September 2002: Vol. 81, No. 4September 2002: Vol. 81, No. 4
he invitation came from the top, with UGA president Michael Adams inviting D.C.-area alumni to a July 16 reception for members of the Georgia Congressional delegation. But at the very top of the invitation under the heading "Special University of Georgia Guests in Attendance"—ahead of Vince Dooley, Mark Richt, and senior vice president Steve Wrigley—was Uga VI, headlining the whole shebang.
And that's the way the press played the story.
The Savannah Morning News previewed Uga VI's trip to Washington with a story on the front page of its Sunday edition.
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 Uga VI's appearance in D.C. made headlines as far away as London. Besides a new book, the mascots will also be featured in a documentary film, "Damn Good Dog" from Athens' Nowhere Productions, which supplied this photo. |
And that's pretty much what happened.
"We pull into the parking lot at the Russell Senate Building," says Uga's owner, Sonny Seiler (BBA '56, JD '57), "and it's a mob scene. Photographers everywhere, snapping pictures of Uga like he's running for office!
"A New Orleans-style jazz combo is playing, and when Uga walks in, 300 people—senators and congressmen included—burst into spontaneous applause! Cecelia and I are thinking, Well, here we are . . . a typical Tuesday evening with Uga."
Senators Zell Miller (AB '58, MA '59) and Phil Gramm (BBA '64) got down on one knee for their portrait with Uga. (Said Gramm: "Uga was probably the best looking one in the picture.") And both Dooley and Richt addressed the crowd, each happily admitting they were playing second fiddle.
"I know you came to see Uga," Richt acknowledged with a smile, "but I was glad to be able to coattail along."
"I've always been upstaged," said Dooley. "That was part of the contract when I arrived. I was always behind Uga. When Herschel won the Heisman Trophy, Uga was there. Each generation of Uga has its special moments."
Indeed, they do—from Uga I, who started it all back in '56, to Uga V, who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the nation's No. 1 mascot, to Uga VI, who took the nation's capital by storm.
The inside story of all six of Georgia's bulldog mascots is told in Damn Good Dogs! (Hill Street Press), due in stores this fall. A special preview of the book—which Sonny Seiler has been writing in his head for nearly 50 years—appears in this issue of GM (see story). As this excerpt will attest, this is more than a tale about a dog; it is also the story of one family's incredible loyalty to the University of Georgia.
