Gentlemen -

Homecoming is once again upon us.  This years festivities will be October 28 – 29, 2011 as the Yellow Jackets take on the Clemson Tigers.  Please visit the Homecoming page for the schedule of activities.  You may sign up and pay for any activities via PayPal.  Instructions for using PayPal are at the bottom of the Homecoming page or you may also utilize this tutorial video.

Looking forward to seeing and catching up with brothers from across the country next month.

Damn Glad!

Congratulations and good luck to Mary Brock, wife of alumnus John Brock on her new venture with one of Atlanta’s most successful sports teams. For those of you who don’t know, she has become a partial owner of the Atlanta Dream. The Dream have made the playoffs for three straight years, last year making the finals. This year, having already cinched up a playoff spot, they hope for another run. I hope local Atlanta alumni will consider this a great entertainment option when they are looking for a great and entertaining night out. Again, best of luck to Mary. Please join me in offering support and kudos for Mary. I have attached a link to the AJC website for an article about this ambitious and exciting undertaking.

http://blogs.ajc.com/business-beat/2011/01/17/two-new-owner-investors-buy-into-atlanta-dream/

Thanks to brother Dirk Lamb for providing this announcement.

Gentlemen -

In case there were any questions, I put together a quick instructional video on how to use PayPal to pay for any Homecoming events you wish to attend.  Let me know if you have any questions.

-Ed Gaile
KD 815

Phi Sigma Kappa Brothers

Gentlemen -

It is that time of year again.

The air gets a little crisper.

The whiskey gets a little clearer.

The roar of the Yellow Jacket nation as the football team puts toe to leather.

And time to reconnect with your Phi Sig brothers at Homecoming.

Homecoming this year is October 8 – 9.  The new house is complete and looks fantastic!  The current brothers and pledges could not be prouder of the new symbol of Phi Sigma Kappa on the Georgia Tech campus.  Please make your plans to come to Homecoming, see the new house, and reconnect with friends both old and new.

A couple of quick notes on this year’s homecoming:

• You can get all of the information you need and pay for any events on the Homecoming page
• Please note that the Homecoming dinner celebration will be on Friday this year
• I repeat the Homecoming dinner will be on Friday this year instead of Saturday
• Trustees meeting will be on Saturday morning
• Lunch will still be at the house on Saturday afternoon and scholarships will be given out then

Damn Glad!

View from Techwood

Gentlemen -

Hopefully the holidays treated you well.  2010 is going to be an important year for Phi Sigma Kappa on the Georgia Tech campus as we unveil our new house!

If you have not already done so, please sign up for Phi Sig updates and newsletters (sign up form is in the right sidebar of the website).

We have a guest post from brother Tom Hughes (KD ’59) who has been instrumental in fundraising for our Capital Campaign.  Please take a minute to read.  Any amount you can contribute will make a huge difference for our fraternity.

Brothers,
Yes – the new house is a reality. If you had the opportunity to visit the site for Homecoming, you had to be proud of the legacy Kappa Deuteron Chapter has established for Phi Sigma Kappa and Georgia Tech. The local chapter provided the usual lunch and served it to 150 alumni, actives and family members – seated at tables in the chapter room. Below are pictures of the house which we moved into this past weekend – start of the second semester.  You can view more pictures of the new house progress on the Gallery page.

The trip to this point of time has not traveled without a few bumps in the road and considerable “time contributions” by a number of local alumni. A significant amount of time has been contributed by JR Gilbreath, KD ’84 covering his “on site” supervision of the construction.

Here is a recap of the “Pledge Results” through January 10, 2010. We have reached  64% of our $600,000 goal. We achieved that with only 76 contributions. We need your help to reach our 100% objective. Your contribution can be spread over a two year period as well as a monthly draw on a credit card.

You can visit the fundraising section for instructions on how to make your contribution. Remember the contributions are tax deductible and National will provide you with documentation for tax purposes.

In the next 4 to 6 weeks we will attempt to contact each of you to solicit your help – don’t wait on us to call- you supported the fraternity back when you were in school and we are asking you to support us once again.

