Georgia Tech Super Fans

All In The Family

"To Hell with Georgia" may be a rallying cry for many Tech fans, but it’s also the model on which Laura Kitashima Giglio’s family based her children’s names. Though Laura, EE 10, MS ECE 11, and her husband Danny, EE 09, MBA 17, were huge fans of their alma mater, and she was actively involved in Greek life, student organizations, activities, and sports of many stripes (“attending Tech was the best decision I’ve ever made,” Laura beams), don’t be fooled. There’s an even more interesting story behind what’s now become a family tradition, and a reason why her love affair with the institution only continued to grow following graduation.

“My husband actually has a much bigger GT legacy: Both his parents, an aunt, two uncles, two cousins, and a brother have all gone to Georgia Tech. I was an out-of-state student, but I can’t imagine how different my life would have been if I hadn’t attended. For example: My husband and I met our freshman year, first semester in 8 a.m. calculus—just like his parents, Bonnie, IM 77, and Jeff, EE 77, coincidentally did [years ago]. Anyhow, the story goes that his family believes that as parents, we only make boys—there’s been a long line of Giglios that are all males. And so, I was joking at the time that if I have to be a boy mom, at least we have a G for our last name so it can go along with the school song.

“Fast-forward a few years to when we got married and were having our first child in 2018, and it was a boy. We kind of looked at each other like, ‘Are we really gonna do it?’ We decided that we were all in and we made the initials of our first son Thomas Hilton Wesley Giglio spell out THWg. Each part of his name is related to family or something significant to our relationship. Then three years later when we were having another boy, we decided to do it all over again. We were like, well, either they’ll both love it or hate it, but at least they’re in it together!

Photography by Sam Gay

“It was a lot harder to think of names with those initials the second time around. Our second son’s name is Theodore Hans Westin Giglio. We call him Teddy. And again, those names have personal significance. So now we have two THWgs in the family. They have been thoroughly brainwashed to like Georgia Tech and the kids (ages 2½ and 5) sing PG versions of the Ramblin’ Wreck song. We’ve joked maybe it will help them get into Georgia Tech in the future, since it’s getting harder to get in. Then again, we also joke they could write a college application to UGA about how they’ve had to overcome adversity with their names to even apply, but hopefully that won’t happen.

“Our oldest, Tommy, is super into sports, and we thought it was important that the first Georgia Tech football game he went to be the Clean Old-Fashioned Hate game in 2019. He’s a fan to the point where if you say Bulldogs, he’ll say ‘yuck!’ From an early age, both our sons could identify Buzz and the GT logo.

“It’s crazy to think how different my life would have been if I had gone anywhere else for college, because I’m a bigger Georgia Tech fan than even Danny is now. I work at the Chick-fil-A Support Center, and everyone on my team knows about my love for Tech. In fact, people are always giving me something that’s Georgia Tech–related.

“If we do decide to have another child, there’s going to be a lot of pressure to come up with another THWg name. Of course, people always ask us, ‘What will you do if they really want to go to Georgia?’ Our response is, ‘Well, they can go, but we’ll just write them out of the will. It’s fine.’”

Tech Home Makeover

Home is where the walls are painted in Old Gold and the doormat says THWg. At least that’s true for these proud Yellow Jackets with impressive collections of Georgia Tech memorabilia at home.

Joe, Cls 91, and Heather Belcher’s basement is an enviable trove of Tech treasures, including Orville Vereen’s 1952 National Championship ring and George Humphrey’s 1954 game-worn helmet.

John Rafferty’s den of Tech goods includes Blue Prints from 1909 to 2013 and a watch from the 1990 Citrus Bowl. Rafferty, EE 02, also proudly displays his Outstanding Young Alumni medallion from the 2013 Gold & White Honors Gala and a vintage band uniform that he couldn’t resist buying after being named an honorary member of the Kappa Kappa Psi band fraternity.

Inside the Tech-filled home of Larry Wylie, Mgt 73, is a framed shirt from the 1990 Championship game, where he was part of a one-time flash card section organized by Dorsey Watson. “We were not very good at it,” Wylie says, “but Dorsey was a great Tech fan and bought the whole section for us.”

