Madness Takes Its Toll....
Marius requested, I deliver. He wanted an update on G'ville, now that the Gators have one the National Championship, so I shall acquiesce. Actually, I was planning on updating anyway, but was waiting until I recovered, a little.
My schedule this week: Monday, start working at O'Dark Thirty, leave Haunted Coffee Shop and drive to Bar, work 'til O'My Gawd I'm Tired in the morn, get 2 hours of sleep, and work another 11 hour day at the HCS, then rush over to the Baronial meeting. Essentially, I worked 36 hours straight, with a two hour nap break in between.
On a personal note, I do not recommend this. Ever. My feet were so swollen Tuesday morning that I couldn't get my sneakers on. And I was tired. Soooo tired.....
Anyway, back to the story...
On the day of the big game, my bar opened at 11am. Apparently, there was a line of folks waiting to get in. I got there just before 6pm, and the place was already packed. Within 15 minutes, I had to kick a group out. On the side area of the bar, there is a "beer sponsored" light (it's a Budweiser pool table light, actually). This light actually provides a lot of working light for us behind the bar - otherswise it gets pretty dim in there. The group of people sitting on that side of the bar kept turning it off. I'd warned them twice, and then found out that my barback had already warned them 3 times. Then they unplugged it. Time to go! They argued that they didn't touch it, even though I'd watched them do it. No more talk. I called the door guys over and had them kicked out. One of the ladies (term used lightly), begged me not to kick them out. "We promise not to do it again!" "We've already had to warn you 5 times. Your promise means nothing." "But we'll never find decent seats anywhere to watch the game!" "How is that my problem? You're out of control already, and it's still two hours before the game starts..." Believe it or not, that was really the worst of the behavior.
The Buckeyes got off to a great start, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Nevermind that they did it by blatantly holding some of our defenders, and not getting called on it.... Okay, so that's a bit of sour grapes. I'll give them the touchdown. It was the best 16 seconds of the game for the Bucks. Everything went down hill from there, for Ohio.
I had been saying all along that Ohio State has never faced a defense like the Gators, and that they were in for a huge surprise. I was quite correct, and the UF denfense stopped them cold. They made 82 total yards during the game. Surprise!
What came as a shock to me was how well the UF offense performed. Chris Leak was amazing. The best game of his career. He's had his detractors, and suffered boo's in his own stadium, and took it all in stride. He showed what he was made of. He performed in the clutch, and did it well. I knew he had it in him, but wondered where that performance factor was for the rest of the season... Oh, well.
What it boils down to is this: The Buckeyes weren't ready for the Gators. They went out and played Big 10 football, the way they had all season, and expected to dominate. Of course they would. Everyone said they would. Why not? Why? Because that's not the way they play in the SEC. We're unorthodox. We pull out every trick in the book, and make up a few new ones to boot. Had OS done their homework, they would have seen this, and adjusted for it.
On a related side note, I heard a comment from a Buckeye fan that "we didn't need more than one quarterback to win games. We didn't have to use trick plays..." Ummm.... So?? What's wrong with that? That's like saying "I've got this toolbox full of tools, but I only use this screwdriver." "I've got this entire bookshelf full of books, but only read these three..." Use the talent you've got, folks....
The Gators were ready. They did their homework. They were prepared, and it showed. They deserve to be the National Champions.
Now, to get to the meat of the matter, the answer to the question: What was Gainesville like? Madness. Pure and simple madness. How did the police chief put it? Controlled chaos. Very descriptive. The moment the game was over, everyone ran out of the bars. Literally. They left. They left their drinks, their tabs. Just got up and went. They came from every residence within a mile. Another 12,ooo left the O'Connell Center where they showed the game on Jumbotrons. There was probably 20,000 people in the middle of University Avenue. All of them screaming at the top of their lungs. Singing. Jumping up and down. Hugging. Smiling. Fireworks were going off everywhere. It was loud. Very loud. It was madness. Complete madhouse. And it was peaceful. Utter nutcaseness, and yet no trouble. A tree got uprooted, from too many celebrating idjits trying to climb it. One celebrant didn't look both ways as he streaked, literally, into the street and got hit. A Christmas tree was lit. That was it. No fights. No cars overturned. No furniture lit. No $5 million in damage to the area around campus.... That was it. They yelled, they screamed, they went home.
They trickled back into the bar to pay their tabs, and maybe have another drink, but it never got too crazy after that. Mostly they stayed in the street 'til about 3am, and then went home. It was pretty wild, actually, and I am glad I got to witness it. I've got video on my phone that I'd love to share here, but have no idea how to download.... Ask me next time I see you, and I'll share...
My schedule this week: Monday, start working at O'Dark Thirty, leave Haunted Coffee Shop and drive to Bar, work 'til O'My Gawd I'm Tired in the morn, get 2 hours of sleep, and work another 11 hour day at the HCS, then rush over to the Baronial meeting. Essentially, I worked 36 hours straight, with a two hour nap break in between.
