Ranking the 5 All-Time Greatest Traditions in Georgia Bulldogs Football History

The University of Georgia has some deep rooted traditions in the Deep South, many of which spawn from the University's storied football program.

There are certainly no shortage of football traditions at UGA, so some like the lone trumpeter and silver britches may have been left off this list, but are not forgotten.

Read on to see where we ranked our top five favorite parts of game days in Athens.

A now defunct tradition, this has to be included on my list because it holds a special place in my heart.

The Georgia Theatre is probably most famous for showcasing classic Athens bands such as the B-52’s, REM and Widespread Panic, but the venue took on a whole different feel on game days.

Going to games is certainly great, but nearly as fun and even more unique, was watching the game on the big screen projector TV while listening to the now-retired legend Larry Munson calling the game over the radio in a concert-like atmosphere.

Perhaps the best part of this tradition was you could get to the bathroom and back to your seat with a beer during a commercial break. Try that at the stadium.

The Dawg Walk is a Saturday tradition at UGA home games where throngs of UGA fans line up in the Tate Center parking lot to form a tunnel of sorts that greets the players and coaches as they enter Sanford Stadium. The team enters the stadium to the music of the Redcoat Band and fans get more and more fired up for game day.

To give credit where credit is due, this is borrowed tradition from Auburn’s Tiger Walk, but that doesn’t detract from the fun of the Dawg Walk in Athens.

The Georgia Bulldogs have been playing home games in Sanford Stadium since 1929, and since 1929 the Dawgs have played between the fabled hedges, two rows of privet Ligustrum that flank the field from behind the teams’ benches.

In 1996, to accommodate soccer games from the Olympics being held In Atlanta, the hedges had to be removed because of the larger dimensions of a soccer field. Cuttings from the original hedges would later be replanted in Sanford Stadium, which UGA faithful have dubbed Hedges II.

Playing “between the hedges” has become synonymous with playing in Sanford Stadium and a battle cry for big games for the Bulldogs.

I remember freshmen orientation on the steps outside of Tate Center being taught a chant by upperclassman that I had learned long ago and cheered many times before and since. During every Georgia kickoff, the crowd joins in unison to recite a traditional Bulldog battle cry.

As the kicker lines up and readies himself, the crowd begins the long chant of “Goooooo…” voices rising until foot meets the ball, at which point the chant is completed, “…Dawgs! Sic ‘Em! Woof! Woof! Woof!” The number of “woofs” is not set in stone and tends to continue longest in the student section.

The famous Chapel Bell has stood on UGA’s North Campus since 1832. The bell has served many purposes, from signaling the beginning and ending of classes to a brief stint as an air raid siren during World War II.

However, the one constant has been the ringing of the bell after a UGA football victory. Once reserved as a duty for freshmen, now the ringing of the bell is an option for any UGA fan as the rope is unguarded and the bell can be rung at any time.

This is oldest and perhaps best UGA football tradition.