They descended upon Atlanta, set up shop in the Gulch and the Home Depot Backyard and over near the Vine City MARTA station. Booze and cigar smoke mingled with that odd mix of country, hip-hop and classic rock that you only find at tailgates.
They mulled through the Georgia World Congress Center, where “College Gameday” (that four-letter network’s preeminent pregame show) recorded live for a few hours and the Zac Brown Band (”something-something-something chicken fried ...”) took the stage for a few minutes.
All around Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the folks in red and black seemingly outnumbered those in crimson about 3-to-1.
And Bulldogs fans came largely expecting to watch their team beat down the bogeyman in the SEC Championship Game.
“Revenge is best served cold,” said Matthew Barnes, a 37-year-old Bulldog from Birmingham, said before the game. “With a cold beer in my hand.”
As it turns out, revenge would not be on the menu.
The team on the other side, Alabama, still has Georgia’s number.
The Crimson Tide came in with six straight wins against the Bulldogs, some on the highest stage and in the most excruciating fashion (see: 2nd-and-26). Fifteen straight wins in Atlanta, in general, whether in kickoff games or conference championships.
But Georgia entered as the undisputed No. 1 team in the country, owner of a 12-0 record for the first time since the 1980s glory days. The first team to be a betting favorite in a game against the Crimson Tide in six years.
“We’ve been down this road before, we’ve seen the script. Hopefully it’ll be different today,” Christie Campfield, 60, of Flowery Branch, said during a raucous pre-game tailgate. “I’m feeling very confident.”
The doubts, though, they always exist. Especially in this town, against this team.
“You still have it lingering back there, until you do it,” Rick Campfield said.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Cal Jackson, 25, drove up from Hamilton (a little north of Columbus) for the game. He and his sister were in line to get into the stadium well before gates opened.
He was a tad more cautious when weighing his team’s chances, saying you should never underestimate Alabama or its coach, Nick Saban. But “pretty confident” was still his big-picture assessment.
As game time approached, he and tens of thousands of other Georgia football fans filed into a stadium filled with many unpleasant memories — with nothing to do but wait, watch and pray they’d be proven right.
“Everybody has their day,” Jackson said. “I’m just hoping today’s it.”
It wouldn’t be.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin
Credit: Hyosub Shin
By the early stages of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs would be down by three scores with little reason to expect a comeback.
The sound system at Mercedes-Benz Stadium would be playing “Dixieland Delight,” the crimson contingent singing and cheering along as fans in a lighter shade of red sat stunned.
Trip Garbin, 14, put an arm around his mom as they left with a few minutes left to play.
“I thought we were gonna win,” he said. “I definitely thought we were gonna win.”
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