Any questions – please reach me via email thughes(at)plantationcable(dot)net

Fraternally,

Tom Hughes KD ’59

View from 5th and Techwood

View across 5th

View from across Techwood

ACC Champs take on Iowa in the Orange Bowl

Happy Holidays

The ACC Champion Jackets (9th BCS, 9th AP, 10th Coaches) will play the Iowa Hawkeyes (10th BCS, 10th AP, 11th Coaches) on January 5, 2010 at 8 pm.  If you are going to the game, you are better than me.  Come home with a victory or don’t come home at all.

ACC Champs

Tech beat Clemson in the ACC Championship on December 5 for an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl.  The last time that we won an outright conference championship was 1990.  From what little I can remember, I think I was in school at that time.  We are playing in a “major” bowl for the time since 1967.  From what little I can remember, I wasn’t alive then.  And now for an understatement: This game is huge for our program.  No sports write up is complete without an understatement.

Iowa At-large

Iowa received an at-large bid to the Orange Bowl after a 10-2 regular season record and a 6-2 record in the Big Ten.  The only blemishes on their record were against Northwestern, who is playing Auburn in the Outback Bowl, and at Ohio State, who is playing Oregon in the Rose Bowl.  The 2009 Hawkeyes are known for playing defense, which gives up 15.5 points per game and only 122 yards rushing per game.  Head Coach Kirk Ferentz won the Big Ten Coach of the Year and is arguably the best coach that we will face this year.  I said arguably because I assumed that someone could make an argument, but that someone would have to be an intoxicated Dawg fan.  Ferentz is excellent.

Notable Hawkeyes

LB Pat Angerer and S Tyler Sash are part of seven Hawkeyes who were named All-Big Ten by the league’s head coaches.  QB Ricky Stanzi will return from injury after leading them to a 9-1 record.  Mark my words: When you watch the game, listen for this phrase, “Iowa has been decimated by injuries this year.”  Any team that has endured more than two injuries has been decimated.  Announcers do not know how to say it any other way.

Offense vs. Defense

Iowa is an interesting match up since they are opposite of Tech.  They are known for very good defense and a lackluster offense.  Our rushing offense is 2nd in the nation while our defense has struggled to stop the run.  (Two understatements in one write up…that’s bold.)  One thing that both teams have in common is playing in a conference that is not highly regarded.  Thanks to Ohio State, the Big Ten has laid many an egg in BCS bowl games.  The ACC had not had much success in the Orange Bowl until last year when Virginia Tech beat Cincinatti.  It doesn’t help that we are force fed a high calorie diet of SEC praise.  (Thankfully Clemson beat Kentucky.  Otherwise, there would have been additional chest pounding by the SEC teams who hide behind the conference after a disappointing season.  But I digress.)

Prediction

Based on our drubbing at the hands of LSU last year, the knock on Tech is that teams with additional time to practice will succeed in stopping the triple option.  If that’s the case, we should fire our coach because we will never win another bowl game unless we play in the Little Caesars.  Prepare all you want…I like our team.  I am biased, but more importantly I am right.  GT 31-24.

Damn Glad!

Tom Oliver
KD 804

Go Georgia Tech!

Tech ended another long losing streak by winning at Virginia for the first time since 1990.  We got off to a slow start on a rain soaked field, but eventually wore down the UVA defense in the second half.  Our first drive of the third quarter was nearly 11 minutes long and resulted in a touchdown.  There is no better defense than keeping the opposing offense sitting on a wet bench.  UVA could only muster three field goals, which meant that their fans sang Auld Lang Syne only eight times.

Since Miami lost to Clemson last weekend, Tech is in the driver’s seat to win the Coastal Division.  With wins at Duke and against Wake Forest in November, we would lock up a trip to the ACC Championship game in Tampa.  Before we head to Duke, we will drive up to Nashville for a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Halloween night.

Vandy’s record is not particularly impressive this season, but they recently gave South Carolina all they could handle before losing at the end.  Commodore running back Warren Norman has played well this season.  He leads the SEC in all purpose yards and has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.  That is not good news for our special teams which has struggled throughout the season.  If I had to make a positive statement about our special teams, I would say that our kicker is an excellent tackler.  Nobody wraps up like Scott Blair.  Let’s hope we don’t need his tackling prowess on Saturday.

