Georgia’s Week 1 win over Tennessee State was supposed to be the kind of game that lives freely on social media, a quick-hit highlight package for fans who missed it or just wanted to relive it. Instead, the Bulldogs managed to turn their own video into a flashpoint.
Georgia’s social team posted what looked like a standard highlight clip from the 63-3 victory. It opened with Kirby Smart addressing the team and then moved into footage of the Bulldogs taking the field. But the caption told the real story: “Watch the full Victory Highlights on https://gloryglorygeorgia.com and the Glory Glory app.”
That is where the backlash started.
Fans quickly realized the full highlight package was sitting behind a subscription wall on Glory Glory Georgia, and X added a community note spelling that out. The note said, “Readers added context they thought people might want to know,” and explained that users have to sign up and pay for a subscription, with the minimum cost being $20/month.
The reaction from the fan base was immediate and ugly. One fan wrote, “Do you have any idea how much money I’ve spent to attend this university and support this program over the years?
Show me the freaking highlights, the fanbase is bleeding cash week in and week out. Get the money from Delta or Home depot or Coke idc”
Another said, “Georgia games have never been more inaccessible and you’re going to put video highlights behind a paywall? Be friggin serious.
This is not how you build fandoms that last a lifetime. This is turning people away from being a fan.
The long term ramifications will be felt.”
Others were even blunter. “Bad move.
You can squeeze money out of fans so many way. Forcing them to pay for highlights is terrible @GeorgiaFootball @GloryGloryGA”
“What are we doing here? Paywalling the weekly highlight video? Total BS”
“Charging $85 per ticket for that game and then $20 to watch the highlights is diabolical. Read the planet.”
One fan who said he had been a season-ticket holder for 60 years also piled on, writing: “60yr season tix holder. Driving up from Jax for every home gm.Hartman Fund donations for 3 season tixs, then paying 4 the 3 seats, add 3 seat backs 4 season & cost of parking 4 all home gms.
PIus, food/drinks if we get any & u can’t provide a FREE hi-lite vid @Brooks_UGA? Shame.”
The move is tied to Glory Glory Georgia, which is trying to drive traffic and subscriptions to its own platform. The site is separate from Georgia’s official athletics operation, even though the Bulldogs are promoting it. On the website, Glory Glory Georgia describes itself as a “fan-first ecosystem designed to capture and share exclusive content, deliver unparalleled access to UGA athletics through curated experiences, and inspire deeper levels of engagement.”
The platform offers original articles, video content, interviews with coaches and players, VIP experiences, and official UGA merchandise, including t-shirts, sweatshirts and signed football and baseballs.
Its membership tiers are not cheap. A red level subscription costs $20 a month and includes two complimentary tickets to a private practice, a monthly e-newsletter, exclusive digital content access and message board access.
Black level is $75 a month and adds tickets to five practices, tickets to two Glory Glory events and $5 off merchandise. Silver level membership runs $100 a month.
Georgia’s relationship to the site is clearly defined on Glory Glory Georgia’s FAQ page, which says the platform is a legal entity “separate from UGA.” It also says the school approves of the site’s mission to serve fans “through exclusive content and experiences.”
There is no question college football has changed, and NIL has opened the door to all kinds of new money-making angles. But when fans can’t even get a free look at highlights from a 63-3 win, that crossed a line for plenty of Georgia supporters. Whether the Bulldogs keep posting highlight clips this way will be worth watching.
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