ColinAke.com…until I write a book.

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to shoot what I consider to be the best football game of my college career. I have long considered the Yellow Jackets’ improbable win in 2004 at Clemson to be the best game of my college career, but this tops it. In that game, the Jackets came back from a 24-14 deficit with just 3 minutes remaining behind Calvin Johnson and several Clemson mishaps.

UGA is different. Tech lives to hate UGA. Our fight songs focus on it. Those of us who were raised as Tech fans pull for two teams: GT, and whoever is playing UGA. My dad, who is a very gentle, nice, quiet man, has been heard yelling “C’mon, break their legs!” at the TV during GT vs. UGA games. As you can guess, I hate UGA.

I’ve been in college for five years. This was my last football season. My last away game. My last GT vs. UGA game. We’d lost four games, painfully, under Chan Gailey, Reggie Ball, and a rash of bad luck, bad bounces, bad calls, and bad blood. As we drove to Athens Friday night (before littering the UGA campus with THWUGA issues of the Technique), Akshay and I talked about the game. Never before had we wanted to win a football game so badly.

I walked onto the field Saturday morning in a drizzle with the other Technique photographers. We walked past security guards and in between the hedges. Past UGA’s ugly self and his doghouse. We stood and talked as the players stretched. We talked about who was going to shoot what, but mostly about beating the Dawgs. The Tech team went to the big G in the middle of the field while the baseball team was being honored and started jumping up and down. I could tell they wanted it. Every Tech fan wanted it.

The game started. The points flew. I spent my time on the UGA sideline, loudly cheering on the Jackets in my old gold windbreaker and hopefully annoying those around me. At halftime (28-12 UGA) we had photographers taunting us with calls of “It’s ok guys, you can come back from that!” in the media center.

Then came the third quarter. I got to watch from the sidelines on the UGA 5 yard line as the Jackets scored, recovered UGA’s return fumble, and scored again. Best seat in the house. All of a sudden, we were up 35-28. Here’s a real, straight-from-the-AJC quote from UGA scholar-athlete and senior defensive tackle Corvey Irvin:

“We lost our edge in the second half. I guess we lost our composure. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but it sounds good.”

As time ran out and we won 45-42, I ran onto the field with the other media people. Shot the celebration, watched as players trimmed the hedges. Sung the fight song at the top of my lungs. Enjoyed myself. Watched the Tech fans taunt the UGA fans for the first time in 7 years. Waited until the players finally left the field for the locker room, and began to decompress. Posed for pictures in an empty stadium. Finally left and began the walk back to our car. Yes, I have called my UGA friends to rub it in. It’s the start of a long run during which we’ll see UGA’s decline and Tech’s rise. The player with the most rushing yards during the game, Roddy Jones (and 214, if you’re counting), is a freshman. Our quarterback and B-Back, Nesbitt and Dwyer, are sophomores. We’ll be good for some years to come.

What an experience. What a way to end Paul Johnson’s first year at Tech - if he doesn’t win Coach of the Year, I don’t know who should. The Jackets are now ranked 15th or 16th, depending on what poll you look at - now ahead of UGA for the first time in years.

What a delicious win.

Rain feels great after a drought. Victory is sweeter now because there was sour fruit for years before. And it only gets sweeter from here.

I don’t pull for Alabama all the time, even though I have friends who wish I would.  I was raised to root for two college football teams every Saturday… Georgia Tech, and whoever is playing Georgia. For as long as I can remember, I’ve pulled against Georgia and now, more than ever, I’m glad I do so.  This was supposed to be their championship year, their year of undefeated football. And they got destroyed by ‘Bama this past weekend.

More than ever, I’ve noticed how obnoxious UGA fans can really be - they’re not normal obnoxious, it’s like they’ve taken obnoxiousness classes… And with majors like “Pre Business” and “Building,” who can blame them? Got to fill hours somehow.

So - go Alabama - that was a great game, if you’re not a “Dawg” fan.  And I’m not just NOT a “Dawg” fan, I pull against them.  Now, excuse me, I should really go buy the shirt from the bookstore that says “I pull for GT and whoever is playing UGA.”

I bleed white and gold, sucker. And I’m impressed with our team, and looking forward to November.

