From the top of Hal and Kefe Brandon's long driveway, you can hear Hail to Georgia, the University of Georgia's fight song, spilling from their home and into the general surroundings. It sounds like a football Saturday at Reynolds.
Step up to the Brandon's UGA-decorated porch and ring the UGA-blessed doorbell.
"Come in!" Hal says, opening the UGA-adorned door with one hand and holding a UGA mimosa glass in the other. With apologies (or not) to fans of "the other" 260 Division 1 college football teams across the country, the UGA welcome mat out front makes it clear which fans are invited to this pre-game party. So, too, do the UGA-logo'd plates and napkins, the UGA-attired friends, the UGA-trained dog, and the music.
Elton John's Saturday pumps through the TV room and into the backyard, where friends are tossing UGA beanbags onto UGA cornhole boards. Kickoff is still two hours away. The Dawgs are playing two states away.
"When you're playing on the road, we create an atmosphere as close to a home game as possible," Kefe says. "We want to feel like we're outside the stadium."
The Brandons started cooking yesterday so they could wake up this morning and focus on football instead of food. In other Reynolds neighborhoods, groups of families and friends are getting together for games involving Auburn or Texas or Florida State, but this cove-side lot is reserved for Bulldogs.
"We don't have a limit on the number of people who come for the game," Hal says. "It's more about the who." As in, who is your team?
Every 15 minutes, Hal turns down the music and leads the calling of the Dawgs: "Sic 'em! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!" Fists are raised. Energy builds. Mimosas pour. Backs tingle. The Brandon's dog, Kirby Smart, wags his tail.
"This is the place to be on gameday," says Pat Nicholson. "It's fun. It's convenient. It's loud. And after the game, we can be home in a few minutes."
Some of the couples at this pre-game party used to live in the Atlanta area, including Hal and Kefe. They'd try to do the same thing in the city that they're doing here. Now they admit, it wasn't so great.
"We always felt rushed," Kefe says.
"Sometimes, we had to rely on fast food because that's the pace of the city, even on a Saturday morning. It's a totally different experience here. We feel like we have all the time in the world to enjoy the build-up to the games."
The Brandon's family tree is nothing but Dawgs.
Sons Billy, 30, and Max, 27, are fifth generation fans. Among the UGA memorabilia in the home are tickets from the first game ever played at Sanford Stadium, which Hal's great uncle attended in 1929. Hal has been going to games since he was five. Kefe started going to games as a student at UGA. They attend every home game, and turn every road game into a home game.
"Our daughter, Brooke, went to Oklahoma State on a scholarship and her dog's name is Gundy [named after Cowboys' head coach Mike Gundy]," Kefe says. The music seems to stop on those words, but before the UGA tumblers hit the floor, Kefe clarifies. "She has connections to Oklahoma State, but she's a Georgia fan."
The party can continue.
Next week what you see in this kitchen and in this yard, including the people and a portable bar, will be packed up and transported to a parking lot outside Sanford Stadium, where the Dawgs will host "one of those other teams." Without the shouting of "Woof! Woof! Woof! and the singing of Glory, Glory, somewhere in this neighborhood you might be able to hear the faint cheers of Notre Dame or Michigan fans.
"That's the beauty of fall Saturdays at Reynolds," Kefe says. "The excitement is thick every week. If you can't be at the game, there there's no better place to be than home."
