Georgia football parade: Thousands flock to Athens for memorable celebration

Football fans young and old took over Athens on Saturday to celebrate the Georgia football team's College Football Playoff National Championship victory. 

The crowd lining the street for a view of the legendary championship Georgia football team was full of alumni and young fans. 

The crowd was dense in the middle of campus near the intersection of Baxter and Lumpkin streets. 

The parade began on Lumpkin Street at the Vince Dooley Athletic Complex and meandered north. 

Anticipation grew before the parade as UGA fans took selfies with Hairy Dawg. 

The parade made its way to the Tate Center where players and coaches got out of their vehicles and began the Dawg Walk into Sanford Stadium. 

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was one of the stars of the parade. 

Smart sat in the bed of a pickup truck waving to fans with his children and wife, Mary Beth Smart. 

As players waved at fans during the parade, some fans left the sidewalks and reached out to high-five their favorite players.

Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean was a fan favorite. 

Dean recently announced he was leaving UGA to declare to the NFL Draft. 

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett will go down in the school's history books as a player with few Division I offers as a high school player, who became a walk-on at UGA and a leader on the national championship team. 

He and fellow quarterback JT Daniels took some time for fans who made the trip to Athens. 

The event ended at the Tate Center where the Dawg Walk led into Sanford Stadium for the trophy ceremony. 

The ceremony is set to begin at 2 p.m. from inside the stadium. 

The event was sold out by the time tickets were available to the general public on Thursday. 

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