Georgia Watch Along Show airing on FOX Local Saturday

ATLANTA - For the first time, the game known by many fans as "The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" will be played in Atlanta.

And for the first time, FOX Local will air UGASports’ Georgia Watch Along Show featuring former Georgia Coach Jim Donnan.

Former Georgia Coach Jim Donnan

The backstory:

For the past few seasons, UGASports has produced the live Watch Along during Georgia football games. The show gives Dawg fans a chance to hear live analysis of the game from Coach Donnan and UGASports Publisher Radi Nabulsi.

Coach Donnan served as Georgia’s coach from 1996-2000, leading the Bulldogs to a 40-19 record and becoming the first coach in school history to lead the Bulldogs to 4 consecutive bowl victories. Donnan was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1997 and has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He coached current UGA Head Coach Kirby Smart and Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo.

Nabulsi has covered the Bulldogs for 33 years. The University of Georgia graduate has spent the last 12 years as the publisher of UGASports after working at ESPN.

The Watch Along has earned tens of thousands of viewers on various social media sites. Fans will sync up the audio from the production to the television broadcast so they can get live analysis of the game from a Georgia perspective.

Radi Nabulsi and watch along stream

What they're saying:

In an appearance on FOX Local Friday afternoon, Nabulsi told host Eric Perry the idea started after Georgia fans complained about national announcers.

Nabulsi said, "Everyone feels that the announcers are against them. And I thought, well, you know, these announcers show up on Thursday. They talk to the coaches for like an hour, then they have to call the game. I have a former Georgia Bulldogs head coach, a guy who coached Kirby Smart, who coach, is their mentor, and he reached out to me, we started doing a podcast together, and. I said, ‘You know, Coach, would you be willing to come on during a live game and just talk about what you see?’ And he does. 

Nabulsi continued, "And what made it so popular is the fact that coach will look at the play before it happens. He sees the formations. He looks at the talent on the field, and he says, 'OK, this is going to be a split zone run to the right, or this is going to be, we're going wide zone here, or they're going to roll out Gunner Stockton, and he's going to throw to the wide cross.' And it happens before the play is even done. I'm looking sideways at him going, how did you know that was going to there. 

"The best thing, though, is when, like in the last game, when Georgia was losing to Humbert. Coach calls it like he sees it. He does not pull punches. He does not make excuses. He says, this is what's going wrong, and here is why," Nabulsi continued. "Having a coach who was a former Georgia Bulldogs head coach who is rooting for the team, he makes no bones about it. He talks about how much he loves these guys and how much he wants Mike Bobo and Glenn Schuman and Kirby Smart to be successful, and how he wants his football players to be. It feels like there is the most... Informed announcer of all time rooting for your team, and that's what has made tens of thousands of people watch the show."

How you can watch

What you can do:

To listen to or watch the Georgia Watch Along of the Georgia-Florida game, fans can download the FOX Local app. Sign up for free on the app to leave a comment during the game.

Because of renovations taking place at Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the Invesco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Classic between the Bulldogs and the Gators at 3:30 p.m. EST.

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