An Orange-tainted Recruiting trip

To Georgia football fans the color orange signifies all but one of the school’s enemies. To Georgia fans their most hated rival Georgia Tech is known as the yellow bellies and wear gold.
But the Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers and Tennessee Vols all wear the orange color fans are taught from a young age to scowl at.
Old Georgia fans still have Clemson on the hate list from a long rivalry of the two schools about an hour apart.
So when a 2009 Georgia recruit’s family, who just happen to be the parents of Oklahoma State standout receiver Adarius Bowman, show up decked out in orange at the Cowboys and Bulldogs game last week the trip soon went in the wrong direction.
Tara Bowman has a houseful of football talent in her home in the Chattanooga area. There’s Adarius, one of the top college receivers in the nation. There’s his brother Michael Bowman, an outstanding junior receiver from Ridgeland High School, with many of the same physical and athletic abilities as big brother.
Then there’s Devan, a freshman defensive back/tailback, who starts at Chattanooga Notre Dame, and might be the best football player in the family one day.
Michael’s talents got Tara, her husband Terrance and the family an unofficial recruiting visit to the Georgia and Oklahoma State game on Saturday.
The family arrived at Sanford Stadium decked out in the Oklahoma State orange. Reports are that when the family turned up in the recruiting room they drew some attention. Of course they did. They were wearing the color Georgia fans are taught to detest.
Tara Bowman said she was told by the Georgia folks that the family couldn’t wear the orange attire and sit in the recruits section and they offered them Georgia shirts to wear.
She told the Athens Daily-Banner that she told the Georgia folks to talk to the Bulldogs coaching staff because they knew her other son played for Oklahoma State.Tara Bowman said she was frustrated and wanted to support both of her sons.
She said she later talked with Georgia coach Mark Richt, who understood. The recruiting staff gave the Bowman’s tickets elsewhere in the stadium.
But that is where the story really goes south.
Bowman said the tops of the tickets were torn off before she received them. So when they were taken to another gate where they could re-enter the stadium they were not allowed to enter because the tops had been torn off.
They were then taken back to their original location where they wore their orange attire surrounded by those wearing red-and-black.
That had to be a bad situation.
Undoubtedly, the Georgia fans were not very hospitable to those dressed in orange.
Adarius Bowman was recruited by Georgia before selecting North Carolina out of high school. He later transferred to Oklahoma State. Don’t expect to see Michael Bowman in Bulldog Land either.
Although, Michael is a star at Ridgeland in Georgia and his little brother went through spring practice at Ridgeland and ended up at Chattanooga Notre Dame in Tennessee.