{"id":338096,"date":"2025-10-28T09:44:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T09:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/338096\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T09:44:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T09:44:28","slug":"longtime-fans-gather-with-florida-georgia-tradition-heading-elsewhere-in-2026-and-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/338096\/","title":{"rendered":"Longtime fans gather with Florida-Georgia tradition heading elsewhere in 2026 and 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 The traditional Florida-Georgia rivalry game is set for one final hurrah in Jacksonville before a temporary relocation, as fans from both sides gather for what many describe as more than just a football game \u2013 it\u2019s a family reunion.<\/p>\n

Days before the 3:30 p.m. Saturday kickoff at EverBank Stadium, fans have already lined up their RVs.<\/p>\n

Dozens wrap around the block with the steady hum of generators and engines echoing outside the soon-to-be open RV City.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh man, I love it. This is awesome. I\u2019ve been here since Wednesday,\u201d Rusty Shortridge said. Shortridge said he\u2019s been coming to this matchup as a Florida Gator fan since the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Florida fan Rusty Shortridge (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

The matchup represents more than just another SEC showdown. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe battle of the borders,\u201d as Shortridge describes it, has been a staple in Jacksonville since 1933<\/a>, bringing together two passionate fan bases in a unique neutral-site setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis cocktail party \u2013 it ain\u2019t just a cocktail party. It\u2019s all about two teams getting together and see who can beat the other one,\u201d Shortridge explained. \u201cBut then again, it\u2019s all about everybody having a good time together.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s game marks the temporary end of an era, as the rivalry will temporarily move away from Jacksonville after Saturday\u2019s contest<\/a>. The game will shift to Atlanta in 2026 and Tampa in 2027 while Jacksonville\u2019s \u201cStadium of the Future\u201d undergoes construction. The matchup is scheduled to return to Jacksonville in 2028.<\/p>\n

The temporary relocation has sparked mixed emotions among longtime attendees. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be the same,\u201d Shortridge said. \u201cWhen both schools get together, all their fans can have a good time. It\u2019s just something different about this. Everybody cooks out together, has a good time together.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s matchup carries additional intrigue as Florida enters with interim head coach Billy Gonzales following Billy Napier\u2019s recent dismissal<\/a>. Georgia has dominated recent meetings, winning the last four encounters, but Gator fans remain optimistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey bring it. We have nothing to lose but all to gain,\u201d Shortridge said. \u201cIt don\u2019t take but one little spark to make it happen. This game can go either way. It doesn\u2019t matter how good anybody is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Georgia fans like Randy Stone feel it adds a little uncertainty to Georgia\u2019s preparation. <\/p>\n

Georgia fan Randy Stone (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go into a game where they don\u2019t have a head coach, you don\u2019t know what to practice for,\u201d Stone said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know what the other coach is going to bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the venue may temporarily change and Florida\u2019s future head coach remains a mystery, the SEC has confirmed that Florida and Georgia will remain yearly opponents for the foreseeable future<\/a>, preserving one of college football\u2019s most storied rivalries.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can take some other teams, but this one\u2019s been going on since 1933,\u201d Stone said. \u201cIf you take that out, you just pulled the wind out of it. Keeping Florida and Georgia on the schedule every year \u2013 that\u2019s a big plus.\u201d<\/p>\n

As fans set up their RVs and prepare for another chapter in this historic rivalry, the sentiment among both fan bases remains clear: while winning matters, it\u2019s the tradition and camaraderie that make this game special.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you win, it\u2019s a bonus,\u201d Stone reflects. \u201cWe rag on each other, but we want to win. We all have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

RV City will open Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. marking the official start of the annual festivities.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 The traditional Florida-Georgia rivalry game is set for one final hurrah in Jacksonville before a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":338097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,1428,3188,723,1382,165778,3919,7310,165777,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-338096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-college-football","10":"tag-fl","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-florida-gators","13":"tag-florida-georgia","14":"tag-georgia-bulldogs","15":"tag-jacksonville","16":"tag-rv-city","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115451151392714167","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}