Sports

Bulldogs fans in Athens gather for watch party at Stegeman Coliseum

ATHENS, Ga. — Many University of Georgia students are watching the championship game in Athens together at Stegeman Coliseum.

Standing on any street corner in Athens will have you seeing red.

“Walking on campus, you can feel the atmosphere,” freshman Jacob Gilbert told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims. “Everyone’s excited. Everyone wants to be a Bulldog. It’s what attracted me last year. I just love the atmosphere.”

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Freshman Ally Lawson plans to cheer on the Dawgs at the Stegeman Coliseum watch party.

“I’m super pumped. The energy around campus today is amazing,” Lawson said. “(It’s the) first day of classes, it’s the natty championship. Everyone’s wearing all their Georgia stuff. Just getting ready for the night.”

“I’m a little nervous because of the last game,” student Lauren Pace said. “But I’m really excited to see what our dogs can do, especially against TCU. We’ve never really played them before on a big stage like that, so I’m really excited.”

Actually, the Dawgs have faced off against TCU over the years.

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Georgia defeated TCU 40-26 in the 1942 Orange Bowl, Georgia’s first-ever bowl appearance.

And the Dawgs creamed TCU 34-3 during their 1980 national championship run and again in 1988, beating the Horned Frogs 38-10 in Athens during coach Vince Dooley’s final season.

Sophomore Camden Murphy is also nervous. But she’s confident the campus atmosphere comes with the rarified air of back-to-back championship wins.

“It’s always been a highlight. I just think tonight will be round two,” Murphy said. “Natty champs 2.0!”

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