Truth Takes: First Time at BHG North

GatorTruth133

Alethea
Lifetime Member
Oct 5, 2017
2,303
6,263
Well, that was fun. I meant to get this up earlier, but the internet in my hotel was too crappy to re-watch the game.

Our team keeps finding ways to win, and that's important. This game was an aberration in that we had a -3 turnover margin. Before much analysis, if we score a TD on that first drive, this game is a route, but it did't go that way so my prediction was off. Of course, second week in a row I've been off on the Gators' points by only a single point. This is more rambling than normal, my apologies, I'm tired. Kudos to BNA for making that drive every home game. Not bad, but got up early to beat Falcons traffic when going through Atlanta.

Did the Gator Walk, it was ok. Vandy's Star Walk, is an insane, fun thing. They band went into the crowd (and a trumpet player put his arm around me) to "I Love You Baby". I think though the Pride of the Sunshine could never provide the same type of atmosphere because of the size of our walk and the amount of fans. It was cool to see though. As a college football fan, seeing other school's traditions is cool for me. Easily 60-40 split, if not more for UF in the stands.

Most Vandy fans were great, but somehow I had the one overly obnoxious Vandy fan a few rows behind me (which really was empty for the first quarter and a half). Started with yelling how the "Get Up and Go" chant is the single dumbest cheer in the SEC, did the chomp, and other bs. And when I mean yelling, I mean yelling. Hell, I think he cheered Vandy less than he insulted Florida. When leaving, the guy turned around like he was going to say something, but thought better of it and left. I swear, it's possible for fans of both teams to be loud and cheer their team without being obnoxious. Oh, and one last thing, Mr. Vandy fan, who talked about how Franks is the worst QB in the SEC (he isn't the best, but sure isn't the worst), your team is so bad he had a career day as I predicted so take a lap and shut your mouth. (I'm leaving out issues that happened, but it's a funny story I'll save for another time).

Anyways, watching our team move the ball from the beginning gave me hope, even when behind 21-3. Everyone was awful at times and great at times. Great resiliency. Scarlett's go ahead score was, coincidentally enough, in the same area as Malik Davis' game sealing TD last year against Vandy. Take away that freak fumble (more on that later), we run for over 300 yards. Great job by the line overall. Some mishaps, but at least one sack was a matter of a delayed corner blitz (I think the first). Perine and Scarlett did amazing.

It is worth noting that after the pick on the first drive, we passed and ran down the field. But in the red zone we ran multiple times to settle for a field goal.

Yes, Franks threw a pick on the first drive, but the defense did allow a 98 yard drive. Then a 75 yard screen for a TD (bad safety angles). The third one was the only TD set up by a turnover with bad field position. Great halftime adjustments by Grantham. Pierce had the bad fumble, but a freshman mistake that he will learn from (hold tight when thrown sideways).

The infamous punt return and coach argument...Brought the Gators and Gators fans back into the game. 2 scores with 2:42 remaining in the first half was huge. First drive of the third was too conservative.

