The Florida Georgia Line

 

All true college football fans must attend the three neutral site annual rivalry games at least once. Those games are Army-Navy, OU-Texas (AKA the Red River Shootout) and Florida-Georgia (the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party). I was fortunate enough to complete this trifecta by finally going to Jacksonville, FL, this past weekend for the Florida-Georgia game. 

The first meeting between these two teams dates back to 1904. Georgia leads the series 54-44 with two ties. The game has been held every year since1933 in Jacksonville with only two times where it wasn’t. The moniker of “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” came about in the 1950s when a sports writer witnessed a drunk fan in the street offer a uniformed cop a drink. The politically correct world has in more recent years frowned on the nickname and asked CBS and the city of Jacksonville to not use it anymore as it may promote the wrong message. Me, being a fan of the drink, just don’t get this thought process.

The pregame environment did not disappoint. I was joined on this trip by Danville’s own Dave Wannstedt doppelganger, Dave Q. This was after the bulk of the Danville crew bailed on this weekend (more on that later). After a night of inspecting establishments on Bay Street for proper pouring techniques, we arose to a gloomy, overcast final October Saturday morning. After downing a packet of Ralli (an antioxidant life saver), we rebounded quickly and made our way down the one and half mile stretch to the parking areas surrounding the TIAA Bank Field, home of the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars. Clearly there were more participants in the cocktail party than the number that would enter the stadium. 

  

The Wannstedt twins

A mosaic of red, blue and orange painted a human tapestry of pregame revelry perhaps second to none. We were offered shots of fireball and pieces of fried chicken as we mooch-gated our way through the parking lots. We even attended a frat party tailgate with Florida college kids where we saw a young man who not only wouldn’t make it into the game, he wouldn’t even see 3 p.m.that afternoon. I also had a celebratory toast with the daughter of one of my best friends who attends Florida. Surprisingly, for such a big rivalry, we did not witness any hate or trash talking. It was like hyenas and lions coexisting peacefully together in the Serengeti. As game time approached, we parted ways with our new besties and made our way into the stadium.

 

Corrupting my buddy's Gator daughter while "TailGatoring"

The sights of the world's largest outdoor cocktail party

Note to online ticket buyers: Don’t use the random website my wingman did, or you might end up in the very top row of the stadium. At least we had air conditioning up there, but as the prostate expanded with each libation, the trek down and back up the 300 steps became a feat to be celebrated each time. Popular Florida Governor Ron Desantis came out to thunderous applause to do the coin toss and then flew off to save the world shortly after. As expected, Georgia dominated the first half action despite the shaky play of veteran QB Stetson Bennett. All World tight end Brock Bowers made a spectacular catch, resulting in a 73 yard touchdown that made all the highlight reels. Georgia took a commanding 28-3 lead until the locker room at halftime. Florida fans were drinking for a different reason than Georgia fans at this point. Then lo and behold, as the second half unfolded, Florida ran off 17 unanswered points to make it a one-score game with a score of 28-20. However, the Gators used up all their gas, and Georgia put two more touchdowns on the board for a final score of 42-20. We stayed to the bitter end and made the trek back to the hotel lobby bar for nightcaps and games on the tele. I will be going back to this game every year as long as I live in Florida. Look me up if you are planning to attend!

Around the Country:  The other notable matchup in the SEC pitted Tennessee against Kentucky, which turned out to be a one-sided affair with Tennessee winning big in their all black uniforms. This sets up perhaps the biggest marquee game of the year for this coming Saturday when Tennessee visits Georgia. Up north in the Big Ten, Ohio State outgunned the Nittany Lions of Penn State by proving to be too strong in the fourth quarter and running away with a victory in Happy Valley. Michigan beat little brother, Michigan State, on the field … but not in the tunnel to the locker rooms where they got mugged. Way out west in the PAC 12, Oregon behind QB1 Bo Nix won their seventh straight game in a decisive win over the Berkeley Bears. In Big 12 action, TCU destroyed the Mountaineers to remain perfect on the season, and Okie State forgot to attend their game at Kansas State. In the ACC, UCAN’T under Jim Mora beat the fighting Jesuits of BC. An inside source at BC stated that the experiment with a position coach as a head coach is now over after losing to UCAN’T for the first time in two decades. 

Bieber:

Simple. The following names have now made the Bieber Hall of Shame for decommitting for the Florida-Georgia game: AC, Sweet Lou, Christafur, Butcher, Yeti, Miguel, Dunkin and anyone else who said they were joining us but didn’t. Now do the walk of shame and find a way to redeem yourselves.

Ginger:  Me and Wannsteadt. We are truly badass for staying the course.

Next up:  The weekend of November 12, I will be joined by the bulk of my high school buddies for the Army at Troy State game, which just so happens to be  a mere two hour drive from my Florida HQ.

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Happy Tailgating!!!