By Jorge Garcia
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rain and gusting winds could not dampen the spirits of Georgia and TCU fans who flocked to SoFi Stadium on Monday for the first College Football National Championship game held in Los Angeles.
The defending champion Bulldogs were heavy favorites heading into their matchup against the Horned Frogs in the latest big-ticket event at the venue, which was the site of last year’s Super Bowl and which will host World Cup soccer in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028.
Georgia won the game in resounding fashion, 65-7.
The University of Southern California’s Heisman-winning quarterback Caleb Williams said he was impressed by the atmosphere and star-studded crowd.
“It’s pretty special to have it here in L.A., especially with me being here for this past year and understanding how big L.A. is,” Williams told Reuters on the sidelines of an AT&T 5G Roadshow pre-game event. “And so to have it here and the support that these two teams are going to have coming from where they came from, Georgia and Texas, I think it’s going to be awesome.”
Fans were awed by the $5 billion SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020 and is home to the NFL’s Rams and Chargers.
“The best stadium in the entire world,” Georgia fan Courtlyn Cook said before the game. “It’s the perfect place for us to get the job done.”
Before the game, TCU faithful remained positive despite their long odds against top-ranked Georgia.
“This is the city of dreams, baby,” TCU fan Ryan Burns said pre-game after making the trip from Texas to Southern California. “The journey was fantastic. It didn’t matter if it was a flight, a train, a road trip, we would have walked if we had to. Horse and buggy. It doesn’t matter.”
(Additional reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles)
