Before I begin, let me remind everyone that Tennessee beat Georgia last year on October 10, which is why I succeeded in dressing the Amarillo Globe-News publisher (and fervent Georgia fan) in orange the following Monday. It was a bad bet on his part, but like any good sport, he walked calmly to my office that morning, spoke very little, put on the jersey and took a picture with me.
Banter carried on throughout the year knowing the unspoken bet would stand again in 2010.
That brings us to today. If you follow SEC football, then you know about the Volunteers utter defeat by the Bulldogs on Saturday. It was an all-out spanking, one that surprised both me and Les, who told me casually last Wednesday that he probably wouldn’t even watch the game. (Why bother when your team is on a losing streak, right?)
Long story short, we lost. Bad. I knew immediately that I faced certain doom at work on Monday (and cheeky smirks from the bottom pews at church on Sunday). After all, it was Les who left me a sticky note on my desk one afternoon in May that read, “Payback is H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks.” Of course, that was because I filled up his office with bright orange balloons. I just couldn’t help myself.
The result of my own bad bet was kissing a Dawg. Herschel Walker, to be exact. Les brought his signed photograph for me to hold for a picture. Easy enough…
And then I had to swallow my pride and give old Herschel a little love.
So now we’re even. After it was all said and done, I went on with my day – a photo shoot in an airport hanger and nursing a sore throat. Per usual I left in time to pick up the boys from school. During the drive I reflected on the pranks and rivalry that grew over the last two years and settled my mind on this: I will miss it.
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