Clean Old-Fashioned Hate
By: Jennifer Herseim | Categories: Tech History
What’s the Good Word?
The response is engrained in every Yellow Jacket’s psyche. Putting football rivalries aside, “What’s the Good Word?” is also a test of identity. A quick call and response that separates the unknowing masses from Georgia Tech fans. And the answer is a code that unlocks instant camaraderie and sends a clear message to the asker: You and I are the same. We’re Yellow Jackets.
Many cherished Tech traditions spring from the long-held rivalry between Tech and the University of Georgia, which began the very first time these two teams played each other in 1893. Today, the teams meet every November to carry on that rivalry, which author Bill Cromartie coined “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.”
The Origin—Hate From The Start
The Georgia School of Technology— as Tech was known then—drew first blood with a 28-6 victory the first time they played the University of Georgia. Since neither team had official mascots then, the papers called them the “The Athens” vs. “The Techs.” Before the first whistle on Nov. 4, 1893, each side had accused the other of bringing in ringers for the game. The claims of unfairness persisted throughout the game. Tech took an early lead with an 18-0 score in the first half. During the second half, the mood on the other side plummeted even further, and the University of Georgia fans began throwing rocks and mud to protest the umpire’s calls. The rivalry was forged from the start and has continued strong for over a century.
Ramblin’ Wrecks
The 1893 game might have also been the start of the nickname “Ramblin’ Wrecks.” One theory behind the name is that it started following the game when Tech’s football team headed back to Atlanta on a train that collided with a freight train. None of the passengers were seriously injured in the collision, but some consider this the reason for the Ramblin’ Wrecks from Georgia Tech.
To Hell With Georgia!
The feud between Tech and UGA escalated in 1908, leading to the game that year being canceled. That year, an early version of the fight song appeared for the first time in print in Tech’s yearbook, the Blue Print. The song was “sung only under the bleachers” and written under the title “What Causes Whitlock to Blush,” which was a reference to Tech’s football manager.
“To Hell With Georgia” was a line in the first arrangement of the fight song written in 1910 by Mike Greenblatt, Tech’s first official band leader, and then re-arranged in 1914 by Frank Roman. The lyric goes, “If I had a son, sir, I tell you what he’d do. He would yell to hell with Georgia like his daddy used to do.”
While all Yellow Jackets know the phrase “To Hell With Georgia,” some choose to add further insult by lowercasing only the “g” in Georgia—THWg!
131-year Rivalry
Although the 1908 game was canceled, relations between Tech and Georgia were rumored to have improved the following year. On Oct. 28, 1909, The Atlanta Constitution declared any “hard feelings” between the two schools “a thing of the past,” owing to the fact that the Tech band agreed to play for the Georgia football team during their game against Alabama at Ponce de Leon Park in Atlanta. Little did the paper know that the peace would be short-lived and the rivalry would carry on for more than a century. Less than a month after the article was published, Tech’s football team faced Georgia, with Tech prevailing 12-6.
No Red Zone
“Up With the White and Gold” is Georgia Tech’s second fight song, and it also takes a dig at the University of Georgia with lyrics, such as “Drop a battle axe on georgia’s head.” The song celebrates Tech’s school colors, gold and white, while stomping on the University of Georgia’s red and black. The first two lines —“Up with the white and gold! Down with the red and black!”—also reinforce a fashion rule that’s become tradition for Tech fans: No red clothing.
Birth of a Prankster
Tech’s most famous student was born out of the intrastate rivalry. When Ed Smith, CerE 1927, received two cards to register at Tech, he decided to play a prank and enroll a fictional student named George P. Burdell. Smith initially wanted to use the name of his high school principal, George P. Butler, who at the time was a strong UGA fan and served as captain of the UGA team that played Tech in 1893. At the last minute, Smith got cold feet and changed Butler to Burdell, the maiden name of his friend’s mother. George P. Burdell immediately took up the good cause, becoming the mischievous mind behind several shenanigans and pranks played against UGA over the years.