Tech is a theme throughout the home of Diane, Psy 83, and Marc Sachs, CE 81, in Huntsville, Alabama, but the crowning jewel is their “Wreck Room,” which includes a hand-painted scene from Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Warrior Of Love

Most Vikings are known for raiding, pillaging, and otherwise causing trouble. But Jonathan Chastain, better known as the GT Viking, is better described as a kind and loving person who’s always looking out for others. As he is the head of the Georgia Tech football fan Facebook page, which he helped build to over 14,000 fans and regularly uses to give away free tickets to those in need, countless Yellow Jackets would agree. Trucker, assistant scoutmaster, father of three… it’s just one of many important roles he plays in so many people’s lives. Though Chastain didn’t attend Georgia Tech, he has dedicated his free time (what little he has) to uplifting the community. He explains why Georgia Tech football fans mean so much to him.

“Back in the early ’80s, my dad was a big fan of the Yellow Jackets and took me to my first football game at Bobby Dodd Stadium, and I was hooked. In high school when Tech won the national championship that was a great feeling. After I got out of the Army and got my job and family situated, I grabbed season tickets. I’ve just always loved the camaraderie, the kindness, and the feeling of community you got from going to games. I never went to college, but I loved raising my kids in that environment.

“One year, DragonCon was going on the same week we had our opening game. I’m a nerd at heart, and the game was on a Thursday night—which was also the night that me and my friends would wear Viking helmets and go hang out at the Con. I knew that I had to go to the game first, so I just wore the helmet there, and had so many people compliment me on it. At the same time, I was already in charge of the Georgia Tech football fan page on Facebook, and I’d already been active online for a while, so I just ran with it.

“About a year or two after that, I saw people holding their tickets up at games—and I went to talk to someone, and they’re like, “Sometimes we just can’t go to games, and if someone wants to buy them, they will. And if they don’t, we’ll just give them away.” And I thought it was cool and realized that there’s a need there. Shortly thereafter, I kept seeing people asking online if people wanted their tickets as well. So I decided to use the Facebook page to help others. Each game, I’d ask if anyone had tickets that they wanted to donate, and I tried to find a veteran or a teacher or first responder or single parent to give them to. When we had the Western Carolina game, I helped distribute over 200 tickets to fans that couldn’t go otherwise.

“It’s important to pay it forward. My mom raised me to always do right by others. I try to uplift and positively impact folks where possible and try my best every single game to go out there and get fans pumped. And other fans have done the same for me. When my son was hit by a car after a Georgia Tech game, and I couldn’t work, somebody started a GoFundMe to help, and they raised over $10,000 to pay for his medical expenses. God puts us in situations. We never know where we’re going to end up. And helping others has always been special to me, because you know what you give to others will be given back to you in return.

“As you can see, being the GT Viking has made a huge difference in my life. I’ve met a lot of people over the years as a result…the mayor of Atlanta, various coaches and athletic directors, the president of the school. It’s funny, when I go places now, people recognize me…even when we go down to Tybee Island and Orlando. No matter where we go, fans seem to be there. I’ve got tattoos, body piercings, and a handlebar mustache, which can intimidate people sometimes. But you shouldn’t be afraid to come up and say hello if you see me: I’m a nice guy once you get to know me, and everybody’s equal in my heart.”

Driven To Impress

A lifelong fan of Georgia Tech sports, retired pharmacist Drew Miller started taking his son to games from a young age and routinely redesigned his work schedule around attending home events for years. A die-hard tailgater—who considers catering and entertaining in parking lots his lifelong hobby—Miller also bought and kitted out an ambulance (the “Stingulance”) to sport signature Tech themes and mascots. Miller explains what it take to build a party on wheels.

“I’m not a Tech graduate, but I’ve kept up with the team forever. Back in middle school, my dad’s best friend was an architect who attended, and we used to go to at least one game a year with him and see the parades. So by the time I was in high school, it was just in my blood.

“I love to tailgate and love the challenge of coming up with homemade cooking surprises… it’s almost a competition that I’ve got going with my friends. About 10 years ago, I was sitting at a traffic light when I noticed a smaller ambulance across from me. And I thought, ‘Look at all that storage on there.’ I figured you could put everything that you need for a good tailgate in there, it would be fun to drive, and it would fit in a regular parking spot. So I started looking for one. It took me about five years to find an old, used one with about 52,000 miles on it over in Roanoke, Alabama. The seller also helped me find a couple Georgia Tech graduates over in Newnan, Georgia, that do the majority of the wraps for all the ambulances in the southeast United States. And they loved the idea of giving it a GT theme.

