The Red and Black

Issue date: 7/12/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Julia Norman Children from Duluth ride on a carnival ride at Saturday's second annual Countdown to Kickoff. The charity event was held outside of the Butts-Mehre building and benefited Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Julia Norman Antavious Coates (left), Demiko Goodman (middle) and CJ Byrd (left) sign autographs for fans. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Julia Norman Football players from seasons past returned to Athens Saturday to sign autographs. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Julia Norman A child from Powder Springs knocks down cones on the Wooddruff Practice Fields. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Nora A. Cobb The Chick-fil-A cow tries not to hurl after getting off of the moonbounce at Saturday's festivites. The Cow managed to hold on to his cookies. [Click to enlarge]

Georgia football fans weren't the only ones in awe at the Countdown to Kickoff last Saturday.

While lines of fans, both young and old, gathered to catch a glimpse of this year's 2007 Bulldogs team, junior defensive tackle and Bednarik Award watch list nominee Jeff Owens was among those excited at meeting some of the past Georgia players.

"It's a great experience to get a chance to meet some of the older players, some the guys I've never seen before," Owens said.

Many former players attended the event, including Tim Jennings, D.J. Shockley, Charles Grant and Frank Ros - captain of the 1980 national championship team. The former players and this year's team signed any object fans were presenting - from a football to a hat to a sheet of paper.

But autographs weren't the only reason for attending. There were many activities for children, such as a spinning kaleidoscope swing, rock climbing and a Safari Adventure moon walk.

The event also had plenty of activities and things for adult fans as well including a golf tournament held on Friday followed by a Sic 'em charity auction and party where fans could bid on Georgia memorabilia, game day experiences with the team and other game related perks.

Shockley, a backup quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, said he jumped at the opportunity to come to Athens because of the support Georgia fans gave him during his five years at the school.

"It's tremendous just to give back to the people that supported you all these years," Shockley said. "Just to come back and shake some hands and say hello. It's hard for them to get in touch with us but it's easy for us to come out and be involved with this. I'm enjoying it and it's a great situation."

This was Countdown to Kickoff's second year, hosted by former Bulldogs Matt and Jon Stinchcomb. The $30 ticket to the event helped raise money for four - local charities - Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia Transplant Foundation, Children's Tumor Foundation and the University of Georgia College of Education.

The event came together for the first time last year when the Stinchcombs and other former players thought of giving the fans a chance to meet some of their favorite players while raising money for charity. Last year's event saw an estimated $100,000 collected for the selected charities.

"It's great to get these former guys and some of the current players together to meet with the fans while working for a good cause," Matt Stinchcomb said.

Stinchcomb added that some of the former players didn't have to come down, but the fact that they did made him proud.

"It makes you proud to have had a chance to participate in this program," Stinchcomb said. "There are guys that have taken their time to come back out here - guys that have busy schedules, guys with families and jobs. To come back and be with the fans and support this cause is great," Stinchcomb said.

"And then there are all the fans that took the time to make the trip up here. We've tried to make it a point to give back to the community and it's something that makes you proud."

Shockley added that one of his reasons for making the trip was see to the Stinchcombs.

"Matt has my number and he always knows that if he ever needs anything he can call me," Shockley said. "It's always a fun thing for me just to know the fans still remember you and that they want to come out and say hey to you. It's a real good thing, and the least I can do is to sign a few autographs."

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