ATHENS, Ga. — Are you ready for it? Athens sure was.
Shortly after 5 p.m., still two hours to go until meet time and one hour until the doors actually opened to the public, people were already lined up down Carlton Street by the hoards.
Excitement buzzed through the chilly January air in Athens, dads holding their daughters’ hands while moms guided them through the hustle and bustle of expectant Georgia fans. Cars were curled around every corner, idling desperately as they waited to take a parking spot in the always-full Carlton Deck from students leaving their evening classes and construction workers clocking out from renovating Foley Field.
(I left my house two hours early to get here, and even that was barely enough. I got lucky.)
You’d honestly think the men’s basketball team was playing tonight, given just how insane the crowds were. But nope; it was Georgia gymnastics. The GymDogs, under new leadership between co-head coaches Ryan Roberts and Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, were gearing up to perform in front of a sold-out crowd for the first time since they hosted Alabama on Feb. 17, 2023.
Of course, the sellout was sort of anticipated the minute 11-time Olympic-medalist Simone Biles made the announcement she’d be in the building to support her long-time coach. Biles flew into the Classic City with her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, and the pair were gifted custom jerseys from the football program.
As the lines filtered into the Coliseum at 6 p.m., things got really loud. I’m sure if I was wearing my Apple Watch, it would have given me a noise warning.
A quartet of Paint Line students showed up, spelling out ‘UGA!’ in the student section, and members of the Spike Squad were seated ahead of them, nibbling popcorn and chatting amongst themselves with their shoulder pads shining. All genres of music blasted over the loudspeakers, from Rihanna’s ‘Disturbia’ to Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ and wordless electronic beats, as the women, decked out in glittering blue and bedazzled black leotards, warmed up across the space, springing off the equipment and soaring through the air with unimaginable ease.
The Georgia women lined up along the student section at 6:30 p.m. on the dot to do the school’s cheer and then took their leave to do final touches as the stage was set. In the meantime, the crowd was thoroughly entertained.
A group of young gymnasts in from Athens Clarke Gymnastics Academy were brought out to perform a pre-meet routine to a mashup of songs from Wicked — ‘What Is This Feeling?’, ‘Popular’ and ‘Defying Gravity’ were among their mini playlist. Decades of GymDogs alumni, who the night is for with it being Olympics and alumni night after all, paraded out to be honored. Among them was former head coach Suzanne Yoculan Leebern, who won 10 NCAA and 16 SEC gymnastics titles during her 26-year tenure leading the program.
Biles, sporting a sleek bob and windbreaker-esque Georgia crewneck, was tucked in the corner of the Coliseum next to one of the tunnels with Owens to watch the meet. She posted to her Instagram story that Owens was ‘back on notes’ with the hashtag ‘IYKYK’ (if you know, you know) — Owens did this for Biles’ routines in Paris.
The couple had the privilege of calling the Dawgs, a time-honored tradition at university sporting events, and the night went off without a hitch, Georgia claiming its second victory of the season.
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