Going to a small (5,000 student) liberal arts college in New Hampshire means that our football team wasn't that great. Plus I was struggling to keep up with my studies at the time, so while I went to a few games (usually dragged there by my fanatic roommate, Anna), I didn't go to many. But what I can tell you is that here at the University of Florida, games are an entirely different beast. To begin with, people come from all over to watch the games, and almost everyone is wearing some version of orange, blue and white. Tailgates start early, and cover the campus. We took the bus in from our apartment to campus, and got to the Medical School tailgate at 9:30am. We weren't the first to get there, either. They were still setting up, but there was beer, sodas, chips, burgers & dogs, and games.
Early picture of the Med School tailgate
The tailgate was a lot of fun. I got to catch up with some of JD's classmates whom I had met during orientation, meet some of the 2nd years whom I had heard about, chatted with a PA student from Beaverton, OR (small world!), and met the med school student sustainability person - I'm looking forward to working with her in the med school's garden plot once it gets started. Apparently with our student season tickets, we also got t-shirts. Luckily, it is a soft shirt that stretches well, and quite cutely covered my (ever growing) baby bump. We didn't get a picture, unfortunately. For later games, I'll probably have to wear JD's shirt, though.
The med school has this whole corner for the tailgate.
The game started at 12:21, so just before that time, there was a sudden exodus from the tailgate areas. People were cheering, and the amount of blue and orange was overwhelming.
We got great seats in the stadium. Near one of the endzones, and high enough that we could see everything, but not too high. We were also near an exit (i.e. access to restrooms and water), which is always key when you're pregnant.
Marching band.
UF got off to a good start against Toledo, and it was a fun game to watch. My initial thought was that they needed to clean up defense and do more on offense if they wanted to have a successful season, but then I heard that they were missing 5 or 6 key players. We'll see how the next games go. A lot of the med school students left at half-time (apparently that is pretty common - especially when it is hot out - unless it is a close game), so we had a lot more sun on us from that point onwards. We brought sunscreen and both of us managed to avoid getting burned though. Once everyone had left and the sun was hitting us more directly, I did finally start to get hot. We left at the end of the 3rd quarter when it seemed clear that UF would win (in fact, they did, and there weren't any more scores in the 4th quarter) and when I started to be overheated.
The amount of security at the game was impressive. As well, because we were in the student section, there was some good people watching. A few people had to be removed for drunkenness (apparently typical) and/or medical problems due to the heat. I felt bad for the Toledo fans, many of whom were older. I saw a lot of them sitting inside the stadium watching the game on the TV in order to get out of the sun.
We took the bus back home, and both of us rehydrated and rested for a while, before continuing on with our weekend. The next game that we go to probably won't be until October 5 - we have to miss the Tennessee game because of another commitment (Childbirth class!), which is too bad because Tennessee plays that Oregon Ducks the week before. It would have been fun to compare U of O to UF. JD and I are holding out hope for a Ducks/Gators bowl game, but based on the current rankings, its not looking likely. All in all, a really fun experience!
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