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On January 9th, tens of thousands of college football fans will flock to SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to watch Georgia face off against TCU in the College Football Playoff National Championship. However, the scene outside the stadium will likely look a bit different than what you can expect at most college football games.
While the contests themselves may be the main attraction, there are countless people who use gameday as an excuse to spend hours posted up in the parking lot at tailgates filled to the brim with the booze and food they rely on to fuel up before heading into the venue.
There are many college football fans who take that particular ritual very, very seriously. As a result, it’s easy to understand why plenty of people aren’t thrilled ticketholders won’t be able to take part in that hallowed tradition on Monday thanks to the tailgating ban SoFi Stadium has instituted ahead of the title game.
That development went viral on Wednesday before coming to the attention of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. His state will host the CFP Championship when it’s played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2025, and on Thursday, the man who was recently reelected for his second term fired a somewhat obligatory shot at the state of California before promising fans who head to Atlanta in a couple of years won’t have the same problem.
While California may not know this, in the South a tailgate with friends & family is the only way to prepare for a big game. When Georgia hosts the 2025 #NationalChampionship , we'll make sure fans are able to tailgate! Even if it's at the state Capitol!!https://t.co/IHw22tZE6U
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) January 5, 2023
The folks who run the show at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will ultimately have the power to determine whether or not to allow tailgating at the game. With that said, it appears Kemp already has a contingency plan in place if they opt to follow in SoFi’s footsteps, as he’d have the authority to permit fans to set up shop on the grounds of the state’s capitol building (which is located around a 15-minute walk away from the venue).
Politics aside, I think most people would agree that’s would be a pretty baller move.