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Soaking in the Athens atmosphere ahead of the UGA-Notre Dame kickoff

Fans were tailgating early Saturday morning.

ATHENS, Ga. — While we are hours away from kick-off, people have been in Athens since early Saturday morning. Some fans arrived as early as Wednesday. 

Fans were up early Saturday morning. 

"Breakfast of champions this morning," said Notre Dame fan Dustin Whitney. "A little Italian sausage going on here."

Gathered around the grill, the RVs, and of course, people packed in downtown Athens.

"I mean they are saying that this is going to be one of the biggest games in Sanford Stadium history," said fan Willie Elias, who traveled down from Pennsylvania. 

Elias made the trip down with his buddies. 

"Every year, we take a football trip -- and this year, we decided to come down to Athens to soak in the culture," he said.

For Willie and his friends, and so many that came in from out of state, they say the trip was totally worth it.

Because the last time Georgia had a Top Ten non-conference matchup in Athens came in 1966 -- and this is the first time Notre Dame football has made the trip to Athens. 

So, this game is a Big Deal.

"Absolutely," said UGA alum Madi Coleman. "They put in more seating than they’ve ever had at Sanford Stadium! The new Dooley Field…you know just excited to see what happens today between the hedges."

"This is a dream of a lifetime," Dustin said. "We flew down from Vermont of Thursday.  Hanging out at Bulldog Park.  Georgia fans have been unreal.  Accepted us…it has been a great time."

"I mean, it's been great," said Sean Hamman, who flew down from Chicago. "Just everyone that we came across has said, hey, good morning, how are you doing!? Thanks for coming!" 

There's nothing like SEC Football!

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