JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As the City of Jacksonville prepares for the Florida-Georgia game on Saturday, fans are already getting the tailgate started at RV City!
Behind the wheels of their RVs and campers, loyal Gator and Bulldogs fans showed up for a cherished tradition, years in the making.
”I started this 41 years ago,” said Florida Gator fan, Michael McVigh.
Georgia Bulldogs fan Scott Wall said, “We’ve been coming for about 15 years.” This was their chance to reunite at RV City.
Gates opened promptly at 8 a.m. for the first time since 2019, after the pandemic shut it down last year.
”It was great getting back here, we surely missed it last year,” Wall shared.
”I wouldn’t have missed it for the world this time,” said another Florida Gator fan, James Brown.
The tailgate is looking a little different, though. 60 RVs will be parked at RV City inside Lot E. That’s about half of the roughly 115-125 RVs fans have seen at RV City in past years. This capacity change isn’t due to COVID, but rather the ramp and construction surrounding Hart Bridge.
As of Tuesday, there were still some empty spots left, but event organizers expect that won’t last long since they are all sold out. They anticipate about 10 RVs to show up in the next couple of days and fill in the space that’s left.
”I like a larger crowd, but we’ll see how this works out,” Wall pointed out.
Regardless of this scaled-down version, fans are making the most of it. ”I’m really looking forward to the camaraderie. I don’t want to lose to these dogs no more [sic] than they want to lose to us but after all, we’re all here to have a good time,” McVigh emphasized.
”[I’m looking forward to] just meeting people, seeing old people around. Just camaraderie,” Wall echoed.
The Florida-Georgia game kicks off at TIAA Bank Field on Saturday, October 30 at 3:30 P.M.
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