Colin

PS - Hope KnowShow is healthy in time for the Jackets defense…

I had the joy of shooting the Georgia Tech vs. Jacksonville State game last week - a fun game to shoot for a few reasons:

• The first game with Paul Johnson as GT’s coach.
• The first game featuring the triple option
• The first game of the season

It was quite an enjoyable game - thanks to Jon Drews for loaning me a very expensive lens and body I can’t afford to help capture everything.  Enjoy the pictures!

Josh Nesbitt Cutting Through the Jacksonville State Defense

Running back Jonathan Dwyer breaking off his first touchdown run.

Paul Johnson gives quarterback Josh Nesbitt a piece of his mind.

Roddy Jones celebrates after a touchdown late in the game.

Hope the pictures were enjoyed.  I love shooting sports - but football (especially night football) is particularly fun and more challenging than daytime football.  It was great to see the Jackets out of the gate strong and end up with their first win of the season.  Watch out, ACC.  Here we come.

Take care.

Colin

One of my classes this semester is Services Marketing - an elective for management majors persuing a marketing certificate. The class is taught by one of my all time favorite professors at Tech, Peter Vantine. Professor Vantine has some extensive history in the services marketing industry and his experience contributes to a course that encourages us to treat the marketing of services differently than traditional product marketing.

How is a service different from a product? Customers usually don’t obtain ownership of the service. They cannot be inventories and sold later - this they’re very perishable. Often there is a level of service variability that depends on the person performing the service. Services are subjective to the opinion of the customer.

One of the things I have to turn in is a Service Journal - a series of entries documenting my service experiences, both good and bad. I’ve already done a little bit of that here with my rantings against AT&T, so I believe I’ll continue the trend and post some service journal entries for you all to enjoy. I’d also love to hear from you as I post the entries to determine if you’ve had a different experience with the same company, or if you feel my interaction typifies the company’s customer service.

Sit back, enjoy, and feel free to critique the ride.

Take care,

Colin

I promised more a couple days ago on the link between the Mars Phoenix rover and Georgia Tech.  This is of particular interest to me because I would LOVE to get involved in this industry, even as a marketing/management guy.

The second-in-command on the Phoenix project is David Spencer, a 17 year veteran of the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California.  After the Mars Phoenix project winds down, Spencer packs his bags and heads to Atlanta to join the School of Aerospace Engineering as a faculty member.  At Tech they’ll be starting a Center for Space Systems, where students get hands-on experience with space systems and flight project work.  If you want to see what Spencer’s role is on the Phoenix project, check this out.  Spencer also ran Deep Impact, where a probe was crashed into a comet.

It’ll be cool to have someone like David at Georgia Tech, where we’ve produced several astronauts (including Doug Wheelock, who I got to see take off on STS-120 last October).  Welcome, David - looking forward to having you in Georgia.  If you read this, email me - I’d love to pick your brain on how non-AE students can get involved in some of the projects you guys are doing this.

Colin

UGA is playing Fresno State for the College World Series.  My extended family (bless their poor souls) are UGA fans.  If you’re not aware, I go to Georgia Tech, and we hate UGA.  I pull for two teams - Georgia Tech and whoever’s playing UGA.  I grew up that way, and the rest of the school is that way.  That’s how a rivalry works.

Now when I mentioned I was pulling for Fresno State, I got the normal “I’d be pulling for Tech if they were still playing,” line.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that line.  The Parkers give me a hard time about it - Mr. P went to West Point and Matt went to the Air Force Academy, and I can see how they pull for each other’s schools when they’re not playing - they have a common bond in military service.  I heard it when I refused to pull for UGA over Hawaii, no matter what the odds.  But for GT and UGA, there’s nothing more that I want in college sports than for UGA to be completely irrelevant.  In fact, I want UGA to be ranked preseason #1 in football.  That way there’s nowhere for them to go but down in the rankings, disappointment saddening their fans.

I’ll give you a rivalry - it’s so intense at GT that we want UGA to lose no matter who they’re playing.  That’s animocity between two schools.  None of this “we’ll pull for you when you’re not playing us” crap.  It’s hardcore.  There’s a reason they call the football game “Good, clean, old fashioned hate.”

That’s a rivalry.  Go Fresno State.