JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Walls, of Hawkinsville, Ga., and the Hayes, of Pensacola, Fla., kind of ruin that narrative about nothing but unadulterated hatred existing between fans of the Bulldogs and Gators. While one family is fiercely loyal to Georgia and the other to Florida, they actually befriended each other almost a decade ago in the very shadows of TIAA Bank Field.
They’re bunkmates, of sorts. They annually park next to each other in an area known as RV City. They pulled in on Tuesday – the first day possible – like they do every year, so that they can claim the very best spots in the expansive, controlled lot right across Gator Bowl Boulevard from the stadium where Georgia and Florida will meet again Saturday in their long-standing college football rivalry.
The Walls, physically closer than any of the dozens of massive vehicles, seem to have accomplished that goal. They’re about a two-football field walk from entering the stadium gates.
Such real estate does not come without a price. The RVs actually started queuing up on the road outside the fenced-in area last weekend. The Walls and Hayes said got in line this past Saturday.
“We were number 16 this year,” said Nancy Wall, standing outside the Toy Hauler RV that belongs to her and husband Scott Wall. “So, we had a few people ahead of us, but not many.”
It costs $600 to park in RV City, and that’s whether you arrive on Tuesday or pull in on Saturday morning. It’s also $80 per car, of which the Walls have two. Their RV retails for about $115,000, not including all the additional toys they’ve added over the years.
While the Walls’ view of the colorful tailgating scene surrounding the stadium is unmatched, they’d prefer to be placed in the middle and not to be right next to the road.
“It’s noisy,” she said, “and sometimes people throw stuff.”
That usually happens after the game. That doesn’t start until 3:30 p.m. on Saturday when the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0 SEC) and the unranked Florida Gators (4-3, 1-3) renew their rivalry for the 101st time. The teams have played in this general area next to the St. Johns River for 90 years, and almost continuously since 1933.
But for the RV people, the football contest plays only a bit role in their party. For them it’s all about socializing and having fun.
“We love it,” said Nancy Hayes (yes, her first name is also Nancy). “We’ve been coming since 2014. That’s when (the Walls) took us under their wing and taught us their ways. We do everything just like them, all except the colors.”
There is no need to throw up any polling booths in RV City to gauge the sentiments of these people when it comes to the future of the Georgia-Florida. The discussion about whether the game should be changed to a home-and-home series rather than being played at a neutral site as it is in Jacksonville is an annual topic. But it seems to have reached a point of critical mass here of late.
The contract between the two state universities and the city of Jacksonville expires after next year’s game, though there’s an option to extend it through 2025. Meanwhile, Georgia coach Kirby Smart has let it be known that he’d prefer the game return to the respective campuses. NCAA rules prevent the schools from hosting recruits at a neutral-site game, which Smart believes puts the football programs at a disadvantage with other SEC teams.
Of course, Smart just led the Bulldogs to the national championship and their average national recruiting ranking the last five years is 2.3. But that’s Smart’s story and he’s sticking to it.
The current arrangement between the schools and Jacksonville is a very lucrative one. Each one walks away with somewhere between $2 million and $3.5 million without the every-other-year expense of operating the game.
But change is in the wind in the SEC. The conference is expanding to add Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12 in 2025. As a result, the league is expected to do away with divisional play and teams will increase from eight to nine SEC games a year.
Depending on how that shakes out – the conference is still deliberating – all traditional rivalry games are on the chopping block. Never mind neutral-site games. Oklahoma and Texas also play one of those annually in Dallas.
If SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is listening, the fine folks in RV City would beg to keep the Georgia-Florida game right here where it has always been.
“Oh, yes, absolutely it needs to be in Jacksonville,” said Nancy Hayes, as her husband Marshall chimed in with simultaneous and heart-felt agreement. “It’s just always been here, and it’s where you just know everything about it. It wouldn’t be the same playing somewhere else.”
The Walls are the grizzled veterans of the group. Now retired as civilian employees for the Air Force Reserves, they’ve been coming here every year since the late 1980s.
They’d prefer to keep things as they are, but as long as Smart is leading their Bulldogs to national championships, they’re fine with whatever the future holds.
“We’re going to go wherever it’s at,” Wall said. “We’re going to drive to Atlanta, we’ll drive to Athens, we’re going to go wherever they play it. But I don’t know that anybody else can provide this kind of accommodations and parking. The city of Jacksonville does a really good job for us and we appreciate it.”
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