"...November 9th, 2013: The BullDawgs were 5-3, with losses to Clemson, Missouri, and the lowly Vanderbilt. What started as a fun way to get through a season that drove us to the brink of despair became something much bigger. I had no idea my GameDay Prayers would turn into an online phenomenon, let alone a published book.

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Growing up, I was an avid reader of Lewis Grizzard. Every day, I'd cut out his column from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and neatly stack them in an old Bass Weejun penny loafer shoebox. My "prayers" were my tribute to Lewis, with a bit of Leonard Postero's "Leonard’s Losers" mixed in, and a dash of Furman Bisher, also from the AJC. Little did I know that one day, Lewis’ widow would write the foreword to my first book.

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Tailgating is more than just a tradition—it's about community. It’s given me the chance to meet so many incredible people and deepen existing friendships. In the South, no matter the outcome of the season, tailgating remains sacred. It’s as close to a religion as we get.

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While Georgia is now one of the pre-eminent programs in college football, those of us who are of a certain age remember that wasn’t always the case. A verse from Psalms 107:4 sums up our long journey through years of struggles: “They wandered in the wilderness, in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted within them. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.”

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There were so many years marked by near-misses and moments of infamy, some of which are reflected in these prayers. For example: losing routinely to Florida and Tennessee in the 1990s when the Championship Game was right in our backyard; the 2012 SEC Championship Game; the 2015 blowout loss to Alabama in Athens; the Prayer at Jordan-Hare; the Tennessee Hail Mary in 2016; and, of course, 2nd and 26 in the 2018 National Championship.

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My first book captured the long road to redemption, marking the program’s first national title in 41 years and its first-ever back-to-back titles. However, to jump straight from 1980 to 2021 would miss a significant portion of history and tradition. Those two years were especially sweet because of the lean decades we all endured.

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This book serves as a reminder of how far we've come. It’s been a long road, but the Lord has delivered us from our distress—let us not take it for granted..."