Georgia Football weekend: The perfect Athens itinerary

There’s nothing quite like a Saturday in Athens when Georgia football plays Between the Hedges. The energy is palpable, and that’s when College GameDay isn’t in town, so this weekend will be absolutely electric.

With GameDay being in town, it obviously alters the normal football weekend itinerary a bit, because you gotta head over to Myers Quad, hang out with Rece, Desmond, Coach Corso and Kirk and see who the guest picker for the week will be.

But, your stop at college football’s preeminent pregame show is just a small sliver of your Georgia football weekend.

Many folks believe the Classic City is the best college town there is, and we undoubtedly agree. Not only is Georgia’s campus beautiful, but Athens is bursting at the seams with excellent options to eat, drink, and be merry.

There’s no right or wrong way to do a Georgia football weekend in Athens, but in my perfect world, this is how the itinerary would shape up.

Let it be known that in a world where PTO was unlimited, I’d always arrive in Athens on Thursday night in order to have the entire day Friday to play.

And I mean that literally, because I would start every Friday of Georgia football weekends off with a round at the UGA Golf Course, home of Georgia’s men’s and women’s golf teams. Not only is it a fantastic course, the pro shop is, in my opinion, the most underrated place in Athens to snag incredible Georgia gear.

If there is a tournament being held there, or you can’t get a tee time, we also love making the short jaunt over to Winder and getting a round in at The Chimneys. Elevation changes throughout the course make for awesome sight lines, and the Par 4s on the back are drivable if you catch hold a’ one – really, really fun.

Alas, my PTO is limited, so I usually take a half day on Friday and get in to town by mid-afternoon. These are my Friday must-dos.

3 pm on football weekend Fridays: Go see Jason Hasty for a UGA Athletics Archives tour

Each fall, UGA Athletics History Specialist and DGD Jason Hasty puts together an exhibit highlighting a different area of UGA’s robust athletic history.

At 3 pm on game weekend Fridays, you can take a free guided tour of the exhibit, led by Jason himself. This year’s exhibit – Not Only for Ourselves – celebrates the integration of Georgia’s athletics programs and it is excellent.

There is no one more passionate about the history of Georgia’s athletic programs, nor more diligent about its preservation and celebration than Jason Hasty, and spending an hour with him on a football Friday afternoon is the perfect way to kick off the weekend.

Five Points Bottle Shop

After you feed the tree of knowledge, the next step is to get yourself equipped to moderately and responsibly quench your thirst throughout the weekend.

I always make my way down Milledge and head to Five Points Bottle Shop to stock the cooler for the weekend’s festivites.

They’ve got a huge selection of craft beer, including all of the local Athenian craft brewers, so I make sure my drink choices have a Classic City flavor to them.

Also, they always have TH Estate Wines in stock. The TH in that is for none other than Terry Hoage, DGD and Heisman finalist who went on to a Super Bowl-winning career in the NFL.

After his playing days, Terry and his wife Jennifer started the winery, and the bottles they produce are ideal for a celebration like a a Georgia football weekend.

The other things apropos about serving TH Estate Wines at your tailgate? Each wine name has a double entendre that plays off the style of the wine and Terry’s playing days. For our weekends in Athens, we always go with The Hedge, 5 Blocks or Red Black because, duh, Go Dawgs!

Last Resort Grill

There are so many incredible places to eat in Athens, so for your Friday night supper, you could pick a spot out of a hat, and you couldn’t go wrong.

However, Last Resort Grill is our favorite place to enjoy a Friday night meal. They don’t do traditional reservations, but you can take advantage of their call-ahead seating. Even if you miss out on that, there’s nothing wrong with walking up, getting your name on the list, and having a cocktail at their slick outdoor space while you wait.

Once it’s eating time, I usually have to restrain myself from order seven or eight Potato Onion Pancakes as a starter. Lawd, they’re good. I know you should try different things, but for the entree, I usually go either 6-Hour Pig or the Last Resort Praline.

Obviously, this weekend, the only choice is the 6-Hour Pig.

Hopefully, you aren’t like me and didn’t stuff yourself with appetizers because it is imperative that you save room for dessert. Last Resort offers sweet treats from Cecilia’s, and trust me, when you get the chance to eat something from Cecilia’s, you eat something from Cecilia’s. You can thank me later.

Some of this is kickoff time dependent, right? If the game is later, I may squeeze some of the postgame activities in the pregame period, and vice-versa.

Regardless of when they occur, there are certain things I try to do every single time I’m in Athens to see the Dawgs. My non-negotiables so to speak.

Jittery Joe’s

My gameday does not start until I’ve been to Jittery Joe’s to get a cup of Attack The Day coffee, black. The location that I visit is somewhat dependent on where we are staying that weekend.

When we stay downtown, it’s tough not to just walk on over to the location on East Broad, but boy do I love the Five Points location on a gameday. It’s always poppin’ and gets the juices flowing for the day ahead.