If I tell you a QB will throw for 2 TD, 1 INT, 65.5% and 284 yards with over 9 yards per attempt you would take it all day. Yet, there have been some fans saying this was a poor performance. Umm...what? Was it perfect? No. But this is why I don't take some critics seriously. Yes, it could and should be better, but if these numbers are poor, you have lost the plot. You can criticize the amount of screens, but there were several throws on slants and seams that were hit down the field as well.
  1. Laser to Hammond on the Sideline for a first down and 14 yards.
  2. Screen to Hammond for 13 yards and a first down.
  3. Swing to Scarlett for 12 and a first down.
  4. The pick. Called Quick Slant bad decision to throw.
  5. 16 Yard pass to Van Jefferson after a sack to set up 3rd and 2.
  6. A "pass" jet sweep to Toney for 4 yards.
  7. Great ball into the window on the slant to Pitts for 12 yards.
  8. Swing to Perine for 6 yards and a First down.
  9. Bad throw that landed a few yards behind Jefferson. Only thing I can think of is he was trying to go back shoulder, but Jefferson was reading an over the top throw.
  10. Over Pitts' head. Franks is being hit while throwing. I know, 99% of QB's are 100% accurate when being hit, but Franks is the 1%. Yes, if you think I am making fun of you and/or some people in the stands, I am. When I hear people blame a QB for a poor throw as they are getting rocked, that person loses any and all credibility with me, especially when they are hit within 3 seconds of the snap indicating a guy came basically free at him.
  11. Screen to Toney, Grimes and Lewis can't block 1 Vandy Defender, play goes for a loss.
  12. Ball goes through Pitts hands. Should have been caught on the slant.
  13. Great throw to Cleveland on a stop route allowing Cleveland to run for a first down.
  14. A yard off of Jefferson that would have been a TD. Incomplete.
  15. Screen to Toney, who loses his footing on a cut so only 9 yards.
  16. Completion to Jefferson on a slant.
  17. Swing to Perine for a first down.
  18. Poor pass at the feet of Grimes. Live it looked like Scarlett was a lot more open than it did on the re-watch.
  19. Perine on the swing down to the 7 just before half. Live, from our poor perspective in the far end zone we thought he was down at the 3. When we realized it was at the 7, we thought quick throw to the end zone.
  20. A great decision by Franks. It had to be a one read decision because of the time left. When he sees Jefferson is well covered he quickly throws it away. Broadcast thinks its back shoulder, if that's right, it's the second possible back shoulder miscommunication. Either way, people thinking Franks needed to waste the rest of the clock going through progressions are hilarious.
  21. Jefferson drops it on a great called drag route. There were blockers ready. I think Jefferson got distracted by jumping d-linemen.
  22. "Pass" to Toney for 2 yards. ***Not sure if counted as a pass.
  23. Swing to Perine for a first down. High throw because Franks had to throw over the DE. Good adjustment by him.
  24. High throw to Perine.
  25. Great Slant throw to Jefferson for the TD.
  26. Great Seam throw to Moral Stephens for 26 yards and a first down.
  27. AMAZING defensive play by the Vandy linebacker tipping it at full stretch. Guy starts by the line and drops just enough to get it. Right read, just needed a little more air underneath it.
  28. Great pass to Cleveland for a first down after going through his progressions with help from the o-line.
  29. Pierce on a swing pass for 6.
  30. Screen Pass to Swain for a TD. Swain with the AMAZING leap for the score.
Not sure which one doesn't count, but I marked the pass I think may have been logged as a run (which it should)

Officiating
  • First and Foremost. Re-watch the pick, the official 2 yards away waves his arms above his head. Play should be dead there, PERIOD. Our guys stop playing because he does this.
  • Then the other officials don't pay attention to him and allow the player to return it.
  • My seats were right down the Vandy sideline. At least 14 players ran onto the field and at least 5 were no less than 10 feet on the field at one point (can't see this on the broadcast, only see one guy). The fact not a single flag was thrown is a joke. Every official needs to be fined half their pay for this alone.
  • Then, the Joseph ejection, are you kidding me??? I'm glad that SEC Now even went after it.
  • Side note: referencing Jimmy Snuka on what looked to be a Falcon's Arrow by Joseph on the first 15 yarder is ignorant.
  • The block in the back was a joke. The player waits to hit the Vandy players side once he turns.
Quick Hits
  • Perine's first TD (on review), the Vandy fans thought it was for a fumble, because the ground can cause a fumble. LOL.
  • That fake by Townsend...awesome. Also, Vandy NEVER got him to the ground...:bwahaha:
  • Can't wait to see Jeawon Taylor to finally catch one of these balls he's dropping.
  • I forgot Kylan Johnson was on the team...sad because he was decent for us two years ago. Victim of the nickel package.
  • The East has a good shot at going at least 7-7 against the West after Tennessee's win at Auburn. We've beat LSU and #FailState, UT beat Aubie, UK beat #FailState, with Mizzou/Arky, Carolina/Ole Miss, Vandy/Arky & Ole Miss and UGA/Aubie as winnable in the East. For how it has been, this is a shift. Will it last? I don't know, but it is worth watching.

I think this game was exactly what the team needed. A game where nothing goes right to start and allows the team to know they can persevere. Also, waiting for the team to exit post-game I want to give a special shout out to Grantham. 15 minutes after he walked through the crowd he returned to a kid at the end of the line in a wheel chair and spent a moment with him and signed his stuff.

I think the Bye Week will allow us to install a few new things, expand the playbook. It's weird though not saying "and to get healthy", which I think is another credit to Nick Savage.

Oh, and we are officially Bowl Eligible. Where my "lucky to be bowl eligible" peeps at?

Enjoy the Bye Week.
 

GatorTom85

Well-Known Member
Mar 22, 2016
394
697
Definitely a weird deal to have a majority of home fans show up after the first quarter especially in a game like this where they got off to such a fast start.

I am sure we were more the home team again this year. I remember going one year and a guy was trying to sell tickets before the game and kept lowering the price he was hawking until he finally started saying 'I'll give you $2 to take a ticket!' ☺️

You seriously have to tell us about 'the issues that happened' with the obnoxious, rabid Vandy fan! You can't throw that out there and leave us hanging! Besides, who has ever heard of such a Vandy fan? Did he have a horn on his forehead and long hair like a mane and did he fart rainbows?

