Tennessee-Florida Pregame: The Rivalry Never Disappoints
KNOXVILLE-- As early as 8 p.m. Friday night the Volunteer faithful were camped outside of Ayres Hall for their favorite sports morning show. The anticipation of ESPN College Gameday live from Knoxville and the game to follow has put the Tennessee campus in a state of frenzy. As you drive down Neyland Drive, the Volunteer Navy looks to be back to the form that reminds Volunteers and Gator fans of when the Sheriff Peyton Manning roamed under center and the HBC was his 4-year nemesis.
College Gameday was electric to say the least. From the announcement of each star of the show, to Lee Corso antagonizing Tennessee and Florida fans with a helmet swap, the home team has been primed and ready to go. Rece Davis appears and instructs the Volunteers to belt out Rocky Top on cue. You can tell Rece Davis has done this a time or too.
Phil Fulmer way has been jam packed since 7 a.m. as well. Volunteer fans have lined up to get a glimpse of the football team that many believe is ready to take the next step as one of college football’s most exciting teams. There is a sense of confidence among the fans that they are certain to scratch the 5-year itch.
On the flipside, as the Gators make their way down the hill for their own arrival, they look to be focused on the task at hand. There were very little handshakes, hugs, and smiles. The Gators arrived in must-win mode and should play with an energy that seemed to escape them at times a week ago.
As the DJ spins the tunes in Neyland Stadium, the excitement has started to build inside the stadium. Tennessee so far this season has been the better team. However, Volunteer fans remember when they arrived to this game with a Heisman candidate at quarterback and an explosive offense but somehow ended up on the wrong end of the contest. Because of that, when you speak to many on the street and in the stadium, most say what they want but I am not sure they believe it.
Back to College Gameday. As the noon hour draws near. The experts on the set make their picks along with Tennessee alum and WWE Champion Bianca Belair. As expected, they all pick Florida minus veteran Kirk Herbstreit who notes that Florida “expects” to beat Tennessee. The attention turns to Lee Corso who is quick to note that he is a resident of the state of Florida and may be in trouble if he would choose the Gators. With Smokey by his side, he expresses, “not this time!" and dons the Smokey head gear, then waves goodbye. Stay tuned.
I thought that today our GATOR football team played the game. I saw more effort and thankfully more from Anthony than I thought that I'd see. It looked like Anthony had gained a lot of self confidence in a week and I am thrilled for him and our team. Today the scoreboard the showed that Tenn won the game, they had the better score, BUT FLORIDA WON THE GAME IN SHOWING THEMSELVES THAT THEY KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE GAME AND WILL BE THE WINNER ON THE SCOREBOARD ANOTHER DAY. Go GATORS I'm proud of every one of you...chin up...you did good and will do better another day in another game.