“We did some really cool stuff overall. There’s a honeycomb design on the outside with Buzz. I’ve got astroturf inside instead of carpet. All my seats are Wilson football leather. Everything’s done in gold and navy blue. I’ve even got a kegerator in there, as well as great storage space plus tables, tents, flags, chairs, and even a cornhole set. Everything is self-contained—all I gotta do is pick up and go. Although I did have the siren taken off because I didn’t want to get in trouble.

“True story: The day I picked it up and drove it back over, there was an 8- or 9-year-old kid standing at his mailbox who had a Georgia Bulldog T-shirt on, and he flipped me off when I rode by. I knew that it had to be good if it made him mad. Anyhow, we’ve had it for about six years now. It’s fun to drive, real recognizable, and gets a lot of waves on the highway.

“We take pride in our tailgating experience, too. For example, instead of pigs in a blanket you might have Conecuh sausage, or we might have homemade pimento cheese and boiled peanuts. And we try to coordinate the menu as a group. We poll our friends every year to build out our playlist of music, too. We try to be out the door three hours before games so we can get our table, bar, and tunes set up. And we keep our doors wide open: I love it when people come up and take a picture with their kids or whatever.

“That said, at my age, I’m about ready for someone else to take over driving duties, in case anyone’s shopping for a new ride and listening or reading this. I’ve had several electricians and a food truck want to buy the Stingulance, but it’s a Georgia Tech tailgate vehicle, and I want it to pass on to another fan. Keep in mind—I don’t plan to stop going to games. But the way Atlanta traffic can be? I’m seriously ready to let someone else play driver!”

Art Imitates Life

Patrick Chua, IE 12, wasn’t always a huge fan of collegiate sports. But after five years at Tech, he found himself swept up in the constant energy and excitement of 

games, and some of his best friends today are from Tech. He couldn’t resist becoming a regular season ticket holder… or pairing his passion for the Institute with his interest in body art in a fun and creative way. As he’s currently the proud owner of one stunning tattoo featuring many of Tech’s most prominent landmarks, logos, and mascots, we wondered: What’s the story behind the ink?

“Georgia Tech has been a very influential and productive part of my life. And I’ve been a season ticket holder pretty much every year since I graduated, except for one, and try to go to as many games as possible.

“As for how I decided to get inked, I have a few other tattoos and did some googling in the past and hadn’t really seen any Georgia Tech ones. So I thought it’d be an interesting concept to have a larger piece added. It’s on the lower right outside of my leg and covers the calf and features a lot of the insignias and mascots. There’s Tech Tower, the Ramblin’ Wreck, Buzz, and a GT logo at the bottom. There’s also the steam that goes off after every touchdown. And I also have a smaller, additional GT tattoo on my left leg.

“It took about six hours to complete the piece, including design and inking. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments saying that it looks really artistic. It’s a realistic image. Of course, my parents aren’t big fans of ink in general, but my dad appreciated it for what it was, because he’s an engineer, and he’s glad I went to Georgia Tech. My friends of course liked it. They thought it was a great idea, and one said it was very fitting.

“If you’re thinking about getting tattooed, I’d advise you to make sure you’re committed and willing as well, because it’ll be yours for life. All you need to do is research and find an artist that suits your style. It’s a conversation piece that other fans recognize and remark on, for sure. Mind you, I don’t have any plans to expand on it at the moment. But I definitely think it was worth the pain [laughs].”

Voice Of The Fans

Al Ciraldo spent 43 years of his career in the Georgia Tech community, first as a play-by-play announcer for basketball and football, and later as a host of Tech’s game-day shows. Ciraldo was a beloved fixture in the community for decades before his death in 1997. When Ciraldo took his seat behind the mic for basketball games, the band would often yell in unison, “Hello, Al.” Not even Buzz got such a greeting.

Behind the scenes, Ciraldo championed the Institute, speaking with industry leaders and prospective student-athletes about the benefits of Tech. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. Yellow Jacket fans still remember his legendary voice and rich descriptions of game play, peppered with his signature phrases. Most of all, they remember the man who brought the energy and excitement of game day to countless Yellow Jackets listening at home.