Great post and some pretty accurate predictions by the end of the game. I'm glad you had a good trip and especially that you brought home a winner! (A bizarre winner to be sure, but a winner just the same!)
 

lizardbreath

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2016
3,341
6,323
Well, that was fun. I meant to get this up earlier, but the internet in my hotel was too crappy to re-watch the game.

Our team keeps finding ways to win, and that's important. This game was an aberration in that we had a -3 turnover margin. Before much analysis, if we score a TD on that first drive, this game is a route, but it did't go that way so my prediction was off. Of course, second week in a row I've been off on the Gators' points by only a single point. This is more rambling than normal, my apologies, I'm tired. Kudos to BNA for making that drive every home game. Not bad, but got up early to beat Falcons traffic when going through Atlanta.

Did the Gator Walk, it was ok. Vandy's Star Walk, is an insane, fun thing. They band went into the crowd (and a trumpet player put his arm around me) to "I Love You Baby". I think though the Pride of the Sunshine could never provide the same type of atmosphere because of the size of our walk and the amount of fans. It was cool to see though. As a college football fan, seeing other school's traditions is cool for me. Easily 60-40 split, if not more for UF in the stands.

Most Vandy fans were great, but somehow I had the one overly obnoxious Vandy fan a few rows behind me (which really was empty for the first quarter and a half). Started with yelling how the "Get Up and Go" chant is the single dumbest cheer in the SEC, did the chomp, and other bs. And when I mean yelling, I mean yelling. Hell, I think he cheered Vandy less than he insulted Florida. When leaving, the guy turned around like he was going to say something, but thought better of it and left. I swear, it's possible for fans of both teams to be loud and cheer their team without being obnoxious. Oh, and one last thing, Mr. Vandy fan, who talked about how Franks is the worst QB in the SEC (he isn't the best, but sure isn't the worst), your team is so bad he had a career day as I predicted so take a lap and shut your mouth. (I'm leaving out issues that happened, but it's a funny story I'll save for another time).

Anyways, watching our team move the ball from the beginning gave me hope, even when behind 21-3. Everyone was awful at times and great at times. Great resiliency. Scarlett's go ahead score was, coincidentally enough, in the same area as Malik Davis' game sealing TD last year against Vandy. Take away that freak fumble (more on that later), we run for over 300 yards. Great job by the line overall. Some mishaps, but at least one sack was a matter of a delayed corner blitz (I think the first). Perine and Scarlett did amazing.

It is worth noting that after the pick on the first drive, we passed and ran down the field. But in the red zone we ran multiple times to settle for a field goal.

Yes, Franks threw a pick on the first drive, but the defense did allow a 98 yard drive. Then a 75 yard screen for a TD (bad safety angles). The third one was the only TD set up by a turnover with bad field position. Great halftime adjustments by Grantham. Pierce had the bad fumble, but a freshman mistake that he will learn from (hold tight when thrown sideways).

The infamous punt return and coach argument...Brought the Gators and Gators fans back into the game. 2 scores with 2:42 remaining in the first half was huge. First drive of the third was too conservative.

