Forty-three-year-old Aaron Jones of the Atlanta area is not your typical Georgia football fan. Instead, Jones, a quality control foreman for an asphalt manufacturing company, is a self-described Georgia football “fanatic”—and in more ways than one.

Jones’ knowledge regarding Georgia football memorabilia, particularly game programs and tickets, is second to none. Also, he’s often quick with a thought-provoking fact, stat, or trend concerning Bulldogs football. (For instance, he points out that when Georgia kicks off against Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Kirby Smart will break a tie for fourth place all-time for the most games coaching the AP’s No. 1-ranked team, trailing only Nick Saban, Woody Hayes, and Bobby Bowden.)

Since his first UGA game in 1986, Jones has attended approximately 325 Georgia football games, including an active streak of a staggering 257 consecutive games entering this Saturday. You must go back 20 years to the 2004 regular-season finale against Georgia Tech in Athens to find the last UGA game he was not in the stands for.

“Attending every game is just what I do. And I’ve done it for a long time,” said Jones, who is often joined at games by his father, Freddy. “When it comes to Georgia football, I have a fear of missing out. And I don’t want to miss out on anything. I have to be there in person for the team’s next great win, or their next significant moment. Since I can make the time, and have the resources, I say, ‘Why not?’ for something I’m so passionate about.”

Jones further demonstrated his fanaticism for Georgia football this past offseason by curiously planning a trip to Dublin, Ireland, for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Georgia Tech and Florida State on August 24th. Having never left the United States, he was excited for an opportunity to experience college football in a foreign land with a rooting interest. And if he couldn’t root for the Dawgs overseas, he’d settle for the next best thing: rooting against UGA’s hated intrastate rival.

“I did something ‘insane,’ and traveled 4,000 miles by myself to root against Tech. Had the Jackets not been playing there, I wouldn’t have gone,” Jones said. “But I hate Tech. Doesn’t every self-respecting Dawg fan? We’ve dominated the rivalry for the past six decades, but there are plenty of reasons to despise the Jackets.”

To name a few, Jones points out that Georgia Tech won the first edition of Clean Old Fashioned Hate in 1893; how they upset Georgia in 1927, spoiling the Bulldogs’ perfect season and a trip to the Rose Bowl; and how he sat through three straight “excruciating” losses to the Yellow Jackets from 1998-2000.

“Historically, we are so much better than them, especially in the modern era of college football,” Jones said. “But to this day, they have the longest winning streak in series history (eight games from 1949-1956). That drought is something that just gnaws at me, and for my money, is as good a reason as any to hate them.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Jones wasn’t the only UGA fan who made the long trek overseas to experience college football. Amongst the tens of thousands of Tech and FSU fans he encountered over a few days in Dublin and later London, Jones said he ran into “around 10” of those dressed in Georgia Bulldogs gear.

“The Dawg fans I met had a similar mentality to mine,” he said. “They wanted to fly to another continent for a vacation in a historic city to watch college football, root against Tech while wearing red and black, and down a Guinness or two while doing it. And they could do all of that without missing a single down of Georgia football.”

Dressed accordingly at the Aer Lingus Classic, Jones donned a red Georgia shirt sporting the words “Feck Tech.”

“Essentially, ‘feck’ is Ireland’s PG-13 version of the f‐word. When the local profanity rhymes with your hated rivals’ name, you can’t help but take the opportunity to put that to good use,” Jones quipped.

There, sitting amongst mostly Yellow Jackets and Seminoles faithful, Jones endured a Tech win. Yet the victory didn’t seem to bother him nearly as much as one would think.

“Here’s how I deal with Tech when they play someone besides Georgia: If they lose, fantastic, to hell with ‘em. If they win, well, it bolsters our (Georgia's) strength of schedule. Either way I look at it, I win,” Jones laughed.

Regardless of the results on the field, Jones said he and other football fans thoroughly enjoyed the overseas experience.

“It was outstanding!” Jones said of the trip. “To cross the Atlantic and see that much passion for college football… If you’re a fan of the sport, that’s thrilling. Everyone in Dublin rolled out the red carpet for fans—and those fans seemed to take over the entire city. Everyone I encountered was having a blast.”

Returning home last week, Jones continued his normal fall routine, attending his 257th straight Georgia game when the Bulldogs played Clemson on August 31 in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On a whim, but with a fanatical purpose, he then traveled the short distance to North Avenue and watched his second consecutive Georgia Tech game when the Yellow Jackets hosted Georgia State at Bobby Dodd Stadium later that night.

Jones figured that by attending the Yellow Jackets’ home opener against Georgia State, and considering he had already witnessed Florida State play twice in a row (2023 Orange Bowl vs. Georgia and in Dublin), he’d remarkably have an active attendance streak with three different college football teams: Georgia, Florida State, and Georgia Tech.

“By virtue of Florida State not playing until Labor Day night, I had active multi-game attendance streaks with three major programs simultaneously, even if it lasted for just a day and half,” Jones said.

“And even if one of them was Tech,” he added with a laugh.