This past week has been pretty good for all sorts of animals, including ones that walk on two legs and own pieces of paper known as degrees from the University of Georgia, like yours truly.

Last Saturday, Kirby Smart and co. triumphed over Alabama at the Mercedes- Benz Stadium (one of the most impressive stadiums I’ve ever been in, by the way, especially for soccer games) by a scoreline of 28-7, thereby securing back-to-back SEC Championship titles in the process. Do I claim to be the biggest college football expert in the world? Nope! But readers, I do love collegiate spirit, the feeling of winning, big trophies, and cool championship merch that will sell like hotcakes, or vanilla chai lattes at Ways Station Coffee Co. during the month of December (my favorite menu item to order during these chilly days).

But as a proud graduate of UGA’s Grady College of Journalism, it would be remiss of me not to give a shout-out to the Red & Black, the largest student- led independent newsroom in the state of Georgia whose current sports editor boldly predicted an Alabama win, much to the exasperation of literally everyone I follow on Instagram. However, bona fide media professionals like myself know that he actually did the Dawgs a favor through what is known as the art of the jinx: by predicting a Bama win, it didn’t happen. Much like how every time I pick a baker while watching an episode of the Great British Bake Off, they wind up getting eliminated from the competition entirely. I demand justice for both Iain and Natalia! (Sidenote: I can’t believe Brits call granola bars “flapjacks”; who says TV is not educational?)

In other news, I did a story this week on Pembroke’s Shannon Lodge and her story of moonlighting as a goat breeder under the banner name Goatslodge. It was a really cool experience chatting with her and her husband on a cloudy Monday morning and taking photos of her 80-odd Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats of all colors and sizes who are all super cute and cuddly and kept tickling my legs with their hooves! Later that day, I briefly looked into the possibility of me owning such a goat myself, but then I remembered that I live in a Savannah suburb where I can barely find parking for my car most evenings, much less wide open space for a goat to graze in. Darn.

Stories like Shannon’s are what make working in local news so much fun; I get to learn about interesting people and places within Bryan County and share it with the community. And especially towards the end of the year, during the holiday season, it feels good to read and write such incredible stories about our fellow neighbors! I hope 2026 brings more of that same uplifting energy; alongside, perhaps, another shiny trophy of the National Championship variety...? No, I don’t want to jinx it.

Andrea Gutierrez is the managing editor of the Bryan County News.