If I tell you a QB will throw for 2 TD, 1 INT, 65.5% and 284 yards with over 9 yards per attempt you would take it all day. Yet, there have been some fans saying this was a poor performance. Umm...what? Was it perfect? No. But this is why I don't take some critics seriously. Yes, it could and should be better, but if these numbers are poor, you have lost the plot. You can criticize the amount of screens, but there were several throws on slants and seams that were hit down the field as well.
  1. Laser to Hammond on the Sideline for a first down and 14 yards.
  2. Screen to Hammond for 13 yards and a first down.
  3. Swing to Scarlett for 12 and a first down.
  4. The pick. Called Quick Slant bad decision to throw.
  5. 16 Yard pass to Van Jefferson after a sack to set up 3rd and 2.
  6. A "pass" jet sweep to Toney for 4 yards.
  7. Great ball into the window on the slant to Pitts for 12 yards.
  8. Swing to Perine for 6 yards and a First down.
  9. Bad throw that landed a few yards behind Jefferson. Only thing I can think of is he was trying to go back shoulder, but Jefferson was reading an over the top throw.
  10. Over Pitts' head. Franks is being hit while throwing. I know, 99% of QB's are 100% accurate when being hit, but Franks is the 1%. Yes, if you think I am making fun of you and/or some people in the stands, I am. When I hear people blame a QB for a poor throw as they are getting rocked, that person loses any and all credibility with me, especially when they are hit within 3 seconds of the snap indicating a guy came basically free at him.
  11. Screen to Toney, Grimes and Lewis can't block 1 Vandy Defender, play goes for a loss.
  12. Ball goes through Pitts hands. Should have been caught on the slant.
  13. Great throw to Cleveland on a stop route allowing Cleveland to run for a first down.
  14. A yard off of Jefferson that would have been a TD. Incomplete.
  15. Screen to Toney, who loses his footing on a cut so only 9 yards.
  16. Completion to Jefferson on a slant.
  17. Swing to Perine for a first down.
  18. Poor pass at the feet of Grimes. Live it looked like Scarlett was a lot more open than it did on the re-watch.
  19. Perine on the swing down to the 7 just before half. Live, from our poor perspective in the far end zone we thought he was down at the 3. When we realized it was at the 7, we thought quick throw to the end zone.
  20. A great decision by Franks. It had to be a one read decision because of the time left. When he sees Jefferson is well covered he quickly throws it away. Broadcast thinks its back shoulder, if that's right, it's the second possible back shoulder miscommunication. Either way, people thinking Franks needed to waste the rest of the clock going through progressions are hilarious.
  21. Jefferson drops it on a great called drag route. There were blockers ready. I think Jefferson got distracted by jumping d-linemen.
  22. "Pass" to Toney for 2 yards. ***Not sure if counted as a pass.
  23. Swing to Perine for a first down. High throw because Franks had to throw over the DE. Good adjustment by him.
  24. High throw to Perine.
  25. Great Slant throw to Jefferson for the TD.
  26. Great Seam throw to Moral Stephens for 26 yards and a first down.
  27. AMAZING defensive play by the Vandy linebacker tipping it at full stretch. Guy starts by the line and drops just enough to get it. Right read, just needed a little more air underneath it.
  28. Great pass to Cleveland for a first down after going through his progressions with help from the o-line.
  29. Pierce on a swing pass for 6.
  30. Screen Pass to Swain for a TD. Swain with the AMAZING leap for the score.
Not sure which one doesn't count, but I marked the pass I think may have been logged as a run (which it should)

Officiating
  • First and Foremost. Re-watch the pick, the official 2 yards away waves his arms above his head. Play should be dead there, PERIOD. Our guys stop playing because he does this.
  • Then the other officials don't pay attention to him and allow the player to return it.
  • My seats were right down the Vandy sideline. At least 14 players ran onto the field and at least 5 were no less than 10 feet on the field at one point (can't see this on the broadcast, only see one guy). The fact not a single flag was thrown is a joke. Every official needs to be fined half their pay for this alone.
  • Then, the Joseph ejection, are you kidding me??? I'm glad that SEC Now even went after it.
  • Side note: referencing Jimmy Snuka on what looked to be a Falcon's Arrow by Joseph on the first 15 yarder is ignorant.
  • The block in the back was a joke. The player waits to hit the Vandy players side once he turns.
Quick Hits
  • Perine's first TD (on review), the Vandy fans thought it was for a fumble, because the ground can cause a fumble. LOL.
  • That fake by Townsend...awesome. Also, Vandy NEVER got him to the ground...:bwahaha:
  • Can't wait to see Jeawon Taylor to finally catch one of these balls he's dropping.
  • I forgot Kylan Johnson was on the team...sad because he was decent for us two years ago. Victim of the nickel package.
  • The East has a good shot at going at least 7-7 against the West after Tennessee's win at Auburn. We've beat LSU and #FailState, UT beat Aubie, UK beat #FailState, with Mizzou/Arky, Carolina/Ole Miss, Vandy/Arky & Ole Miss and UGA/Aubie as winnable in the East. For how it has been, this is a shift. Will it last? I don't know, but it is worth watching.

I think this game was exactly what the team needed. A game where nothing goes right to start and allows the team to know they can persevere. Also, waiting for the team to exit post-game I want to give a special shout out to Grantham. 15 minutes after he walked through the crowd he returned to a kid at the end of the line in a wheel chair and spent a moment with him and signed his stuff.

I think the Bye Week will allow us to install a few new things, expand the playbook. It's weird though not saying "and to get healthy", which I think is another credit to Nick Savage.

Oh, and we are officially Bowl Eligible. Where my "lucky to be bowl eligible" peeps at?

Enjoy the Bye Week.

Thanks truth. Good take, good read. About the Vandy fan(s) and their "sportsmanship/hospitality":

Back in '96 I was living in Nashville and attended my first game at Vanderbilt stadium to watch the eventual NC UF team do its thing against a vastly over-matched Vandy team. It was an early game and due to a work related function I had attended, I was a little late and missed most of the first quarter. I distinctly recall hearing the Vandy crowd going nuts as I approached the stadium so I tuned into their obnoxious little broadcast in time to hear that they had "drawn first blood" with a short field goal.

