Ranking Sports Illustrated’s iconic Georgia football covers with SI’s future in flux
Questions about the possible end of Sports Illustrated’s run as a magazine came Friday with layoffs to much of its staff.
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy on air called it a “sad day,” for the iconic publication.
Many who grew up reading and subscribing to the magazine had years ago stopped getting or reading the printed product due to changes under new ownership. Some of the nation’s best sportswriters continued to write compelling content online.
Georgia football players — and even a well-known mascot — have donned the cover through the decades.
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Here’s our top five ranking of those SI covers:
No. 1 Uga rules the mascot world
Bulldog mascot UGA V, with his tongue hanging out, is on the cover of the April 28, 1997 issue as the No. 1 mascot.
No. 2 Herschel Walker repping the champions
Star running back Herschel Walker is on the 1981 preseason cover on Aug. 31, 1981. Georgia was ranked No. 11 after winning the national title the previous season
No. 3 Big-time recruit Marcus Stroud gets his shine
Coveted recruit Marcus Stroud wears a Georgia Bulldog shirt underneath one for the Florida Gators on a Feb. 19, 1996 “Signing Day” cover.
No. 4 Preseason No. 1 Georgia football
Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and Dannell Ellerbe together posed for the cover of the 2008 college football preview issue as the No. 1 ranked team.
No. 5 Stetson Bennett the Georgia Bulldogs cover boy
Stetson Bennett kissed the national championship trophy on the cover of special issue covers after winning the national title in both 2021 and 2022. The quarterback also graced the 2022 college football preview edition in his Georgia uniform in Sanford Stadium
Two others to remember:
-Nick Chubb is on the Dec. 14, 2017 cover running the ball in the college football preview issue with the headline “The Case of the Dawgs”
-Linebacker Davin Bellamy has his hand in the chest of Tua Tagovailoa in the Jan. 15, 2018 cover with the title “Fresh Heir” after Alabama’s national title
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia's Sports Illustrated covers: Ranking 5 SI covers for Bulldogs