The Event

I’m switching gears this week to examine what some of the populace believe is the lighter side of our culture, sports. If you have any sense of humor, I can’t fathom anything more entertaining than the Presidential campaign. However, there was nothing “light” about the college football game I attended this past weekend. Everything that transpired heightened my awareness of how important sports are to our society. This is why they have their own section of the newspaper, radio and television stations devote 24 hour coverage; all because of the import we put on them. When an event of such magnitude occurs, clocks stop; the work week is forgotten, the economy, the argument with the wife or girlfriend, all in the name of sport.
There are several such happenings that the entire sporting community elevates to said event status. The Super Bowl, where the game itself is rarely super, The Daytona 500, The Kentucky Derby, the World Series, even though only teams from America play in it. There are a couple of college football rivalries that are annual events. Ohio State-Michigan, Harvard-Yale, California-Stanford, are always games of note despite won-lost records that may indicate otherwise. Then there is the special game that occurs because the stars have aligned just right. Two happened on this fall Saturday in October, Texas versus Oklahoma, and Florida versus LSU. I was fortunate enough to experience all of the hoopla of the latter.
Each fall for the past five years I have attended a football game at the University of Florida. It’s the annual rite of father and son bonding. My son graduated from UF last May, and is now a graduate student there. Past opponents were Arkansas, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and last year the Gators squared off against my alma mater Florida Atlantic University; noble foes all, but lacking elite status. This year was different. Just a week ago Florida suffered a most ignominious loss at home at the hands of the University of Mississippi, their first defeat of the season. The Polls now ranked UF 11th. LSU on the other hand was undefeated and ranked 4th. This game would have SEC and National Championship implications. I was so excited I could barely contain myself.
Normally I get to Gainesville early Friday afternoon. However, I had business in Orlando on Thursday, so I got to campus a day early. Each and every subsequent activity after my arrival was significant in some way, shape or form.
Thursday night for the first time since I gave up consuming alcoholic beverages, I closed a bar. My metabolism severely out of whack due to the copious amounts of Diet Coke I consumed. While my son and his friends continued to slay brain cells somewhere else, I retreated to my motel room to count the popcorn on the ceiling. This was just a prelude of what was in store.
Friday I arose relatively early considering what time I had retired the previous evening. I made my way to my son’s house to check my e-mail for a pending appointment with an administrator at the University Athletic Association. I found Cory in a state of ill-repair due to a lack of sleep and a slight overindulgence of libations. After confirmation of my appointment, Cory was none too pleased that he needed to get his shit together for a 10:30 meeting. Like the champ that he is, he made a strategic phone call to find out the building location where the meeting would be taking place. We made our way to campus amid the bustle of students going to and from class. There were no signs of the storm that was approaching the university grounds.
Once my obligations were completed, with splendid results I might add, we went to the new football offices. Only authorized personnel were granted access to the upstairs, Cory fell into this category. After perusing the lobby where the BCS Championship trophies and Heisman awards of past winners, I made my way into the inner sanctum of UF football. Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson of CBS sports were there in preparation for the following evenings broadcast. Cory introduced me to no less than a dozen of his co-workers. I tried mightily to remember their names, but there would be dozens more such introductions as the weekend wore on, and to remember them all would be a feat indeed. As we made our way past coach’s offices, and meeting rooms, yes there is more than one, we were greeted by Head football coach Urban Meyer. My weekend certainly was starting off in grand fashion. Cory’s supervisor offered us bracelets which granted us access to the pizza party football staff luncheon, we accepted graciously. At this point I’m feeling truly grateful to be Cory’s father. He really knows how to show someone a good time.
The preparations for the following day’s festivities began in earnest with the purchase of alcoholic beverages to be put on ice. Exhausted from lack of sleep, coupled with all the walking that morning, I felt a need for a little game I like to call “Checking my Eyelids for Cracks.” Cory agreed. I returned to my motel. Only I didn’t sleep as hoped. Cory requested that I return to his house around 5:30. To give myself plenty of time to travel the 4.5 miles, I left at 5:00. The first signs that something was brewing on the horizon was the storm surge of humanity converging on Gainesville. Every traffic light was sufficiently backed up that waiting for three cycles of change was not uncommon. I called to say I’d be late. My voice must have sounded giddy, because the electricity in the air was palpable. I could hardly contain my excitement. Again, Cory and I made our way to mid-town this time with several newly arrived out of town friends in tow. The sole reason for this influx was THE GAME. The bars were jammed beyond capacity because of THE GAME. Streets were impassible because of THE GAME. Television news crews were out in force because of THE GAME. I’d never seen anything quite like it. Under normal circumstances I’d have felt a might uncomfortable, but now I basked in the ebb and flow of human closeness.
I had planned on waking early the morning of the game. I got my wish via 2 dozen unruly pubescent football players and their equally inconsiderate parental supervisors. Outside my door a din of screaming and shouting shattered my slumber. Though this did not alter my jovial mood for it was GAMEDAY!! LSU vs. Florida, 4 vs. 11, SEC West meets SEC East, on national television, 12 hours from now, and I was summoned to tailgate, making a pit stop for gas, ice and a coffee for my son first.
Like animals readying for the oncoming deluge; vendors, students, and alumni scurried to and fro to make final preparations for what was about to occur. When I arrived at the predetermined designated area, several canopies had already been erected, some LSU revelers and some Florida fans. This ratio would eventually become extremely one sided. Good times were had by all. Cold drinks and hot women were the order of the day. Trash talking was at a minimum. Comparisons were made over what form of suicide or outbursts of anarchy were to occur if the Gators lost. However, no sooner were the projected laments over, then just as quickly calls for what type of celebration would accompany a Gator win. This manic see-saw of emotion was understandable but nerve-racking. In twenty minutes the game would start.
Like Noah’s animals making their way to the Ark, waves of humanity made their way to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The buzz in the air could only be compared to high tension wires anticipating an impending downpour. After making our way to our seats, or really “stands” since no one sat for the entire game, the noise reached a crescendo for kickoff. The energy behind it had been building for days, and now it was time to set it free. The howling wind of this storm was replaced by the clamor of rabid Gator fans. The first pass play set the tone for the evening, a tipped aerial to Percy Harvin for the first of many UF scores.
When proposed outcomes were discussed prior to the game, a Gator blowout of LSU was not one of them. Maybe that’s what made this victory so utter and complete. The final score of 51-21 was the culmination of a concentrated force that seemed to will the team to victory, an event of which I was fortunate enough to be part of.