The local yocals were jacked up from the get-go and the Commode-doors actually played a great UF team really well that day. We had some injuries on the OL, as I recall, and Vandy took full advantage by sacking Danny several times. That crowd was without a doubt the loudest, most aggressive Vandy crowd I have ever seen. On one of the many hits that Danny took, just before the half, the HBC protested to the refs about what should have been called a late hit and the crowd went bonkers. As I recall, Steve gave them that disgusted wave-off gesture he was famous for and from that point forward it was on - big time.

When the Gators came back on the field after halftime, some jackass threw a whiskey bottle at Steve and damn near hit him. Well, Steve being Steve, he proceeded to hound the refs and generally stir the pot as much as possible. At one point he did something, that I unfortunately missed, that really pissed the crowd off and caused a guy a few rows behind me to start spouting a stream of obscenities, which never stopped for the duration of the game.

As the game was ending, he came stomping down the steps, cussing Spurrier every step of the way. As he drew within speaking distance, I remarked "You must really hate old Spurrier to do all that cussing in front of all these women and children. You should be ashamed of yourself." He had to actually be restrained by the guys he was with, or I might well have been assaulted that day. One of those golden moments that will live in my memory for the rest of my life. And just another reason to dislike Vandy.
 
Last edited:

BMF

Bad Mother....
Lifetime Member
Sep 8, 2014
25,399
59,221
Vandy is a great road trip, just because of Nashville. We rented an airbnb the last time I went (I think 4 years ago). Lexington is cool too w/ the bourbon trail.

Nice mention of Kylan Johnson. He did an admirable job filling in.

Glad to see Franks getting to 65%, I think he's at 57% on the season. Would like to see that continue to improve.

The turnovers can be "fixed". IMO, the pass was a poor play call and putting Franks in the position where he fumbled is forcing him to do things he can't do (run the option) - now, he shouldn't have fumbled though. And the Pierce fumble was a bad exchange, but he still should have hung on.

The first half was very frustrating...but it's typical of an 11am game for the post-2009 Florida Gators. Hopefully Mullen can get that corrected over time (you know Bama wouldn't have come out that way - after Saban's first year there).

Obnoxious fans are everywhere. Football fans at also-ran programs like to jeer opposing fans of programs they have no business competing with. Had we punched it in on the first drive - after we gave them a 3-and-out - I doubt that guy runs his mouth as much. Unfortunately, we let them get a BIG lead on us.
 

BNAG8R

Founding Member
I don’t care
Moderator
Jun 10, 2014
4,098
12,618
Founding Member
I’ve lived here for over 20 years, and have gone to every UF/Vandy game, and I’ve never had a negative experience with a fan, other than good natured jabs. Of course, I don’t think I’ve ever sat within 15 seats of a Vandy fan, so I haven’t had your experiences. Most are doctors or lawyers or professionals, and the students are for the most part just regular smart/rich kids. If there are local yokel fans here, they are buttplunger fans.
 
Last edited:

GatorTruth133

Alethea
Lifetime Member
Oct 5, 2017
2,303
6,263
I’ve lived here for over 20 years, and have gone to every UF/Vandy game, and I’ve never had a negative experience with a fan, other than good natured jabs. Of course, I don’t think I’ve ever sat within 15 seats of a Vandy fan, so I haven’t had your experiences. Most are doctors or lawyers or professionals, and the students are for the most part just regular smart/rich kids. If there are local yokel fans here, they are buttplunger fans.

I’ll use this as a chance to be clear for everyone, every Vandy fan was cool except for
the one guy who happened to be near me. When I’m not commenting from my phone, I’ll post my story of the brief thing that happened later. Very cool experience, I’d go back.

I think karma or whatever meant I had to sit by the yokel fan because I ended up getting free tix.
 

GatorTom85

Well-Known Member
Mar 22, 2016
394
697
I’ll use this as a chance to be clear for everyone, every Vandy fan was cool except for
the one guy who happened to be near me. When I’m not commenting from my phone, I’ll post my story of the brief thing that happened later. Very cool experience, I’d go back.

I think karma or whatever meant I had to sit by the yokel fan because I ended up getting free tix.

