I made the trip to Jacksonville this past weekend to take in the World's Largest Cocktail Party. My mistake, it's not supposed to be called that anymore. I'll start over. I made the trip to Jacksonville this past weekend to see the Georgia Bulldogs play like a high school football team.
This annual game brought even more excitement as both teams were ranked in the top 10 and hard feelings were still felt from last year's 70-man touchdown celebration. All year, Florida coach Urban Meyer kept his players from saying a word about the game or how they were looking forward to getting revenge. Boy did they ever. The Gators ended up winning 49-10 but the score might as well been 100-0. Florida outplayed the Dawgs in every aspect of the game and it was pretty much over by the end of the first quarter.
So how did Meyer get his revenge against Georgia coach Mark Richt's attempt last year to "hype his team up?" Besides destroying them, he called two timeouts with under a minute left just to see if the backups could get another crack at the endzone. I thought it was fantastic and this rivalry will only continue to grow into one of the biggest in the country.
Another great "right-back-at-ya" move came in the fourth quarter when Florida speedster Chris Rainey returned a kickoff. After receiving the ball, he slowly advanced forward at a walking pace. He began to kneel down just as defenders were going to reach him but at the last second jumped up and ran for about 50 yards.
On a non-game related note, I happened to see the rapper T.I. in the crowd. While he was rooting for the Bulldogs, he surprisingly could not manage to secure decent seats or even seats on the Georgia side of the stadium. Guess he's still recovering from that $3 million bail he had to pay.
The Cocktail Party lived up to its name as it continues to be one of the largest spectacles in all of sports. If you ever get the chance to head to Jacksonville for this game, it is well worth it.
P.S. Your best bet for food inside the stadium is in the Bud Zone. They have some of the most incredible sandwiches I've ever had. I think some of my regular readers would agree.
2 comments:
As another on-site fan, I have to agree that it was a horrible game if you were looking for a close game. I, of course, was not hoping for a good game. I wanted that Florida routing. It was needed to propel the Gators into the national spotlight again, and to emphsize its role as a contender in the national championship race.
Now, I wouldn't say that it's the most incredible stadium food ever, but a darn good one. The Bud Zone does make a good $10 sandwich, but I'd have to say that I'd rather dish out $10 for a Monstah Lobstah roll at Tropicana Field. At least the Bud Zone gives you some good homemade BBQ chips...
I never said it was the best stadium food ever, I said it was the best food at Jacksonville Stadium. Congratulations on finally getting to mention the Monstah Lobstah roll though haha.
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