MATTHEW BROWN: New Year, Believe it

Published 12:37 pm Friday, January 10, 2025

For the past few weeks, I kept waiting for somebody to ask a question like, “Can you believe it’s almost 2025?”

You mean, aside from the fact that it’s 2024 and 2025 is the next number in line?

“Where did 2024 go?” is usually asked when it’s still 2024, so the answers are, one, nowhere yet, and two, we only got 366 days (yes, a bonus to account for elections and Olympics), so where is the big surprise?

These are the kind of things one ponders with days off in front of the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays and you travel the Georgia highways visiting family in two opposite directions. That, and the upside-down world of sports.

Like, how is it the Georgia Bulldogs beat Texas twice in the 2024 season but the Longhorns went further in the College Football Playoffs. Hey, what a coincidence. The Atlanta Falcons beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice, but it’s Tampa Bay that won the NFC South Division with the Falcons totally missing the NFL playoffs.

Well, the Atlanta Braves did go 2-5 against the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Anybody surprised how the Southeastern Conference season began for Georgia Bulldog men’s basketball? A great start of 12-1, with the only loss to top 10 ranked Marquette, followed by a road loss to Ole Miss … then Tuesday’s grand upset of Kentucky! What was that, the 30th win in program history in 200 tries against this powerhouse?

I made this point last year. Under head coach Mike White, UGA hoops could have its best winning percentage in November and December. It now stands at 32-7 in White’s third season, the 12-1 mark this year coming after back-to-back 10-3 runs. That’s 82%.

But not counting this year’s 1-1 start, in the SEC those same Georgia teams went 6-12 in 2023 and 2024. I never thought Georgia would go winless in conference this year, and the Bulldogs are capable of such upsets (beat Kentucky in 2023). It looks like a football poll, but it’s the AP 25 for men’s basketball that has Tennessee No. 1, Auburn No. 2, Alabama No. 5, Kentucky No. 6, Florida No. 8, Texas A&M No. 10, Mississippi State No. 14 … wait a minute. Did I compare this to a football poll? Auburn No. 2? Kentucky No. 6? Florida, A&M, the StarkDogs in the top 15? More like an anti-football poll.

This will change with the Wildcat loss and Tennessee falling to Florida, the same Florida team that gave up 106 in a loss to UK just days before.

While I have SEC football on your minds, as of this first full week of January there are no head coaching changes in this super league. I thought there might be one in the Bluegrass. It wasn’t looking good for that Sun Belt guy in The Swamp but …

The coaching carousel of the NFL could have an impact, but for right now these are the big newsmakers of college coaching changes: Fresno State, Utah State, UCF (welcome home Scott Frost), Washington State, Wake Forest, Purdue, UNLV (bon voyage to our Lake Oconee analyst Dan Mullen), Michael Vick, West Virginia, and the biggest news of all …

Bill Belichick to the North Carolina Tar Heels. Nope, still won’t say the Falcons’ fortunes would be much better if Arthur Blank let Bill have his way. Now we see that Belichick’s immediate successor, Jerod Mayo, is out of the job after just one year. What does that say about the state Belichick left things in New England?

•••

I recall sharing personal stories involving President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter with The Union-Recorder readership, but I am not sure when that was. It is commonplace at times for op-ed writers to re-run such pieces when the moment calls. What I will do instead is start fresh recounting two times I was in the presence of the Carters during the time I worked in their home county for The Americus Times-Recorder.

Among the causes the Carters supported heavily was the Boys & Girls Club of Sumter County, and they hosted a major fundraising dinner at South Georgia Technical College’s gym. I covered two of those, the first featuring guest speaker Henry Aaron in 1999. The second was the following year, and the special guest was boxing champion Evander Holyfield. I was offered a chance to meet and speak to Holyfield in an office before the big party started.

So there I am with a few others and the big man. About five minutes later there’s a knock on the closed door, a gentleman opens and sticks his head in to announce the Carters have arrived to meet Holyfield. Now, a former President of the United States and First Lady are about to enter the room, and I have not been gone over by any Secret Service. My only thought is, no sudden moves. The Carters do enter and say hello to everyone, including this meek little reporter. They offer a handshake in my direction, which I take. Don’t stand up. Don’t show the proper respect such people have earned. Couldn’t think of anything but how well I represented myself and my lineage (note the sarcasm).

Story No. 2 shows just kind of person Jimmy Carter was, not at all absorbed in himself. Rumor had it the Carters were going to attend a Schley County High baseball playoff doubleheader to see a family member on the Schley team. They were there.

Two factors to note: The Americus radio network broadcasted these games and they always had some great hamburgers cooking at the concession stand.

I witness the conversation as the Schley athletic director, after the first game, is asking the President if he would take some time to talk during the Game 2 radio call. He agreed, and I will never forget what he said next, “I was just going to get a hamburger.” How many former Presidents can you think of who would be willing to stand in a concession stand line with everyone else? Especially outdoors in super-small town Georgia? I am certain the answer to that was, “You just have a seat and we will bring you anything you wish.”

Again, not wanting to cross any SS boundaries, I slipped my camera to the AD to snap photos of the broadcasters. Gave him the credit, too, on our front page. (Gil’s over there wondering if I will ever give him credit.)

(If at all possible, give pet adoption a try through the Animal Rescue Foundation in Milledgeville. Donations of any kind are also in great need. ARF is the little red building at 711 S. Wilkinson St., and more information is available at animalrescuefoundation.org.)