Wow! Now I am really curious! Hard to imagine what could have happened that was so egregious it warranted a refund but also allowed the instigator to stay until the end of the game. I am definitely looking forward to the details of this story! :)
 

GatorTruth133

Alethea
Lifetime Member
Oct 5, 2017
2,303
6,263
Wow! Now I am really curious! Hard to imagine what could have happened that was so egregious it warranted a refund but also allowed the instigator to stay until the end of the game. I am definitely looking forward to the details of this story! :)

Ok, I guess I didn't add the I ended up with free tickets from Western Digital (they had a corporate event and a really nice guy said they had extra tickets and gave me three). I actually ended up adding and erasing several things so I guess I left that out. I didn't mean to imply I got a refund. On a side note, when I had an issue with my external hard drive recently I ended up purchasing a Western Digital drive to put all the stuff I could recover on, but for the life of me I just knew it was WD, didn't think of it as Western Digital. So, I guess in a way I got my investment back.

************************************************************************************************************************************

Yes, I can be a prick, I admit it. I also have a rule, don't start the trash talk, but be ready to end it.

At the Vandy game, the previously mentioned fan that can best be described as an angry hillbilly type (and trust me, I don't use the term hillbilly ever so this guy is something special). It started with the "Get Up and Go" bs and the hillbilly accent screaming with a voice that sounded like it was straining "SHOW FRANKS WHO HE IS!" and yelling at UF fans for cheering that the Pick wasn't a Pick Six. Seriously, this guy I don't think said "Go Dores!" or did the "V-A-N-D-Y" cheer after any of their scores or anything. I don't want you to get the wrong picture, this guy was screaming/screeching his crap at UF and the UF fans (almost everyone around) every 30 or so seconds. This genius even yelled about how Franks was "taken out of the game" when Franks went to receiver for the Wildcat with Toney. Let me take the time that he did the mocking chomp throughout the game, did I see it? Nope, but I sure as hell heard it several rows away. How do I know it's what he was doing? Because his running commentary.

For those of you not knowing what it was like, it was cold and cloudy in Nashville and the way the game started surely did not have me in the mood to put up with this crap. But, they were winning so I sat there and took it. I also knew we had a great shot at coming back (see what I've said in other threads) and it would be glorious.

Well, I think about the second quarter UF Kappa Sig arrives and sits in two of the three rows between myself and this clown. Fun fact, my cousin is in Kappa Sig and was social chair the past few years, took two minutes to get a good rapport once we realized this. My cousin was not there. They asked me what the guy's deal was, I said that I didn't know, but it hadn't stopped all day. It stopped through halftime, but then started right back at kickoff. The chomp, the "Get Up and Go" commentary, the Gator Bait commentary, and still, not really any cheers for his team. I really did think that it must be so sad to cheer for a team that defines a great season as six wins, but then I couldn't be sad for a guy who either knew or was too stupid to know he was poking a bear somewhere around him as he was surrounded by UF fans. We actually had people around us change sections to get away from the guy.

Finally, we broke through and I knew it was a turning point in the game. Feleipe "SHOW FRANKS WHO HE IS!" Franks through a dart to Van Jefferson for a TD. I decided it was time. The following was a dick move and legitimately could have ended badly. I do not encourage any of the following. I high fived all the Gators around me, jump in the middle of the pack of frat guys and their girls behind me and high fived each one of them. Then, I reached to the row behind them to offer a high five to the hillbilly heckler, pretended to notice the black and gold plaid pants, apologize and say "my bad" before returning to my seat. He yelled something profane, but nobody caught it. Then he started yelling "scoreboard" as if anyone at that point honestly thought UF wasn't about to open it up on Vandy. Then hillbilly heckler's only friend in the world comes down to me to tell me that I "didn't realize what a big mistake" I had just made. As he stood there, I asked if that was a threat, he high tailed it back to his seat, heard me ask the frat if they heard him just threaten me, and returned to clarify. I said I was giving high fives and had apologized, he said I singled his friend out, like no **** I did, your friend might be the worst SEC fan I've had to be around in games, and that's saying something. The guy heard the entire frat say to me that they had my back and possibly one of them joke that his heart would burst if he tried anything (yes, that's how aggressive and angry this guy seemed yelling all game). Well, I don't know what the conversation was upon the friends return, but we didn't hear much for the rest of the game.

As he walked down the aisle dejected I didn't say anything. I'll give him this, a lot of Vandy fans left before McPherson made is a 10 point game, but this guy stayed. As mentioned in the OP, he turned as if he wanted to get a look at me and possibly say something or wanted me to start something, but dude, he's a Vandy fan, life's rough enough. I am really trying to be a better and bigger person, but after 40 minutes of in game time (Jefferson scores with 5:25 left in the 3rd Quarter) and a lot longer factoring the rest of the time, enough was enough. I think offering a high five isn't the worst thing in the world, but still a little far for me.

