Georgia football fans may hate Penn Wagers, but we had fun – we had lots of fun.
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I vividly recall my first baseball game at Grayson Stadium just down the street from our Washington Avenue home in Savannah. Before the first pitch, a chorus of boos rained down around me.
“What are they booing.”
My dad, in mid-boo, answered, “The umpires.”
Booing the umpire is more than an American tradition. It’s a good citizens right and duty.
Around the south, football fans on Saturday afternoon extend the full unconditional benefits of this right to the man every football fan hates, Penn Wagers.
In 1974, Wagers stepped on a football field for the first time with a whistle and wearing striped shirt. The journey took him around the world, eventually landing him in his dream job as a full-time SEC referee.
Asked by Bryce Donovan of the Post Courier what it takes to become a referee in the SEC, Wagers responded, “You gotta be tough.”
Like all referees, Wagers missed calls. But we should all have his toughness. Wagers toils while surrounded by critics, fans and broadcasters, all but a handful ignorant of the knowledge required to do his job..
Penn Wagers personifies the All-American tradition of hating the umpire. He made calls that every Georgia fan will never forget or forgive.
But we had fun, too.
We had some Glory, Glory moments while Penn Wagers’ hand rested on the game’s rudder.
Here are Dawn of the Dawg’s five greatest Penn Wagers games.
Next: Hello, Mr. Wagers