I went to this game when it returned to Jacksonville in 1996.  I went several times as a student, and have returned twice since.  Most recently, I went last weekend.  I have yelled and screamed back and forth with Georgia fans.  I have found many of them to be perfectly fine- if you disregard their obvious deficiency in devoting themselves to such an unworthy cause as the Bulldogs and the University of Georgia.  I have found many to be utterly intolerable.  But never have I actually had a physical altercation at the Cocktail Party, nor have I really seen that many incidents.  And probably any ugliness that does, indeed, happen is not caused by true fans by either side, and is majorly alcohol-influenced.

Many of my student years were the Zook years- a time of ascendance, nationally, for the Bulldogs, a time of regression for the Gators.  And every Friday, they were fierce at the Landing (maybe they were all week, as they took their fall break to visit Jacksonville, but I was in class).  They could smell this ‘return to prominence’ they see as their ordained place in the college football universe approaching.   This recent run by the Gators was just one of those things- this series always swings wildly one way or the other, for many years at a time.  Their overall superior record would eventually hold up, and all would be right with the world.  Never mind that, to the south, their neighbor had exploded in population.  Steve Spurrier had fully awoken Bear Bryant’s “sleeping giant”.  Florida now held all the advantages, including coaching, until Mark Richt, a good coach in his own right, got things going, and Ron Zook took over this Florida machine.  But never mind all those advantages; Georgia was better than Florida because that’s how it always was.  Then a funny thing happened:  Ron Zook won two out of three against this Bulldog savior.  The lone loss came just days after he was fired midseason, for his transgressions in letting the Florida program slip.

But Florida brought in a rising star of the coaching ranks: Urban Meyer.  This man had been a head coach at other programs, nationally insignificant programs, and had great success, rapidly.  Armed with some very talented players, but an eroded overall program (notably lacking depth), he miraculously won the BCS Championship in his second year.  But quickly, the terrible shape of the program caught up with him.  What little depth his Championship squad had quickly graduated and moved on to the NFL.  He had stocked the locker room with high profile recruits, but they were not ready for the big time- though they thought they were.

These events culminated, in 2007, with Georgia’s 42-30 “stomping” of the Gators (yes, pun intended).   There was an outpouring of emotion from the Bulldog faithful- “At last!  We’ve reversed this unpleasant trend!  The rightful nature of this rivalry can be restored!” And indeed, things looked (and still look) bright for Georgia in the near future.  Georgia is loaded with a maturing quarterback who has NFL scouts drooling, a fantastic freshman phenom at wide receiver, and possibly the best back in college football.  A Sugar Bowl romp of an undefeated Hawaii brought the praise to a head entering the 2008 season.  Many were terrified- I included- of what this could mean for the Florida Gators in Jacksonville on November 1^st, 2008.

Florida showed the college football universe exactly what it thought the nature of this rivalry should be.  A year ago, they called a 12-point loss a “blowout” by the Bulldogs.  What would they call this 39-point laugher?  While both were certainly talented teams, the Florida Gators and their coach proved they were better prepared for the pressure of this game.  Georgia’s Mark Richt made a mistake calling for an onside kick- his fear of the Gators’ Brandon James and desire to fire up his team and its fans clouded his judgment.  He gave a short field to an unstoppable offense.  Georgia’s uber-prospect QB folded, throwing 3 interceptions, sealing the Bulldog fate.  But what about the fans?

On Friday, and pregame Saturday, Georgia faithful were quick to point out Knowshon Moreno’s 188 yards rushing in the previous year’s game.  They were quick to point out the 6 sacks of Tebow in the same tilt.  “Surely the long slide has reversed, and we will win most of the next 20 years,” they thought.  But as soon as the going got tough for their beloved Dawgs, they simply left their seats.  There was a noticeable difference in the volume of their cheering even before they left.  They rolled over, as they had become accustomed to losing to these Gators.  They deprived all of us the pleasure of hearing how they were wrong.  Of hearing how they had been overzealous and illogical in their pregame boasts.  Those that stayed offered little reconciliation, but one incident I will always remember.  Indeed, it summarized, for me, the current nature of this rivalry.

Walking through the parking lots of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (can’t we just call it the Gator Bowl?), we were surrounded by the cheers and taunts of ebullient Florida fans.  Due to the nature of the one-sided victory, virtually no red and black was anywhere to be found.  As one small group of Bulldogs walked by, a Gator fan (no doubt egged on by his own inebriation) shouted, “And we’re going to SPANK you NEXT YEAR!”   The terse reply from this lady Bulldog still rings in my mind… “But we have LAST year!”