Prediction: Coach Paul Johnson recently addressed a question regarding the importance of this game.  Technically, this game has no effect on our chances of reaching the Orange Bowl.  He noted that the SEC is highly regarded throughout the country, and we need to do well.  He is correct.  The ACC is scorned every weekend unless Florida State and/or Miami are at the top.  A loss to Vandy would only add to the nationwide disdain for ACC football.  I should probably put the thesaurus down.  GT 38-13.

Damn Glad!

Tom Oliver
KD 804

Sting dem Cavaliers

Big win last Saturday.  Georgia Tech beat a top 5 opponent at home for the first time since 1962 when we beat Alabama and a QB named Joe Namath.  I’m trying to figure out if it seems longer if you know who Joe Namath is or if you don’t.  Who cares.  Forty seven years is too long to wait for a big home win.  Let’s hope that we do it again before 2056.

The first half of Saturday’s game was all about defense as GT led 7-3.  Both teams performed better offensively in the second half.  If GT didn’t turn the ball over, we would have won easily in my opinion.  That’s how dominating our offense was in the second half.  We beat a good defense and only completed one pass.  VT did the most with turnovers and stayed in the game however.

UVA is up next.  They have won 5 out of the last 6 against us.  They began their season with horrible losses to William and Mary and Southern Miss, but they have improved by winning three in a row over UNC, Indiana and Maryland.  I’m not sure if they are better or the rest of the ACC is worse…probably a combination of both.

With our highest AP ranking (#11) since 2001, GT has high expectations.  We should be favored in the rest of our games barring a devastating injury to Nesbitt or Dwyer.  If we keep winning, we have a chance of getting an at-large BCS bid or a trip to the ACC Championship in Tampa.  A Miami conference loss would be just what the doctor ordered.

Prediction: Another loss in Charlottesville would be worse than losing to William and Mary.  The last time we won there, we won the national championship.  Is the road to the BCS championship through Charlottesville?  Nope.  It could be the road to Music City if we screw it up however.  Paul Johnson is too intense to allow a letdown.  GT 35-17.

Damn Glad!

Tom Oliver
KD 804

Ga Tech versus Va Tech

Tech secured another victory last week in a late show against the Seminoles.  The offense was impressive in scoring 49 points.  QB Josh Nesbitt made an incredible play by getting the ball back from an FSU defensive player.  It was easily the play of the game.  It’s hard to describe Tech’s first half defense because “porous” doesn’t capture the whole picture.  According to Websters (unabridged), the opposite of fantastic is craptastic.  Although my spell checker hates it, Tech’s first half D was craptastic.  Much better.

The win over FSU makes our homecoming game against #4 Virginia Tech one of the biggest games at Bobby Dodd Stadium in many years.  If VT wins, they control the ACC.  If GT wins, the ACC Coastal division could be decided by BCS rankings.  And if that happened, it would be the first time that GT fans could actually complain about the BCS because it never mattered while we were under Gailey.  It’s funny what happens when you do better than 7-6.

The Hokies are good on both sides of the ball.  The offense can run and pass well.  Their QB is fast and will need to be contained.  We aren’t great about putting pressure on a QB so I would expect them to score quite a bit.  Their defense is highly regarded as usual.  Last year, they beat us 20-17 by forcing three turnovers.

If #4 VT has a weakness, you could say that they haven’t played well on the road this year.  Granted, their only loss was to Alabama at the Georgia Dome.

Their only other game away from home was against Duke which they won 34-26.  Playing in Durham is tough at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but not so much at (insert name of Duke football stadium).

Prediction: Here are a few facts: (1) GT has to win to have a shot at winning the ACC; (2) VT could lose this one and still make it to the Orange Bowl; (3) VT is not the same team on the road; (4) GT’s kicking game is craptastic.  VT 38-35.

Damn Glad!

Tom Oliver
KD 804

Homecoming Flashback - 2005

Gentlemen -

A quick update that due to the announced 6:00 PM game time, the Homecoming dinner has been cancelled.  Timing and logistics would make it unfeasible to organize an enjoyable event for all.  Those that paid for dinner via PayPal will be refunded immediately.  Those that paid via check, Pete Hoag will be in touch with you to determine the appropriate course of action.

Lunch will still be served at noon and set up in the first two levels of the new house.  Bathrooms will be functional and available in the house.

If you have not paid for your homecoming activities as of yet ( golf/lunch), please do so as soon as possible so we may get accurate head counts.

Damn Glad!

Ed Gaile
KD 815