Ok, so maybe I did yell an OMG DID YOU SEE THAT DIVE! into the sky on Swain's TD, but it wasn't directed at anyone...and maybe me letting the frat know Franks was having a career day may have been overheard (I wasn't particularly loud about it)...might have had an effect. I also praised Shurmur for his 4th down throw while being killed and praised the 53 yard field goal loudly.

TLDR: Guy was a nonstop ass, I offered a high five after the Jefferson TD. His friend implied there may be negative repercussions for that until I asked frat guys if they heard the threat.

Moral of the Stephens...err...story: There's no reason why you can't go to a game and loudly, even nonstop cheer your team. No reason to nonstop disparage everything about the opposing team, especially when you are surrounded by their fans. And don't offer high fives to opposing fans, its mean.

Ok, longer than it was previously and probably not as big of a deal as it may have sounded. Honestly though, guy seemed like it was nonstop almost coronary rage.
 

GatorTom85

Well-Known Member
Mar 22, 2016
394
697
Ok, I guess I didn't add the I ended up with free tickets from Western Digital (they had a corporate event and a really nice guy said they had extra tickets and gave me three). I actually ended up adding and erasing several things so I guess I left that out. I didn't mean to imply I got a refund. On a side note, when I had an issue with my external hard drive recently I ended up purchasing a Western Digital drive to put all the stuff I could recover on, but for the life of me I just knew it was WD, didn't think of it as Western Digital. So, I guess in a way I got my investment back.

************************************************************************************************************************************

Yes, I can be a prick, I admit it. I also have a rule, don't start the trash talk, but be ready to end it.

At the Vandy game, the previously mentioned fan that can best be described as an angry hillbilly type (and trust me, I don't use the term hillbilly ever so this guy is something special). It started with the "Get Up and Go" bs and the hillbilly accent screaming with a voice that sounded like it was straining "SHOW FRANKS WHO HE IS!" and yelling at UF fans for cheering that the Pick wasn't a Pick Six. Seriously, this guy I don't think said "Go Dores!" or did the "V-A-N-D-Y" cheer after any of their scores or anything. I don't want you to get the wrong picture, this guy was screaming/screeching his crap at UF and the UF fans (almost everyone around) every 30 or so seconds. This genius even yelled about how Franks was "taken out of the game" when Franks went to receiver for the Wildcat with Toney. Let me take the time that he did the mocking chomp throughout the game, did I see it? Nope, but I sure as hell heard it several rows away. How do I know it's what he was doing? Because his running commentary.

For those of you not knowing what it was like, it was cold and cloudy in Nashville and the way the game started surely did not have me in the mood to put up with this crap. But, they were winning so I sat there and took it. I also knew we had a great shot at coming back (see what I've said in other threads) and it would be glorious.

Well, I think about the second quarter UF Kappa Sig arrives and sits in two of the three rows between myself and this clown. Fun fact, my cousin is in Kappa Sig and was social chair the past few years, took two minutes to get a good rapport once we realized this. My cousin was not there. They asked me what the guy's deal was, I said that I didn't know, but it hadn't stopped all day. It stopped through halftime, but then started right back at kickoff. The chomp, the "Get Up and Go" commentary, the Gator Bait commentary, and still, not really any cheers for his team. I really did think that it must be so sad to cheer for a team that defines a great season as six wins, but then I couldn't be sad for a guy who either knew or was too stupid to know he was poking a bear somewhere around him as he was surrounded by UF fans. We actually had people around us change sections to get away from the guy.

Finally, we broke through and I knew it was a turning point in the game. Feleipe "SHOW FRANKS WHO HE IS!" Franks through a dart to Van Jefferson for a TD. I decided it was time. The following was a dick move and legitimately could have ended badly. I do not encourage any of the following. I high fived all the Gators around me, jump in the middle of the pack of frat guys and their girls behind me and high fived each one of them. Then, I reached to the row behind them to offer a high five to the hillbilly heckler, pretended to notice the black and gold plaid pants, apologize and say "my bad" before returning to my seat. He yelled something profane, but nobody caught it. Then he started yelling "scoreboard" as if anyone at that point honestly thought UF wasn't about to open it up on Vandy. Then hillbilly heckler's only friend in the world comes down to me to tell me that I "didn't realize what a big mistake" I had just made. As he stood there, I asked if that was a threat, he high tailed it back to his seat, heard me ask the frat if they heard him just threaten me, and returned to clarify. I said I was giving high fives and had apologized, he said I singled his friend out, like no **** I did, your friend might be the worst SEC fan I've had to be around in games, and that's saying something. The guy heard the entire frat say to me that they had my back and possibly one of them joke that his heart would burst if he tried anything (yes, that's how aggressive and angry this guy seemed yelling all game). Well, I don't know what the conversation was upon the friends return, but we didn't hear much for the rest of the game.

