What does a fall without football look like?
For many college cities around the nation, college football is a huge deal. Few schools and towns exemplify this better than the University of Georgia in Athens. Students who never cared about football before enrolling become diehard Georgia football fans after a milestone win inside Sanford Stadium. Georgia football in some way is a part of the identity of most Athens residents.
Georgia football games at Sanford Stadium have become an essential part of life in Athens. It’s impossible to think of a fall without Saturday’s “between the hedges,” because since Sanford Stadium was built, there’s never been a season without football.
The last time Georgia football had to suspend play was during World War I (1917 and 1918), over a decade before building Sanford Stadium. Georgia football games were a bigger deal in the 1910s than people realize, but nowhere near as huge as it is today.
As a non-Athens resident, it’s hard to imagine a fall without Georgia football. It has to be even more difficult for UGA students and Athens residents to imagine it. No packed restaurants full of rowdy Georgia football fans unable to obtain tickets; no hotels without the thousands of out-of-town guests; small business, nearby convenience stores and local landowners can’t make a little extra money by selling parking spots to tailgaters.
It’s cliche, but Georgia football is a way of life for UGA students and Athens residents. At least during football season.