[JRL]

By Chip Towers | Monday, December 31, 2007, 12:18 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Happy New Year from the Big Easy! Well, almost. I was in the French Quarter last night and it’s hard to imagine the way people were partying down there that they’d have much left for the actual New Year’s Eve celebration tonight.
That was one observation I made. Another is that there are a LOT of Hawaii fans here. It’s going to be interesting to see exactly how many when everybody pours into the Superdome for tomorrow night’s Sugar Bowl matchup between the Warriors (12-0) and Georgia (10-2). I’ve heard estimates ranging from 25,000 to 50,000 and coach June Jones said 35,000. I’m inclined to think it has to be on the low side of that scale but we’ll see.
Conversely, there are plenty of Georgia fans here but it doesn’t appear to me that there’s as many as I’m accustomed to seeing for a Sugar Bowl. Perhaps it’s because of the BCS Championship Game snub or maybe it is because the Bulldogs have played in this bowl in three of the last six years. Whatever it is, there just doesn’t seem to be the excitement and electricity one usually feels from the fans for a major BCS bowl.
And like I said, Hawaii folks are going bonkers over this. That were certainly in a celebratory mood down in the Quarter. I read in one of the Honolulu papers that the undefeated Warriors playing in the Sugar Bowl is the biggest thing for Hawaii since it was granted statehood.
On a related note, I heard last night that Georgia was trying to organize its “Dawg Walk” before the Sugar Bowl but was unable to because of logistical and security issues.
So heading into tomorrow’s game, I’d say Hawaii has a big edge in the intangible department when it comes to emotion. Maybe I’ll be proved wrong when we get closer to kickoff but that’s the vibe I’m getting right now.
Do y’all think that will make a difference? Can Georgia still win if it’s not as emotionally invested as the visitors? Do you think the fans will rally?
Meanwhile, the news hasn’t been great for the Dogs on the injury front. Georgia has been real vague about it but linebacker Dannell Ellerbe clearly does not feel well and we just found out he’s been battling an Achilles tendon problem, too. Meanwhile, fellow linebacker Marcus Washington is still not fully recovered from an ankle injury and Knowshon Moreno has a heavily-taped ankle, though he insists he’s 100 percent. That’s not good considering the track meet they’re about to enter against Hawaii.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Coach Richt has a press conference at 2:30 ET followed by June Jones at 3 p.m. So I’ll let you know here if anything interesting comes out of that. Let me know if you have any burning questions in the meantime.