by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
On Tuesday it’s just another game; one out of 12 the Florida Gators will play in the regular season. It’s a conference game, a rivalry game against a Top 5 opponent, but still coach Ron Zook said, from Monday to Friday, Florida/Georgia is just another game.
But that changes Saturday morning as the Gators leave their Sawgrass hotel and board the bus to Jacksonville. When the bus hits the bridge and Alltel Stadium first comes into view; that’s when rookie coaches and players alike understand the enormity of the game and the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party that surrounds it.
“We play big games all year: Florida State, Miami, Tennessee, so these guys know what it’s like to play in big games,” said Zook. “But when they come across the bridge, they understand this isn’t just another big game.”
No this isn’t just another big game; not in the Florida and Georgia locker rooms and certainly not out in the Alltel parking lot where about 82,000-plus fans carry on to the point where one of college football’s biggest games becomes secondary to the carnival that surrounds it.
Senior cornerback Johnny Lamar intercepted a pass against Kentucky that essentially saved the game and the Gators’ season, but nothing, Lamar said, matches the excitement he feels when he catches the first glimpse of the RV city that annually sprouts around
“You come over the hill and see all the fans and all the colors; you look down and see black and red on one side and orange and blue on the other,” said Lamar.
As a senior, Lamar said he tries to prepare the freshmen — a school–record 24 suited up for the season opener — for the experience.
“We want them to be excited about this game, we want them to understand what it means,” said Lamar.
Beyond the parking lot, Lamar said the split crowd affects the on–field action.
“You have half the stadium wearing red and black and the other half wearing orange and blue so you can really feel the momentum swing from one side to the other,” said Lamar.
Junior offensive Tackle Max Starks said the back–and–forth nature of the game takes some getting used to for first timers.
“This game is different than FSU or Miami or Tennessee, because every time we play them it’s back and forth,” said Starks. “I tell the young guys to take their biggest rivalry from high school and times it by 20. You really can’t compare it to anything else.”
Zook said his older players had done a good job getting the young players prepared, but he said the first–timers still had no idea what awaited them Saturday.
“You can’t buy experience,” said Zook. “You can read about it, but you won’t know about it until you play.”