Forget the tickets, traffic and tailgating. Area sports bars open their doors to alumni groups and pro football fan clubs — official or unofficial — on the weekends, offering camaraderie and sometimes even drink specials and food discounts for fans cheering on particular teams.

On fall Saturdays, Mazzy's Sports Bar and Grill turns into a mini-Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, decorated with orange and blue balloons and posters. Servers at the east Cobb County bar wear Florida Gators jerseys. Between 150 and 300 fans show up, swamping the restaurant.

Jason Getz/AJC

Georgia fans Stacie Camp (left), her husband Taft Camp and 8-month-old Makenzie watch the Georiga-Tennessee game at Wild Wing Cafe in Suwanee.

Jason Getz/AJC

Wild Wing Cafe in Suwanee, like many Atlanta-area bars and restaurants, is host to a large contingent of sports fans during football season.

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Watching the game with other fans is as close to being in the stadium as you can get, said Shelly Jones, president of the Atlanta Gator Club.

"You don't have to watch the game on the one tiny TV that the bar is willing to put the game on. Everywhere you look, you'll see the Gator game," she said. "When the Gators make a big play or score a touchdown, you'll see strangers hugging and high-five-ing one another."

It's the same for pro football fans, such as the 200-plus Green Bay Packers supporters who gather at TJ's Sports Bar and Grill in Alpharetta. They'll take over the whole restaurant, even sometimes sitting on pool tables to catch the game. And they bring mementos.

"They come with dirt from Lambeau Field. They have their shrines. They have their blankets. They have their melted show. They are diehards," manager Sue Ecclestone said.

In deals prearranged with the bar or restaurant, fans like the 100-200 Michigan fans who meet at Pepperoni's Tavern in Alpharetta on Saturdays are guaranteed space and plenty of TV screens. Some groups take over entire restaurants; others are given party rooms or separate bar areas.

At some bars, like American Pie in Sandy Springs, where a couple of hundred Ohio State fans usually convene, it's standing room only. Steelers fans fill up the parking lot and surrounding parking lots at Barnacles in Duluth, where they've gathered since 1991.

Sometimes the groups are a little smaller, with 40-70 University of South Florida fans gathering at Alpharetta's Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar.

But if the teams are on TV, they'll be there.

"We even have a very teeny, tiny group of University of Delaware fans who meet here, even though the Fightin' Blue Hens are on TV two times a year," said Andrew Hinely, a manager at Jocks and Jills in Norcross, who also is a graduate of the school.

If you're looking to root on a particular team, here are some possible spots. We're spotlighting places that host alumni groups or have large numbers of certain fans there regularly.

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GWINNETT

• The Fieldhouse

Teams: Georgia, Alabama, Auburn

3519 Braselton Highway, Dacula

770-271-9292, www.fieldhouserestaurant.com

• Wild Wing Cafe

Teams: Georgia, Cleveland Browns

3265 Lawrenceville Suwanee Road, Suwanee

770-945-9090, www.wildwingcafe.com/suwanee.html

• Barnacles

Teams: Georgia Tech, Georgia, Pittsburgh Steelers

2125 Market St., Duluth

770-418-9510, www.barnacles.net/duluthhomepage.html

• Jocks and Jills

Teams: Arkansas, University of Miami, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Marshall, Delaware, Cleveland Browns

7160 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross

770-263-0910, www.jocksandjills.com

• Jeffrey's Sports Grill

Teams: Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia Tech

105 Horizon Drive, Suwanee

770-614-8545, www.jeffreyssportsbars.com

• Locos Grill & Pub

Team: Georgia

665 Duluth Highway, Lawrenceville

770-682.8714, www.locosgrill.com

• Dillon's Restaurant and Sports Bar

Teams: Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts

850 Dogwood Road, Lawrenceville

770-978-4308, www.dillons-sportsbar.com

• Digger's Sports Grill

Teams: Ohio State, Georgia, Miami Dolphins

909 Parkside Walk Lane, Lawrenceville

678-377-8660, www.diggerssports.com

• The Derby Sports Bar and Grille

Team: Georgia

7716 Spalding Drive, Norcross

770-448-2833, www.thederby.us

• Sportstime Bar and Grill

Teams: Georgia, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins

3675 Satellite Blvd., Duluth

678-417-6885, www.sportstimegrille.com

• Taco Mac

Team: Buffalo Bills

2003 Riverside Parkway, Lawrenceville

770-682-7189, www.tacomac.com

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Northside

• Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar

Team: South Florida

2375 Mansell Road, Alpharetta

678-352-4599, www.buffalowildwings.com

• Mazzy's Sports Bar & Grill

Team: Iowa

10729 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell

770-645-8576, www.mazzys.com

• Jeffrey's Sports Grill

Teams: Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio State

11585 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta

770-346-0807, www.jeffreyssportsgrillalpharetta.com

• TJ's Sports Bar and Grill

Teams: Florida State, Kentucky, Georgia, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants

2880 Holcomb Bridge Road, Alpharetta

770-552-7700

• Champps Alpharetta

Team: N.C. State

7955 North Point Parkway, Alpharetta

770-642-1933, www.champps.com

• Locos Grill & Pub

Team: Georgia

11770 Haynes Bridge Road, Alpharetta

770-751-9898, www.locosgrill.com

• Star Time Entertainment – Sports Bar

Team: Clemson

608 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell

770-993-5411, www.StarTimeEntertainment.com

• Pepperoni's Tavern

Team: Michigan

4190 Old Milton Parkway, Alpharetta

770-343-8228, www.pepperonistavern.com

• Alpharetta Ale House

Teams: Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

10750 Davis Drive, Alpharetta

678-277-2581, www.alehouseinc.com/index.htm

• Hudson Grille

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

865 N. Main St., Alpharetta

770-777-4127, www.hudsongrille.com

• The Derby Sports Bar and Grille

Team: Michigan

9850 Nesbit Ferry Road, Alpharetta

770-642-7988, www.thederby.us

• American Pie

Teams: Ohio State, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints

5840 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs

404-255-7571, www.american-pie.com

• Digger's Sports Grill

Teams: Syracuse, Kansas, Kansas State, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs

8590 Roswell Road, Atlanta

770-587-2005, www.diggerssports.com

• Wing Factory

Team: Notre Dame

4279 Roswell Road, Atlanta

404-255-4460, www.wingfactory.com

• Laseter's Tavern at Vinings

Team: West Virginia, Pittsburgh Steelers

4355 Cobb Parkway, Atlanta

770-850-8570

• Digger's Sports Grill

Teams: Syracuse, Kansas State, Kansas

8540 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs

770-587-2005

• Jocks and Jills

Team: USC, Michigan State

1 Galleria Parkway, Atlanta

770-952-8401, www.jocksandjills.com

• Mazzy's Sports Bar & Grill

Teams: Florida, New York Jets

2217 Roswell Road N.E., Marietta

678-213-1688, www.mazzys.com

• Sideline's Sports Bar and Grille

Team: Buffalo Bills

1440 Roswell Road, Marietta

770-509-3320, www.sidelinesgrille.com

• Trilogy

Team: Kentucky

4930 Davidson Road, Suite 200, Marietta

770-971-4770, www.trilogydining.net

• Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar

Team: Indiana

8371 Roswell Road, Dunwoody

770-643-0074, www.buffalowildwings.com