Last week, in the runup to the UGA-Alabama clash for the SEC championship, 11Alive Sports chronicled the good-natured rivalry between devoted Dawgs fan Claire Stanford (a second-grader at Welch Elementary School in Newnan) and her teacher, Jennifer Eriksen, a proud Crimson Tide alum.
Back in late August, Stanford began the practice of writing "Go Georgia Bulldogs" on her homework assignments, as a means of expressing her love of Georgia football … and perhaps getting under the skin of Eriksen.
The teacher responded by continually stamping young Claire's homework with a 'Roll Tide' emblem, essentially drawing the battle lines for a potential UGA-Alabama clash for the SEC championship (divisional victories for both schools).
Fast forward to last week …
Before Georgia (SEC East champion) and Alabama (SEC West champ) finally squared off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, before they staged an epic showdown that eclipsed the drama and excitement of last year’s national championship bout, Eriksen dealt one final trump card to young Claire.
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The whole exchange, for the most part, was well-received throughout the football-mad southern states.
However, once the Stanford-Eriksen escalation went viral, there were whispers of young Claire being bullied by her teacher and fellow students.
11Alive’s Wes Blankenship had a lengthy discussion with Stanford and Eriksen; and as you’ll see in the above clip, the bond between teacher and student has never been stronger.