Jail population swelled after Georgia-Texas football game

The downtown scene after the Georgia-Alabama game in September

By Joe Johnson

More than 50 people were booked into the county jail following Saturday night’s football game at the University of Georgia.

It had been a highly anticipated match up between the Georgia Bulldogs and University of Texas Longhorns with playoff implications.

It was also the first time the Longhorns had traveled to Athens to play on UGA’s home turf.

Officials at the Athens airport said that Friday had been their busiest day ever, with many fans arriving in their Texas-size private jets.

Gamedays typically means an increase in arrests for alcohol-related offenses, and it was no exception during the hours following Georgia’s 35-10 rout of Texas.

The Athens police prisoner van made repeated trips to the jail, and Georgia state troopers also delivered overnight guests to the detention facility, as did UGA police officers.

Just after midnight Sunday alone, the jail website indicates that 25 people were arrested for DUI, and more than 25 others were arrested for such offenses as underage intoxication, fake ID, and open containers.

When police reports are made available on Monday a better indication of Gameday mayhem will come to light.