Martha Washington most likely wouldnt have been a Washington Redskins football fan, if the team had been around in her day.

And Jackie Kennedy, one can bet, probably had her fill of the sport, what with all those touch football games on the lawn at Hyannis Port.

Mountaineer faithful heading to Atlanta next month for the West Virginia University-University of Georgia match-up in the 72 nd Nokia Sugar Bowl will also have the chance to make their acquaintance with Martha, Jackie and other First Ladies from past and present.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum is hosting the exhibit,First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image,though Jan. 16 at the library complex that overlooks downtown Atlanta.

More than 150 items are on display at the exhibit created by the Smithsonian Institution, from gowns to jewelry, to china and personal effects, all dating back to the first of the First Ladies, Martha Washington.

This is an amazing exhibit,said Tony Clark, public affairs officer for the library and museum.Theres even a flapper dress that Grace Coolidge wore one time. Theres the funeral card that Mary Todd Lincoln created for her assassinated husband. This really is American history, right here.

Its also an evolutionary chart, of sorts, Clark said, showing First Ladies over the generations as they morphed from hostesses to activists, to assume causes of their own as their husbands governed from the Oval Office.

Its pretty amazing to think that some of the most influential women in the country didnt even have the right to vote until after Edith Wilson,Clark said.

But what about sports and football?

Well, a lot of them went to games,Clark said, chuckling,but you have to wonder if they really wanted to. Martha Washington liked to host parties.

Items permanently displayed at the complex include Carters Nobel Peace Prize, an exact replica of his Oval Office, along with photographs, letters and other artifacts documenting his life and presidency.

The complex is situated in a 35-acre park with Japanese gardens and lakes. The museum will be closed New Years Day, but its regular hours of operation (save for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the two other holidays its closed) are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m., and Sundays from noon-4:45 p.m.

Admission is $8 for adults; and $5 for seniors (aged 60 and over), military personnel and students with ID cards. Theres no charge for youngsters 16 and younger, and parking is free.

Were expecting a fantastic football game,Clark said,and we want to welcome West Virginias great and loyal fans to Atlanta.