As he walked down the aisle dejected I didn't say anything. I'll give him this, a lot of Vandy fans left before McPherson made is a 10 point game, but this guy stayed. As mentioned in the OP, he turned as if he wanted to get a look at me and possibly say something or wanted me to start something, but dude, he's a Vandy fan, life's rough enough. I am really trying to be a better and bigger person, but after 40 minutes of in game time (Jefferson scores with 5:25 left in the 3rd Quarter) and a lot longer factoring the rest of the time, enough was enough. I think offering a high five isn't the worst thing in the world, but still a little far for me.

Ok, so maybe I did yell an OMG DID YOU SEE THAT DIVE! into the sky on Swain's TD, but it wasn't directed at anyone...and maybe me letting the frat know Franks was having a career day may have been overheard (I wasn't particularly loud about it)...might have had an effect. I also praised Shurmur for his 4th down throw while being killed and praised the 53 yard field goal loudly.

TLDR: Guy was a nonstop ass, I offered a high five after the Jefferson TD. His friend implied there may be negative repercussions for that until I asked frat guys if they heard the threat.

Moral of the Stephens...err...story: There's no reason why you can't go to a game and loudly, even nonstop cheer your team. No reason to nonstop disparage everything about the opposing team, especially when you are surrounded by their fans. And don't offer high fives to opposing fans, its mean.

Ok, longer than it was previously and probably not as big of a deal as it may have sounded. Honestly though, guy seemed like it was nonstop almost coronary rage.

Truth, you are one solid, stand up dude! You are clearly way more concerned about your small act of defiance in provoking a hillbilly douche than most anyone would even think twice about! The fact that it was a Vandy fan is what I still find the most amazing in all this!

I've had multiple encounters of this nature because I lived in Alabama for a number of years but at least those incidents involved Auburn and Alabama when they were good to great teams. The worst Auburn case was the game in Emmitt's last year when he almost beat them single handedly and then we ended up losing in the final minutes. The worst Bama situation was when a group of redneck Bama fans (is there another variety ☺️) were sitting behind me at the very first SEC Championship in Birmingham. They went from entitled, to jack*sses, to smug drunk scumbags after Langham's interception. Neither of those were as bad as what you dealt with! (I did kind of feel like I might be in trouble that night in Auburn though!)

I too am pretty obnoxious and, quite frankly, that is part of the whole rabid fan gig. I definitely think it sometimes can get out of hand but what you describe is a hugely one sided ledger with hillbilly boy on the wrong end of the imbalance. I know what it's like to get provoked into a response. (I once laid into a guy at the sweet 16 game against Butler who kept railing on Corey Brewer. When Brewer made some plays down the stretch to help bring home the win I just couldn't resist! ☺️ ) But given the situation you describe, you have nothing to feel even remotely concerned about and I can pretty much guarantee I'd have gone a great deal farther than you and probably would be in the hospital when I provoked him to go all hillbilly vengeance on my *ss.

You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar and I look forward to continuing to read your insightful posts!

Go Gators!

(P. S. The free tickets were nice but likely only a $5 value since it is, after all, just Vandy. )
 

GatorTruth133

Alethea
Lifetime Member
Oct 5, 2017
2,303
6,263
(P. S. The free tickets were nice but likely only a $5 value since it is, after all, just Vandy. )

Lots of cool stuff you said which I thank you for. But I do want to say this...

Some guy tried to sell me tix for $75 a piece :bwahaha:

And then, when I pointed at the signs everywhere saying the school was selling tix for $60, he didn't even try to undercut the school, but offer them at $60, I laughed and walked away. :bananadance2:
 

GatorTom85

Well-Known Member
Mar 22, 2016
394
697
Lots of cool stuff you said which I thank you for. But I do want to say this...

Some guy tried to sell me tix for $75 a piece :bwahaha:

And then, when I pointed at the signs everywhere saying the school was selling tix for $60, he didn't even try to undercut the school, but offer them at $60, I laughed and walked away. :bananadance2:

That is priceless (so to speak)!

I went to a game there some years back and a guy was selling tickets, who had clearly been at it for awhile, yelling 'tickets for $10!' while we were waiting to meet some folks before we went in. After awhile it was 'tickets for $5!'. Then right as we headed in he started yelling 'I'll give you $2 to take these tickets!' It was hilarious! ☺️
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Help Users

You haven't joined any rooms.

    Birthdays

    Members online

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    31,642
    Messages
    1,615,698
    Members
    1,642
    Latest member
    fishermb