We recently spoke with Ciraldo’s son, Al Ciraldo Jr., IM 82, about his father’s legacy and passion for Tech.

“It all started when he was 15 years old: He won a sports trivia contest in his hometown in Akron, Ohio. The winner got to do three innings of play-by-play announcing for the Akron Yankees. Well, the outfielder for the Yankees was a young graduate of Georgia Tech named John Hyder. They struck up a friendship and later John became the head basketball coach at Tech. In the ’50s, my dad moved to Atlanta and John invited him to announce the basketball games for Georgia Tech.”

“The fans gave him a lot of energy. He studied broadcast journalism and followed those like Red Barber, long-time Brooklyn Dodgers announcer. He believed you have to give the listener empathy and make them feel like they’re in the stadium. So, he used different phrases, ‘Overtaxed capacity crowd,’ ‘toe meets leather,’ ‘the clock ticks,’ to bring excitement to the game. Those were phrases he learned growing up on the playgrounds of Akron. Radio was like television back then—you had to paint the picture to help you imagine the scene as a listener.

“His daytime job was an account executive for WGST, the station that carried Tech’s games. He would sell advertisements and talk with captains of industry, selling them on the features and benefits of Georgia Tech. He was one of Tech’s cheerleaders in the business world. He would also call prospective players for recruiting—this was back before NCAA restricted recruiting to just coaches. He’d spend hours on the phone with students, extolling the benefits of Georgia Tech, and of course, with fans, who just wanted to talk about Tech. In 1985, when the games were switched between broadcasting stations, there was some doubt about whether he’d be able to stay on. A group of students stole the T and sent in a ransom note to make sure he stayed. Afterward, the T showed up on our front porch with a note from the ‘Lilburn gang.’ He called the GT Police to return it.”

Golden Nuggets

Everything that Mason Placanica, AE 22, MS AE 24, his brother Sabin, AE 23, and roommate Read Walters, CE 21, touch turns to gold—at least when it comes to game day costumes. Between 2018 and 2021, the trio was a fixture at home games (and a handful of aways), where they could routinely be found wearing their hearts (and school spirit) on their shiny, metallic sleeves. But why the ostentatious getups and outsized attitude? You may be surprised to find out—and for anyone contemplating donning a similar costume, surprised to learn what some of the fringe benefits from playing dress-up can be.

“I’ve been a huge Georgia Tech fan pretty much my entire life. My grandfather went in the ’60s or ’70s, and he brought me up that way, so actually getting to go to games in person was a dream for me. One of the stories he told me was how he and his friends would dress up in suits for games and wear their RAT caps their freshman year. I always liked the idea of having a costume to wear at a game so you’re not just wearing your everyday casual clothes.

“One day, myself, my roommate, and my brother, who all knew about these traditions, were kind of browsing around, and we saw these gold suits online. We thought it would be awesome to combine our school spirit and the fun element with the costume-y, more formal element of wearing suits to games and getting dressed up for sporting events. And we did it for every home game for four years and took the suits to five or six away games as well. Doing so definitely gets you a lot of attention. It’s weird at first, because usually at games, you kind of blend in with the crowd. But as soon as you put on these costumes, you become more recognizable.

“We would have people come up to us after games and be like, “Hey, I remember seeing you years ago!” You’d have young little kids like toddlers and early
elementary-aged children come up and ask for pictures on the side of the road. In effect, it brings a level of low-scale fame that you don’t expect. But it’s great to be able to bring that school spirit wherever you go, especially to away games. We took those suits to Duke, Florida State…even a UGA game once. It’s a good way to show your spirit, even when you’re not on your home turf or things aren’t going your team’s way at the moment.

“If you decide you want to dress up, you’ll have to accept the level of attention that comes with it. But it’s a lot of fun. I think it makes the game more enjoyable for everyone around you. So if you have any crazy, outlandish idea that promotes the fun and spirit of the sport, I say go for it! It’s a fantastic way to meet new friends. You really get to know the people around you, because you are kind of a public figure. We made lots of good friends in the Goldfellas, the band, and even at away games (especially among other teams’ most outlandish fans).

“Given the photos that I’ve got, the friends that I’ve made, and the spirit that we’ve shared, it was more than worth the $17 on Amazon that it cost to do so. In fact, I would do it all again in a heartbeat.”