during the lean years (1978-1983) and was in Orlando for the Citrus Bowl. I drifted away from Jacket football for several years BUT never stopped being proud of my school or what we stand for. Last season was my first year as a season ticket holder & I proudly renewed this year. I was not able to make any games EXCEPT the ACCCG in Charlotte where Mama & I had a fantastic time. I have already made our hotel reservations for every home game this coming season & I look forward to cheering on the White & Gold with the rest of you crazy people. As always, #GoJackets #TogetherWeSwarm #THWG

 

[flea77]

I Hated GT , then my youngest son was recruited ... I always hated GT , i would fight you . I grew up a bulldog , played at UGA . Once we started visiting , we discovered that you guys are HUMAN , and have great character . GT has great players , great facilities and great character . Now both my son"s are there . Justin will play baseball next year and y'all all know about Will . Go Jackets !

 

[orientalnc]

I was born into it. My dad attended Tech High back when Atlanta had 3 high schools. So, he was a Tech guy. He never graduated high school, but knew a GT education was the ticket for his sons. I was an Explorer Scouts usher at Tech games when I was a young teen. My life dream was to be an architect. That never happened as I became software designer, then a project manager. I cannot imagine a better launching pad than a GT education. But, I never gave up my love for the Yellow Jackets.

 

[DC Bee]

I tell people that there is no such thing as a Tech fan, It's like the mafia. You're either born into it or you're a made man. The internet has shown me that there are such things as Tech fans, however few.

Myself, I arrived on campus in the fall of '88, so I watched the rise to power that soon followed that initial dismal 3-8 year--->7-4-->11-0-1.

I always believed GT would be relevant again, based upon our storied history. Let's hope that time for relevance is happening again now.

 

[Bule]

Started becoming a GT fan in basketball in mark price and john salary days when I was young then went to GT and we won national championship in football and went to final four in basketball. Since then I not only went to GT for 7 years for undergrad and grad school but am a GT football basketball and baseball fanatic.

 

[TampaGT]

I grew up in Thomson Ga. My oldest brother played football with Jerry Mays from midget league to high school. I was the mascot for the midget league team. Jerry was my favorite player so when he went GT, they became that my favorite team.

 

[GTonTop88]

Started watching football in 1999 at the age of 11. One of my best friends at the time was a bulldog fan and I wanted to pull for a team from Georgia but be different than the crowd. So I chose to pull for Tech and watched Joe Hamilton and the Jackets put up 51 on uga, been die hard ever since.

 

[CornerBlitz]

I was born....and so it was and will always be. I love GT.