Game Day

The game started at 12:30, so we got up kind of early. I made a big breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon.

The bike started up just fine and we met Burt and Tyler at the Performing Arts Center parking lot. Then, my master parking plan went into action.


We all got into Burt's car, me driving, and drove up to the stadium. There, I dropped Burt and the boys off. While I waited in traffic, the team buses went by and I realized that we were going to miss the Gator Walk. The Gator Walk is a relatively new ritual where 2 hours before the game, fans make a big tunnel from the buses to the stadium entrance and all the players and coaches, dressed in ties and suits, walk through this gauntlet of praise, most with their game faces already firmly on. It's a chance for fans to see the players up close and a nice little motivation/adrenaline inducer for the players. The plan was to get to the stadium early enough to take part in this, but we just barely missed it.

I drove back to where the bike was parked and parked Burt's car. Then I hopped on the bike and rode back to the stadium, where motorcycle parking is a piece of cake. I parked right across the street from the stadium. We played a little football with a ball Burt had brought, then made our way into the stadium.

First we found our seats, and then walked down to the edge of the field where the team was warming up.

The boys had a great view about 20 feet from where the quarterbacks were warming up. As soon as the players went into the tunnel for the final pre-game prep, Alex and I went to the nearest concession stand and bought a couple of bottles of Gatorade. It was a perfect day temperature-wise, but a little hot in the sun, so we'd already worked up a bit of a thirst.

We said temporary goodbyes to Burt and Tyler, as their seats were a bit away from ours. We got settled in our seats a few minutes before kickoff. Alex was taking it all in: the band, the cheers, the short movie on the jumbotron that comes before the team runs out of the tunnel, and of course, the team running on to the announcer saying "Heeeeeeeeeeere come the Gators!" It had been 4 years since I had last been to a game, and I always get cold chills when they run out. It's hard not to, with the fevered pitch of 92,000 fans screaming full-force.


I had had mixed feelings about how the game might turn out. Our defense has looked so bad the past few games that I was mentally preparing myself for a possible (shudder-to-think) homecoming loss. But alas it was not in the cards. The defense looked reinvigorated with a new defensive tackle and the offense, our team strength, was clicking on all cylinders. Before long it was obviously going to be a blowout. Even though Vanderbilt is typically the SEC doormat, they almost always play us tough, and just 2 years ago they almost beat us in overtime.

Percy Harvin was a beast and actually set a school record as the first player ever to run for over 100 yards and have over 100 yards receiving.


During halftime, Alex requested nachos. When we lived in Gainesville, I would bring Sofia to games and she always got nachos. I think that was sometimes part of her motivation for going to the games...the nachos. So Alex followed suit nicely. Sofia would be proud.

What are the odds: I saw a girl at the game, sitting 2 or 3 rows in front of us, that had been my student at GHS. 92,000 people and I'm 10 feet from a former student. I couldn't remember her name (even though I had her more than 1 year...I'm getting old) so I couldn't call out to her to get her attention. She left the game a little early and passed right in front of me, so I tapped her on the shoulder and we said a quick hello. "I thought you were living out in..." I finished her sentence: "Arizona. Yeah, I am. Just came for the game." It was cool.

The game couldn't have been better. Exciting plays, no one got hurt, and a bigtime win for the Gators. After the game ended, we met Burt and Tyler. We had one more goal to accomplish before leaving campus.


I had previously read on a message board that you could hang out near the player exit after the game and talk to some of the players and get some autographs and photos. In anticipation of this, I brought a mini Gator helmet. Throughout the game, I had it attached to my belt, as no backpacks or bags were allowed in the stadium. It was a little cumbersome, but if we could meet the right players, it would be worth it. For any other players who we might want autographs, but not on the helmet, we bought a post-game score card. I had brought a Sharpie, too, so we were set.


We hung out by the players' scooters instead of with the small mob of fans near the exit. That way, once the players were through the crowd and getting to tehir scooters, Alex and Tyler could go to work. The boys were great. They weren't shy at all, and we even coached them up on nice things to say to the players like "good game" and if the player had a big ice pack taped to their shoulder or knee, they could say "hope you feel better soon."

The tricky thing about getting autographs is that it's often hard to know who the players are. When they're not in uniform with their name and number on their back, it can be anyone's guess who they are. I could recognize a handful of the guys that we saw, but many I had no idea. I've never liked the thought of asking a player who they are and then deciding whether you want their autograph or not. That's kind of rude. I'd rather have something like a poster or a score card that you can get everyone to sign and then sort out who all you got later.

I knew we wouldn't see Tim Tebow, since he's so popular that he gets secretly whisked off my security (the message board guy had clued me in to that). There are a very select few players that I would have sign my little helmet. Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Andre Caldwell... I figured Percy would be our best chance, since I knew that he rode a scooter. I prepped Alex. I told him that if I see Percy Harvin, I'll give Alex the helmet and he's to ask Percy to sign the helmet. Soon enough, I had a Percy sighting, and I gave Alex the helmet and had him go to work. Thankfully, Percy is an extremely nice guy and though he was held up by the masses taking pictures and getting autographs, he signed the boys scorecards...and my helmet. Victory.


Another highlight of the autograph session was seeing one of my former students, Curtis Carr, who is a walk-on defensive back. I chatted with him for a little while, mostly catching up on his brother, whom I had as a student for 3 or 4 years. I only had Curtis one year, but we chatted as if we were old friends. I made his highlight tape for college recruitment (his parents paid me).

Finally it was obvious that no more players were coming, so we headed back to the bike. Our grand total on the scorecards was 22 player autographs and 1 coach (offensive coordinator Dan Mullen).

I rode the bike back to the car, then brought the car to pick up the guys. Time for some post-game grub, and I had chicken wings on the brain. Funny thing, Burt and I had been out of touch with Gainesville to the point that we didn't know where the best place for wings was anymore. Burt liked Joe's Deli (closed) and he mentioned a place called Buffalo's that we used to go to that closed long ago, even before I moved to Phoenix. The only places I knew weren't in the general vicinity. So we cruised up Archer Rd., looking for something. The boys both needed to pee badly, so instead of picking a place quickly for the sake of a bathroom, we stopped at Target and everybody went potty.

We finally settled on Gainesville Ale House, though I'd never eaten there before. But places like that don't usually screw up chicken wings. It was packed, naturally, and we got on the wait-list for a 45-minute expected wait. The boys were going a bit crazy, so we drove to a McDonalds nearby and used their playground for about 30 minutes. Didn't even buy anything. Heh heh.

Dinner, like the rest of the day, was perfect. Burt and I split an order of 50 wings and they were as great as I could have hoped for. The boys had cheese pizzas and we all shared a basket of fries. Several other games were playing on the multitude of TVs there, so we got to follow a few other games while we ate.


It was getting late, and Burt and Tyler still had to drive back to Orlando. Back at the Performing Arts Center parking lot, we threw the football around a bit more and then said our goodbyes. It was a pretty extravagant treat to fly across the country for a game like this, and I don't know when we'll be able to do it again, but I hope this won't be the last time. It won't be.