Athens, Greeks and the Gridiron: Three Favorite Things

This week marked the start of Rush at the University of Georgia. Thousands of kids are enduring withering August heat, endless small talk, corny traditions and the brutal scrutiny of strangers. The urge to drop out before pledge day may be tempting but my advice is to soldier on – it will be worth the effort.

Only a few weeks separate bid day from kick-off at Sanford Stadium on September 4. You can’t beat being Greek in Athens during football season, especially as a young freshman unleashed on a campus of 30,000 people.

Here are three nostalgic memories (circa mid-1980s) of why the gridiron and Greeks make a great combination…

Block Seating

1. Block Seating. Being inside Sanford Stadium is great. Sitting in a fraternity block is even better. It's a social microcosm amid 92,000 fans and makes the huge stadium feel more like a living room full of friends.

Post-Game Parties

2. Post-game parties. Because Sanford Stadium sits smack-dab in the middle of campus, lots of fraternity houses are a short walk away and make ideal spots for post-game parties. From the front lawn of my favorite house on Lumpkin, you could hear the university's famed chapel bell reverberating with victory. Every now and then, the fraternity would fire off a celebratory blast from their vintage cannon (no live ammunition involved). The house was recently moved to make way for a parking lot but tailgaters still congregate in the coveted location.

Koozie Couture

3. Koozie Couture. Greeks at Georgia dress up for games come rain or searing heat. Back in the day, the dress code never varied -- khakis, white button-down shirts and koozies for guys; dresses, hose and heels for girls. Comfort never stood in the way of tradition.

Got your own favorite memories of the Greek life? Use the comment area to share.