84 years of homegrown rivalry: The history of Georgia’s spring game
Georgia’s G-Day game has long been a spectacle for Georgia fans to get familiar with the upcoming season’s team. Players like Stetson Bennett, Brock Bowers and even head coach Kirby Smart have used the game as an opportunity for a tune-up before the fall season gets underway. The game’s history, though, goes much further back than some supporters might realize.
On March 8, 1941, 2,500 spectators, who paid 50 cents each, filed into the stands of Sanford Stadium for Georgia’s first G-Day, kicking off an iconic annual tradition. Now, the 80th G-Day approaches, marking the start of a pivotal season with new players, new goals and new challenges.
“We’re very deficient at a couple positions and if we lose one or two or three, it would convert into some kind of controlled practice, some kind of other format,” Smart said in a press conference on March 18. “But right now, we haven’t been through scrimmages. We’ll see where we go.”
G-Day was introduced as a way for Bulldog fans to get a glimpse at the up and coming talent and see returning players back in action — as well as a chance to solidify positions within the team before the fall season. Additionally, many fans take the opportunity to partake in classic gameday traditions, such as tailgating or the Dawg Walk.
Unlike previous years, this G-Day will not be televised, but it will be covered by the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network.
“We like to have prospects come in. It’s a big event,” Smart said. “We have official visits, so we want to control the timing of it more and we want to be able to play at our pace and not have to worry about the constraints of being inside a window.”
The spring game is held approximately 100 days after the conclusion of the previous season and around 140 days before the start of the coming season, which kicks off this year on Aug. 30 against Marshall.
G-Day has transformed over the years in many ways, including a shift in team names. In 1964, first-year head coach Vince Dooley changed the White team to the Black team, which has stuck to this day.
