Since the first baseball game waged between Tech and Georgia, there's been hostility. Actually, hostility is a bit mild. War is a bit mild for that matter.
The modern era of the Tech/UGA (sic) rivalry began in 1924, after several years of cut athletic ties. Our rivalry since then has been kind of tame compared to what caused the split in the previous years. There was manuer, continuous fighting, and insults even the fiercest fans today would find excessive and in very poor taste. While much of this was tolerated, to some extent, by the school populations, the final split occured at a 1919 baseball game, where Georgia's yearly parade made the point that, while a patriotic Georgia was fighting in France, a cowardly Tech was playing football in Atlanta. The insult was too much for the Tech community, and all athletic ties were severed.
Since Tech and UGA (sic) started playing eachother again in '24, the student bodies and faculties went back to attacking their opponents, though with somewhat more restraint than previously. Particularly at football games, the away crowd is never completely safe (especially if their team wins), and fights are the norm.
How has the rivalry influenced Tech culture and traditions through the years? Think of the "Old Ford Race," most of our songs and cheers, our early journeys to Auburn to support the Tigers against UGA (sic), and just about every insult you've ever heard about a bull dog, and you'll get the idea. As is expected from major schools confined in the same state, neither wants to bow down in combat to the other. It's rivalry, war. How else can you explain it?
It is impossible to do our rivalry with UGA (sic) justice in words. To really understand the feelings that go into such competition, you have to be there at the games and get into it. Remember, in the 1998 season, we'll play our last football game in Athens. We let UGA (sic) fans survive in Atlanta when we lose at home. We stole their flag from a stupid cheerleader foolish enough to bring it near our fans, but they survived. It'll be interesting to see how the dogs take it when we win between the hedges.
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is home to such powerhouses as FSU, Duke, UVA, North Carolina, and, of course, Georgia Tech. It goes without saying that we all hate eachother. While not comparable to the rivalry of, say, the SEC (who is?), we are stocked with enough big names and perinneally ranked schools in football, basketball, and baseball that rivalry is almost necessary.
If you happened to watch this years GT/FSU football game, you might have noticed the Tech band playing whenever the Seminol's band struck up a tune or cheer. Maybe you caught our football and basketball home games against UNC, determined by a total of 10 points. Our rivalries are generally left on the field or the court, so there isn't as much publicity as in other leagues, but it's there.
Come to this year's FSU game at Bobby Dodd Stadium if you want to see hostility. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.