This is the final entry in the EA Sports promotion. NCAA11 has hit the shelves today! It's Christmas in July! Below is a note from the folks at EA Sports.

When you go to a particular school or grow up around college football, you are more than just a fan. It's who you are. We thought we could leverage this pride in your roots and show that "where you come from" is more than just a statement about geography. By positioning NCAA Football 11 as a game that understands this pride and is authentic to these traditions, the takeaway should be that anything that is in college football is in NCAA Football 11.

And this doesn't just include game play (though that's a huge part of it). It's rivals and mascots; it's legends and stories. It's those things that are at the very fabric of the game itself. Of course the game is great this year as well. With authentic entrances, mascots and specific offenses for each team, the term "where I come from" takes on a much larger meaning. While playing NCAA Football 11 is ultimately a great sports sim, it should also give you a sense of the pride and emotion one has for being a fan of a team they will never not be a part of.

Throughout this promotion I think we have shared stories and traditions that we all go through. We have also noticed a jump in comments from those we don't usually see participate. Welcome lurkers!

If you would like to purchase the game online, you can simply click on the EA Sports logo on the top of the entry. But now comes the crucial part of the promotion. If you have purchased NCAA11 share your gamertag, be it Playstation or XBox and increase your NCAA11 competition.

You can find me on XBox360 at thelegacyx4. I'll have the game after the lunch hour.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

As part of our EA Sports series, we wanted to take a look into the crystal ball. I surveyed over 200 readers and contributors of Georgia Tech message boards and From the Rumble Seat last week to gauge the excitement of our fan base for this coming season. The form asked users to predict Georgia Tech's chances of victory for each game of the 2010 season. The scale ranged from 0% chance of victory to 100% chance of victory in increments of 12.5%. Tech fans most popular choice was 100% chance of victory per game as over 574 games were considered guaranteed locks by the 205 readers (23.3% of the votes counted). Only 4 GT "fans" considered some of the games zero-percent chance of victory (1 Clemson vote, 1 VPISU vote, and 2 Georgia votes). For more detail click the jump...

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This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA 2011.

As with any off season, we've produced a lot of lists this season (best wins, worst wins, best losses, worst losses, etc.). In today's edition of Where I Come From, I wanna touch on some memorable moments in my Georgia Tech Sports fandom.

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This post is sponsored by EA Sports. As we countdown the days until college football, we begin by counting down the days until NCAA 11. Today, we talk about our favorite players all-time at Georgia Tech. They can play any sport you choose, just tell us who and why.

I made two lists: Five players that are considered to be in my favorites and five players I wish I had been able to watch play football.

Joe Hamilton

via www.playatgatech.com

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Joe Hamilton was my hero as I grew up and grew into my fanhood. I was deeply disappointed when his flaws brought to public when he got pulled over and lost his position with the team, but I haven't wavered.  Others will pass his accomplishments and his status for sure, but very few will reach his sentimental value to Tech fans. Hamilton helped us get back in the spotlight and for that, he will be always appreciated.

 

Tashard Choice

via www.accessnorthga.com

First, watch this speech.

Tashard was the emotional leader. He was the one who always spoke up and played the crowd favorite. We're a mob. We follow the loud and boisterous ones. Tashard also helped get a mini helmet signed by himself, Reggie Ball, and Calvin Johnson for my little brother a few years ago in history class.

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This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA 2011.

Today, I want to spark up discussion regarding tailgating traditions. I don't really do the cooking at tailgates. As Jerry would say, "John eats beef, ketchup, and olives." I'll admit I have a simple pallet. I let everyone else do the cooking. I do, however, have a special regimen for tailgating. Here's what I do every game day:

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This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011. Today's entry discusses our favorite Georgia Tech teams. Which team stands out in your mind as something special and why? As always, we encourage you to tell us your story!

Lately, I have read about the Georgia Tech days of old especially the 1952 National Championship team. I call the Bobby Dodd Era the "Golden Age of Georgia Tech football." It was when we were prominent members of the Southeastern Conference. In 1952, the Jackets went undefeated and there is a mystique about that team that will forever want me to learn more about that era in football. However, my all-time favorite Tech team is the 1998 Yellow Jacket squad, the ACC Co-Champions.

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This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.Happy Independence Day Weekend! This is our first post of NCAA Football 11 sponsored posts throughout the week. During the series, we value your input greatly.

 We had a post similar to this before when we discussed where we were when we became Tech fans but today let's talk about how.

 

My story is pretty simple: I am a 4^th generation Georgia Tech alumnus. In fact, my great-grandfather was a member of the very first graduating class of Civil Engineers. It's clearly my family school and I have known no other source of my fanhood. Though, the Institute has been a part of my life from the beginning there is always a moment that sparks the love that never dies for the Institute. I come from a military family, so while many of you attended games as young children, I was not given the chance to attend a Tech game until 2001 so I had to find my fanhood through a different way and honestly I cannot identify where or when it happened. I simply remember looking at the newspaper one day living in Massachusetts, so I was less than 10 years old, and I got really excited to see the Yellow Jackets were ranked #24 in the country. The rest, they say, is history. I ate Georgia Tech athletics up and became quickly obsessed and focused on the success of the programs.

What about yall? How did you become a Yellow Jacket fan?

If you are like me, you measure the football offseason, AKA "The Dead Period", through specific segmentation. Once the bowl game is over, I focus a little bit on other sports, mainly basketball and baseball to get me through to spring practices which are open to the public and which culminate in the form of the Spring Game. The event allows us to catch a glimpse at the new coaches, players, and hopefully even at a new wrinkle in the offense. After the Spring Game, I begin looking forward to EA Sports NCAA 11 and to begin building yet another dynasty at Georgia Tech. Fan Day and the Kickoff Luncheon wrap things up in the final month as we anticipate September 4th.

Which is why Bird and I are extremely excited to announce that EA Sports has asked to sponsor a week's worth of posts dedicated to the love and passion of college football which will lead up to the release of the video game itself. They weren't interested in anything specific, they just want to see the discussion sparked and the excitement beginning. The joke is clearly on them because we have never stopped talking about football!

Every day Bird or I will open up with a post designed to bring out the community discussion. We want all of your input!

Monday: Where I Come From: How I Became A Georgia Tech Fan

Tuesday: My All-Time Favorite Georgia Tech Team

Wednesday: Tailgating Traditions: The Things We Do And What Makes Them Great

                                   Bonus input: Share your favorite tailgate food and recipe!

Thursday: All-Time Favorite Georgia Tech Players

Friday: Most Memorable Georgia Tech Moments: Which Moments Define Our Fandom

Monday: Expectations For The Season: Why  We're Excited

Tuesday: NCAA Football 11 Debuts: It's Christmas In July!

Go Jackets!