With Georgia Tech’s athletic year complete (the last athlete to compete for the Yellow Jackets this season was runner Avery Bartlett, who finished 15th in the semifinals of the 800 meters at the NCAA championships last week, earning second-team All-America status) and me wanting to clean out my bank of photos off my phone, what better time to show off my very average skills as a photographer. These are some of my favorite (read: not blurry) photos from covering Tech over this past academic year.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Aug. 31, 2016, Dublin. This was for sale at a gift shop in Dublin's city center. I tend to think it might have been a half-hearted attempt to avoid trademark issues, but, as you'll see in another photo, I'm not sure it wasn't just a case of misunderstanding. I talked to a clerk later and he said something similar happened when Penn State and UCF played in Dublin a few years ago.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Sept. 1, 2016. Dublin. After Tech's first practice in Dublin, the team was treated to a presentation of Gaelic sports, hurling and Gaelic football. You can find a video of the cultural exchange here.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Sept. 3, 2016. Dublin. This is why I don't think the "Georgia vs. Boston" t-shirt was strictly a trademark matter. I think these were for sale outside Aviva Stadium on game day. Jeff Schultz and I had a fun conversation with a lady selling the scarves enlightening her on the small mistake.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Sept. 3, 2016. Dublin. Jeff and I were welcomed like long lost brothers here. Jeff's column about the national leprechaun museum.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Sept. 17, 2016, Bobby Dodd Stadium. This is a photo of Jo Atchison and her sister Alae Risse Leitch, at the Vanderbilt game. Ms. Leitch was 102 years old at the taking of this photo. She has been a Tech supporter since the early 1920′s. They were guests in the suite of Susan Johnson, wife of coach Paul Johnson.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Sept. 22, 2016, Edge Center. The day that Todd Stansbury was officially hired as Tech's athletic director. He proudly wore his Tech ring, one of a number of memorabilia that he was excited to be able to finally show after more than 20 years in the employ of other schools.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Nov. 12, 2016. Blacksburg, Va. A security guard was parked in front of the Lane Stadium sign hours after the Yellow Jackets had upset Virginia Tech, guarding the T in the sign. The T has previously disappeared, presumably by theft, during previous visits by Georgia Tech.
I felt bad for the security guard. It was really cold.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Nov. 19, 2016, Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Jackets leave Grant Field for the final time in the 2016 season after beating Virginia 31-17 on senior day. It was the final home game ever for four of the players pictured, A-back Austin McClellan (29), defensive end Rod Rook-Chungong (41), center Freddie Burden (directly behind Rook-Chungong) and linebacker P.J. Davis (partially obscured by security guard in light blue jacket). I wanted to get a photo of Justin Thomas, but I believe my phone filled up with memory after this photo.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Nov. 26, 2016, Athens. Not the most well-crafted photograph, but one that holds plenty of meaning for Tech fans, as Tech congregated at midfield of Sanford Stadium to celebrate its 28-27 win over Georgia. It was, as all who witnessed can attest, a remarkable game. I figured Tech had little shot prior to its fourth-quarter rally from 13 points down.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Dec. 22, 2016. Edge Center. This is the floor to ceiling whiteboard that Todd Stansbury had put in place in his office. He said the board served as a reminder of plans and ideas that he was generating as he sought to provide vision for the department.
“A lot of times, you meet and then you don’t talk about something until the next time you meet,” he said. “And so it’s a way of kind of keeping things moving.”
The top line on the board reads, in all caps, "We develop the young people who will change the world!"
Below is a quote from Nelson Mandela: "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way little else does. It speaks to young in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all kinds of discrimination."
Thanks for making it this far. More photos Wednesday.
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