'Can't break up that tradition': Crawford County family's superstition helps keep UGA winning streak alive

Superstitions and sports go hand-in-hand, such as athletes wearing their favorite pair of socks or going through the same routine before a game, and it doesn't just stop there. Plenty of fans have their own rituals to preserve good luck.

One family believes the Most Wonderful Time of the Year should be all year.

Shannon and Wendy West are big-time Georgia football fans and they admit when they watch a Dawgs game, they want nothing but positive vibes to help produce a Georgia win, and they found the gift that keeps on giving all year long.

The past two years have been a dream for the Georgia Bulldogs, and some fans don't want to wake up.

"I can remember, vividly, 1981 when they won and went all the way. It was the championship then, and I remember sitting with my family and friends and we watched it and screamed and hollered," Wendy said.

Wendy and Shannon are major UGA lovers, and although they don't hunker down in Athens on Saturdays often, they do their part as superfans. 

During the fall outside their home, you will see a power "G" logo on the front lawn. 

It's a staple in the Crawford County community. 

"If they're winning, we don't do anything different. If we lose, then it kind of makes it hard because it starts to fade and we start cutting grass over it again," said Wendy.

But the "G" wasn't enough, so Shannon created another idea to as a good luck charm for the holidays and bowl season -- a UGA-studded Christmas tree.

Wendy said, "He had all the Georgia ornaments and he said, 'We're going all the way! We're getting to the playoffs and the championship, so I'm going to make a tree out of it.' So we did -- he put all the ornaments on it and we got ready for the championship, and when we won, that was it. We can't take it down."

That was 2022 when the Dawgs ended the drought with a title win over Alabama in Indiana. 

Then, they won it all again, dominating TCU by way of L.A., so now, the good luck charm is a permanent fixture in the house.

"That second one, it just had to stay. It just had to stay. Can't break up that tradition," Shannon said.

Now, every day in the West home is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, because every day it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

"Everybody walks in and says, 'Hey, I like your Christmas tree.' I say, 'Thank you. We do, too," Wendy said.

The Wests are just doing their part to keep the good vibes going with the Red-and-Black, and as long as the Dawgs continue their winning streak, Shannon says, "I know in the long run, if I was that good, Kirby would hire me. I'd help keep this winning and keep it going."

The Wests say they realize that it will be 100 degrees pretty soon, but that just doesn't matter. They will continue to hold out hope for the next season.