On a personal note, I do not recommend this. Ever. My feet were so swollen Tuesday morning that I couldn't get my sneakers on. And I was tired. Soooo tired.....
Anyway, back to the story...
On the day of the big game, my bar opened at 11am. Apparently, there was a line of folks waiting to get in. I got there just before 6pm, and the place was already packed. Within 15 minutes, I had to kick a group out. On the side area of the bar, there is a "beer sponsored" light (it's a Budweiser pool table light, actually). This light actually provides a lot of working light for us behind the bar - otherswise it gets pretty dim in there. The group of people sitting on that side of the bar kept turning it off. I'd warned them twice, and then found out that my barback had already warned them 3 times. Then they unplugged it. Time to go! They argued that they didn't touch it, even though I'd watched them do it. No more talk. I called the door guys over and had them kicked out. One of the ladies (term used lightly), begged me not to kick them out. "We promise not to do it again!" "We've already had to warn you 5 times. Your promise means nothing." "But we'll never find decent seats anywhere to watch the game!" "How is that my problem? You're out of control already, and it's still two hours before the game starts..." Believe it or not, that was really the worst of the behavior.
The Buckeyes got off to a great start, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Nevermind that they did it by blatantly holding some of our defenders, and not getting called on it.... Okay, so that's a bit of sour grapes. I'll give them the touchdown. It was the best 16 seconds of the game for the Bucks. Everything went down hill from there, for Ohio.
I had been saying all along that Ohio State has never faced a defense like the Gators, and that they were in for a huge surprise. I was quite correct, and the UF denfense stopped them cold. They made 82 total yards during the game. Surprise!
What came as a shock to me was how well the UF offense performed. Chris Leak was amazing. The best game of his career. He's had his detractors, and suffered boo's in his own stadium, and took it all in stride. He showed what he was made of. He performed in the clutch, and did it well. I knew he had it in him, but wondered where that performance factor was for the rest of the season... Oh, well.
What it boils down to is this: The Buckeyes weren't ready for the Gators. They went out and played Big 10 football, the way they had all season, and expected to dominate. Of course they would. Everyone said they would. Why not? Why? Because that's not the way they play in the SEC. We're unorthodox. We pull out every trick in the book, and make up a few new ones to boot. Had OS done their homework, they would have seen this, and adjusted for it.
On a related side note, I heard a comment from a Buckeye fan that "we didn't need more than one quarterback to win games. We didn't have to use trick plays..." Ummm.... So?? What's wrong with that? That's like saying "I've got this toolbox full of tools, but I only use this screwdriver." "I've got this entire bookshelf full of books, but only read these three..." Use the talent you've got, folks....
The Gators were ready. They did their homework. They were prepared, and it showed. They deserve to be the National Champions.
Now, to get to the meat of the matter, the answer to the question: What was Gainesville like? Madness. Pure and simple madness. How did the police chief put it? Controlled chaos. Very descriptive. The moment the game was over, everyone ran out of the bars. Literally. They left. They left their drinks, their tabs. Just got up and went. They came from every residence within a mile. Another 12,ooo left the O'Connell Center where they showed the game on Jumbotrons. There was probably 20,000 people in the middle of University Avenue. All of them screaming at the top of their lungs. Singing. Jumping up and down. Hugging. Smiling. Fireworks were going off everywhere. It was loud. Very loud. It was madness. Complete madhouse. And it was peaceful. Utter nutcaseness, and yet no trouble. A tree got uprooted, from too many celebrating idjits trying to climb it. One celebrant didn't look both ways as he streaked, literally, into the street and got hit. A Christmas tree was lit. That was it. No fights. No cars overturned. No furniture lit. No $5 million in damage to the area around campus.... That was it. They yelled, they screamed, they went home.
They trickled back into the bar to pay their tabs, and maybe have another drink, but it never got too crazy after that. Mostly they stayed in the street 'til about 3am, and then went home. It was pretty wild, actually, and I am glad I got to witness it. I've got video on my phone that I'd love to share here, but have no idea how to download.... Ask me next time I see you, and I'll share...
posted by Turtle at 5:35 PM
3 Comments:
Wow, I guess your "No More Assholes" sign finally got delivered. I'm glad it was a good night for you. And for the Gators. Yeah, I spent two semesters at UF, but I don't really consider myself a Gator, but even I couldn't help cracking a smile when I heard what the score was. Thanks for the tale.
Florida both U of and the entire state know how to party!! And then go home. That was about all that went wrong when the Bucs won the superbowl too!! It's fantastic!! In other parts of the country where they are cooped up all football season they riot at the thought that they might one day win. :)
YEA!! GO GATORS!!
WooHOO! I saw that video......
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