You Can't Spell Sugar Without UGA

Back before the Bowl Alliance, the Sugar Bowl was aligned with the Southeastern Conference. The team with the best season record received a berth in that New Orleans game on New Years Day.

Even before the days of Herschel Walker, the University of Georgia (aka UGA) had a pretty good program and with that hopes of getting to the coveted game. An often heard chant of the Dawg fans was “You Can't Spell Sugar Without UGA”.

In the late seventies, we could get free tickets to Braves games at the student center. Free tickets, paired with quarter beer promotions at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, made for a heck of a party and some raucous cheering.

One afternoon, in the hot September sun, our band of Techies had the unpleasant placement behind a group vocal UGA fans. After about four innings of listening to “You Can't Spell Sugar Without UGA” chanted over and over, and about a half dozen beers each, the cups were small in those days, irritation took over.

The chants of “You Can't Spell Sugar Without UGA” were repeatedly countered with “You Can't Spell SCUMBAG Without UGA”. Tempers flew and soon there was fist fight, which for me ended by being thrown, by the neck, at the Henry Aaron statue. Had bruises for a week.
More than 25 years later, it still makes me laugh.

Here are some words that need those three letters to complete, guttural, argue, angular, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guadalupe, jugular, Jughead, jaguar, Uganda, granular, guarantee, guard, glutamine, Guam, Gaul, gamut, guacamole, guava, Guadalcanal, dangerous, and dadgummit.