WINTER PARK, Fla. – Marching bands, cheerleaders and mascots brought thousands of fans to Winter Park before Tuesday's Russell Athletic Bowl.
Some of the students rode in buses for more than 20 hours on their trip to Orlando. Tuesday's matchup between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Baylor Bears was expected to bring out thousands of fans to the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium.
Loyal fans who followed their team to the Russell Athletic Bowl said Orlando is a great area of the country to watch a game.
"It's just the sunshine year-round, I assume that's what it is. But I mean, like, I saw it's down in the 30s in Texas right now," said Mitchell Wren of Waco, Texas.
Students in the marching bands told News 6 that traveling to games for their team helps shape their college experience.
"Just feeling just for that moment, that you're sharing the same energy and the same excitement with an entire stadium of people, it's indescribable, it's so cool to be a part of," said McKenna Gramzay, a sophomore at the University of North Carolina.