ATHENS – There was a concert Thursday night at the Georgia Theater, there were two segments on “Good Morning America” on Friday, there is parade in downtown Athens Friday night and an open men’s basketball scrimmage Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum.
Oh, yeah, and a football game.
Welcome to homecoming weekend at the University of Georgia, which this year will have a decidedly pink tint to it thanks to the considerable presence of the Bulldogs Battling Breast Cancer (BBBC) movement.
As they do every October, BBBC partners with UGA to organize a “Pink Out” for one of Georgia’s home football games. That means convincing as many people as they can reach to wear pink to the Bulldogs’ game to draw attention to the cause. No. 1-ranked Georgia (6-0, 3-0 SEC) plays host to Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-2) at Sanford Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m., SEC Network).
As a part of BBB’s fundraising effort, pink UGA football T-shirts that include the phrase “Attack The Day” and “Protect the Puppies” are on sale at The Red Zone, a locally-owned UGA apparel store on Clayton Street. At $25 each, the shirts can also be purchased online at ugaredzone.com. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to BBBC.
Starring in this year’s Pink Out, once again, is the one and only Tralee Hale. Hale is the mother of Georgia football star Kelee Ringo. She also happens to be a cancer survivor.
Almost simultaneous to Ringo’s decision to sign with the Bulldogs out of Phoenix, his mother was diagnosed with Stage 2 triple-negative ductal carcinoma, an aggressive form. Since receiving that diagnosis, Hale moved to Athens, had a double masectomy and joined the BBBC movement.
In March, Hale announced on social media that she is cancer free.
“Being declared cancer-free is rare,” Halee said Friday. “Specific to my type of cancer, it’s the type that either you beat or it beats you. It’s not considered in remission; I’m considered cancer-free. It’s out of my system.”
Hale’s story was told again Friday in a segment on ABC-TV. Over the last two years, she has become almost as well-known as her son, made famous by his heroic interception touchdown to clinch Georgia’s national championship win in Indianapolis.
In the meantime, UGA’s homecoming day made a national splash on Good Morning America. GMA co-host Amy Robach is a 1995 UGA alumnae and broadcast journalist graduate. Under the pretense of it being the 100th anniversary of Georgia homecoming celebrations – UGA records show this year to actually be the 101st – Robach was in Athens and did a live shot from Gillis Bridge overlooking Sanford Stadium.
There, Robach was surprised on the live broadcast by UGA President Jere Morehead, who presented Robach with an official proclamation making Friday “Amy Robach Day” at the university.
Just as significant, UGA’s homecoming day celebration and many logos and insignia were lit up for all the world to see on the GMA screens in Times Square.
It was indeed a red-letter day for the Bulldogs – with some pink tint.
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