Mama’s Boy

If you told me I could only eat one place in Athens for the rest of my natural life, I might have to pick Mama’s Boy. It’s just so durn good.

Here’s the problem though, it is nearly impossible for me to narrow my meal choice down to a singular item. That means that generally, my order ends up looking something like this:

Cinnamon Bun

Pulled Pork Hash

Bacon, Egg and Cheddar Biscuit

Chicken, Egg and Cheddar Biscuits

Do I ever eat it all? Absolutely not. Do I have some of all of it? Yes. Yes, I do. Gotta put down that base layer!!

Onward Reserve: Downtown Athens

After my coffee gets me ready to Attack The Day and I lay down my Mama’s Boy base layer, it’s high time for some adult libation and some gameday gear shopping.

Luckily, at the flagship Onward Reserve store on Clayton Street, I can do both. Started by Georgia-grad and DGD TJ Callaway, the store’s atmosphere on gameday Saturdays In Athens always feel like you went clothes shopping and a tailgate broke out.

While you shop, you can enjoy a complimentary mimosa, Bloody Mary, or beer. And make sure and snag one of the free Onward koozies to keep your drink temperature in the refreshing zone.

Mosey to the back of the store and catch College GameDay on the tv, or if it’s a later kick, the early slate of games that day.

Before you head out, be sure to grab a polo with the Jacksonville Bulldog Club’s iconic logo of a bulldog with a gator in its mouth.

Horton’s Drug Store

If you grew up in a small town like I did, you gotta have a soft spot in your heart for local pharmacies. And Horton’s Drug Store embodies that in so many ways.

We always pop in after we finish up at Onward, peruse their selection of Bulldogs-themed spirit wear, grab a pair of $10 sunglasses, and a bag of candy for the kids.

It just doesn’t feel like Saturday in Athens if we haven’t made a stop at Horton’s.

Herty Field

This is a stop that was added once we had kids, and now I can’t go to Sanford until I’ve spent some time at Herty.

This is our favorite place to throw the football around and have the kids run some routes trying to be like their favorite Dawgs players. Maybe get our picture taken in front of the fountain.

Georgia football’s history isn’t complete without Herty Field so it seems like the appropriate place to spend some family time pregame on a Saturday in Athens.

I’m not a big pregame or in-game eater, so after the ballgame, I’m usually ready to chow down since the Mama’s Boy is no longer sustaining me. I’m also usually a little thirsty for something with some barley and hops, either in celebration or despair.

I make my way back to downtown Athens to check off both of those boxes and, hopefully, it’s a jubilant walk following a Georgia football win. If so, be sure to walk downtown by way of the Chapel Bell.

UGA Chapel Bell

Celebrating a Georgia football win by ringing the Chapel Bell is synonymous with the history of the football program.

Since at least 1894, Georgia students, alumni and fans have wrung the bell in jubilation. Its echoes of victory can be heard all throughout North Campus.

Creature Comforts Brewing Company

Housed in the old Snow Tire Company building on Hancock, Creature Comforts Brewing Company has become one of our favorite spots to get a postgame beer.

There is ample outdoor seating, and the taproom is spacious and has that way-cooler-than-I’ll-ever-be look on the inside.

This season, they’ve taken gamedays at Creature up a notch, not just featuring their fantastic beer, but also partnering with James Beard Award Winner Rodney Scott to offer his famous whole hog BBQ.

An Automatic Pale and some Rodney Scott BBQ?! Count. Me. In.

Little Italy Pizzeria

More eating? Yes, always more eating. My gameday is not complete until I’ve capped it off with a slice from Little Italy. Or maybe two slices, but who’s counting?

It is the perfect fold-it-up-and-eat-it-while-the-grease-drips-on-to-your-paper-plate slice. My go-to is a slice with pepperoni and banana papers, but I certainly wouldn’t say no to the Kevin McCallister (just cheese) either.

Contrary opinion, but I also sort of love it when I have to wait in the massive line of the overserved Georgia faithful all pining for their slice of pie. It’s all part of the Little Italy experience for me.

Sunday mornings of game weekend are generally pretty similar for me. Get up, get bags packed, and get the car packed up and gassed up for the trip ahead.

But y’all didn’t think I was leaving town without eating one more time did ya?

I like to think I am a no frills kinna guy, and my customary pre-departure breakfast spot certinaly aligns with that description.

There’s just so much to love about The Mayflower. It’s family-owned. It’s been in Athens for over 70 years. There’s more “from heres” than “come heres” that eat there. It’s just the best.

I usually get a Western Omelet and some Hot Cakes. While I wait, I just like to listen. Hear the sizzle of the bacon and eggs as they hit the flat top, coffee cups setting down on tables, and that buzz of all the tables telling each other about another glorious Saturday in Athens.

Just no other way I want to end a Georgia football weekend.

Go Dawgs!