In the Big House, Between the Hedges, up at Rocky Top, on the Plains, and down in The Swamp. These are phrases you may hear on a fall Saturday. As September comes, so does college football. Every Saturday for the next few months, college football fans alike will gather from dusk to dawn to watch and enjoy all aspects of game days. 

The first college football game took place in 1869. Since that first game, the sport has evolved immensely. One thing has remained the same: the fans. The fans are what make the sport special; even people who aren’t fans enjoy game day for varying reasons.

“I think everybody can have a good time when watching [football]. Even if you’re not watching it, there are still tailgates you can attend with your family and friends. It’s just fun to watch. It’s a really active sport. Even if you don’t know what’s going on, you can probably watch and still have a lot of fun with it,” said Grayson McKee (‘29).

Everyone can participate and spend their weekends having fun with something related to the sport. There are always tailgates, big highlights, old traditions, or good friends to make it enjoyable.

A select group of people will get to the point where they spend their entire Saturday in front of a TV because of their love for the sport.

“I watch every single game I can on any given Saturday. So, I’m probably [in front of the TV for] more than five hours,” said Hudson Boyer (‘27).

For some, college football is more than just their team; some people just love watching football whenever they can. The entertainment that comes from the sport is so special that true fans will choose to spend their entire Saturday sitting in their living room watching teams that they aren’t even fans of. 

Traditions are a huge part of why the sport is so special to people; whether it’s a school tradition, a small-town tradition, or something that’s been passed down through your family, traditions play a significant role in providing a sense of community during football season.

“Every year for the Georgia Tech vs. Georgia game, my family and I have a crawfish boil with all of our friends… it is one of the things I look forward to every fall,” said Sam Russ (‘28).

For fans like Russ, the tradition supersedes the game, but for others, the emotion connected to games is like no other. From the extremely high highs of a National Championship win to the lowest of lows experienced of a loss to a rival, football can heavily affect the attitude of fans.

“After Georgia lost to Alabama in 2021, I was devastated. Then, Georgia won the national championship after a forty-year drought, and it was so awesome,” said Boyer.

When a game can ruin your week after a loss or make your week after a win, it highlights how deeply college football is connected to people’s emotions, making it distinct from other sports.

“It’s more important than anything. [It is] more important than my friends and my dog. College football, the Georgia Bulldogs especially, is more important than anything in the world to me,”  said Cooper Adamson (‘28). “College football… is a way of life.”