UGA All American standout, David Pollack

One of college football's biggest rivalries, Georgia versus Florida, but for three-time All-American and former Bulldog David Pollock, there is a bigger mission beyond the scoreboard. He is turning Game Week spirit into hope for people in need through the Banquet of Blessings. And David joins us live this morning in this big Georgia-Florida week. David, good morning. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. Georgia-Florida is always bigger, now just in Atlanta, huh? Absolutely. I mean, as a fellow Bulldog, I understand that there is nothing like Georgia-Florida week. But I want to hear, in your very own words, what makes this rivalry so special and what this game really means to Georgia fans. It was absolutely number one when I played. And I can tell you it was tight around the facility because everybody wanted to beat Florida so much. And you look at the rivalry, obviously it swung in a multitude of directions, but Florida was on top for a long time. And then obviously the last, you know, 10, 15 years, that's changed with Georgia. But just, you know, halfway red and black, halfway orange and blue, always at a neutral site, always a party going on with the world's largest outdoor conference cocktail party. It was always nuts. High stakes. It mattered a whole lot. It was the number one game on the schedule every single year that you had to address. We talked about it ad nauseam and obviously with these guys, it matters. And now Florida being a little bit better this year, I think makes it even sweeter. Yeah. Of course, when you played under coach Mark Richt, you know what it feels like to actually beat Florida in this game. What do you think made that team so So very special. Well, I think that we also know what it's like to lose because Steve Spurrier was there to start my career, and then Coach Richt comes in, and things definitely change. But I remember when we won that Georgia-Florida game my senior year how big of a deal it was. It was just. It was huge for bragging rights. It was huge for the bus rides home. It was huge for the afternight festivities. Everybody was all jacked up and excited. This always happens around Halloween, kind of cool. This one's going to be on Halloween, but it means a lot. You remember it, the trash talk with your buddies and all the guys around you, too, and your other guys that play to the different universities, and especially at Florida, is always pretty deep. Well, yeah, and that bus ride home was usually from Jacksonville, usually is, but as you referenced this year, it is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Does the atmosphere of this kind of change the stakes in any way? It changes everything about the game now, because when you went there, it was always an away game for as a Georgia player. I mean, you're getting on a plane, you're staying in a hotel, everything is a lot more like a home game, or excuse me, Excuse me, an away game. It is an away game. So now... Being in Atlanta, this will be totally different. I think the number of people obviously traveling is going to be much more skewed towards Georgia. I bet you it's going to be at least 70-30. Usually it's 50-50 right down the middle. So definitely an advantage for Georgia to play closer to home. But obviously this showcase right here for Florida, they got a couple of losses. But if they get this win, Florida has a chance to be back in the college football conversation. So that's a big, big deal for first-year coach and John Summerall. Well, all right, let's talk about this too, because, you know, obviously there's a lot of excitement around Athens and celebration of Bulldog Pride there this time of year. But, you know, there is another side to this story. And it's the fact that there are people in that same community in Athens who are struggling to put food on the table. And I want to talk about why it's important to you to shine a light on that. Well, I mean, it's so important because God's been good to us and we have abundance and we have what we want a lot of the times but just to have so many people that you drive into Athens and you see that they don't have a lot and it's increased over the years. It hasn't gotten better but you know we wanted to definitely try to do something about it and that's why we started the banquet, some banquet of blessings and you know that's going to be on the 22nd. We throw a Thanksgiving feast a throw down meal and then these folks get to go and walk through and get sleeping bags and hats and hoodies. You can see the line there like they I think they go down the whole line and pick whatever they want. We buy brand new stuff for all the people in the community. Last year, we served over 1,200 people. So it's definitely, this is something that's really, really important to us. We love doing it. And these people matter. And we want them to know they matter. And we want them to know that they're loved. And we want to try to do something about it. Absolutely. And so if people want to get involved, you know, if they'd like to donate or volunteer or just simply spread the word, what do they need to know to get involved? Yes, ma'am. If you go to the PollockFamilyFoundation.com, you can see the videos that you just saw. You can see how we kind of do everything and what we're about. Thank you to Onward Reserve. By November 12th, if you visit them in Athens, there's a place where you can go donate sleeping bags, any kind of jackets, anything like that is awesome. At the Classic Center and the Rock Lockster Games, they're taking up stuff as well. Well, listen, my wife has run this for several years and I'm so proud of her and the way she does this. We don't take, we don't. We don't pay somebody to do it. We do it. And we run it in Athens, but you can go, you can see all the details about it. And imagine like this. I tell people all the time, we throw them a Thanksgiving feast. It's the biggest throwdown you'll ever see. And then it's, think about, it's the Christmas from that point on, because they get to try on the jackets right there off the hanger and see what they like. There's a place they can go in the back now and get their hair cut. Like, this is awesome. It's a really cool day. If you want to get involved, you can go to thepollockfamilyfoundation.com. Any support is definitely welcome. And really serving just so many needs in the community. You know, David, before I let you go, I know you've shared some very personal challenges with your family, with your wife's brain cancer diagnosis. I wanted to check in with you, if you don't mind, to see how your wife, Lindsay, is doing. She's doing awesome. We got a phone call a couple of Friday nights ago that really rocked our socks. She had had a biopsy and they told us that the cancer was back and they were just kind of saying, what level is it? And even when they had the surgery, they put on the microscope, they said, I think it's still grade two. And then four weeks later, they called me during a high school football game. And I looked down and I'm obviously coaching, but I could see the transcription. I was like, wait a minute. I need to fight, figure out more. So I literally take my headset off. I run off to the side again on the track, and I call the doc, and he's like, I don't know what to tell you. He was like, but it's gone. He was like, there's no cancer. And we were literally like, people probably thought we were crazy because we weren't playing like a big rival, and the game wasn't important. But the amount of tears from me and then my 18-year-old son who finds out on the sidelines. Yeah. It was a day that we will not forget. So good news is welcome. We've had some hard times, but man, God has been faithful and we are so thankful to be where we're at. But the good news was definitely a couple of Friday nights ago was one of the best Fridays I've ever had. That is an amazing update. And I know you know that you, your wife, your entire family are in a lot of people's prayers. So thank you so much for sharing that part of your story. And congratulations on the success so far. Banquet with Blessings. Looking forward to year four and many more to come. Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much for having me on. Absolutely. And Banquet of Blessings is happening Sunday, November 22nd at 4.30 p.m. at the Classic Center in Athens. We will share more information on how you can help on our website, fox5atlanta.com. Go to the Good Day section and click on today's