Best and Worst Road Trips

[Captain Sasquatch]

From Rocky Mount, NC, to Atlanta in 2008 for the SECCG. There's a very long story involved, but it was an amazing trip and game.

As far as worst goes, I don't think I've had any that were that bad. Just any of the horrific home losses we've had in the last two years, but that was only driving from Orlando/Tampa.

 

[AlexDaGator]

Little bit about that 1996 game in Tallahassee.

From the time Spurrier came back to coach his alma mater, we felt like we were building and building up to our first MNC. We crossed a bunch of hurdles and it had been a 7 year climb to the top.

The year before, we had been embarrassed in the Fiesta Bowl by Nebraska. 1996 was going to be our redemption year. Heisman for Danny, another SEC, and capped off with our first MNC.

We were unstoppable on offense...hanging 50+ with ease on good teams. Then we had some o-line injuries. The Vandy game revealed some chinks in the armor. SOS doggedly stuck to the same blocking schemes he had always used. FSU devised a strategy to beat us--attack that line and those schemes and knock Danny out of the game.

I drove up to Tallahassee with 3 girls, one of them my then-girlfriend. Again, broke. One of the other girls had a high school friend going to FSU so we arranged to crash at her apartment. The FSU girl's other roommates were gone (Thanksgiving Weekend) so there was room for us. I'm not saying my girlfriend and I absolutely defiled one of the empty rooms...but I'm not denying it either.

Anyway. I was less mature then than I am now. A lot less mature. I had a huge orange and blue button with "**** the NOLES" written on it (spelled correctly). I had it pinned to my crotch as we went out that night to do the Tennessee Waltz. At some point, my girlfriend and I got separated from the pack and somehow ended up in an alley. I was totally wasted, stumbling around. A group of 5 FSU guys approached us. One of them said something about the obnoxious button. I made a smart ass reply. They fanned out and approached, ready to administer a beat down. My poor girlfriend was terrified, let go of my arm and started back away, looking for an escape route, wondering if screams might bring help or more angry Noles.

They say that God looks out for drunks and blind men. He's bailed me out of more bad situations than I care to remember. He was there for me that night.

Through my bloodshot bleary eyes, I recognized one of the Noles getting ready to beat my ass. I knew him from church youth group. I spread my arms out into a wide embrace, grinned from ear to ear, and shouted "(NAME), how the heck are you! I haven't seen you in AGES! How are your parents doing?!?" His Nole buddies paused, not fully understanding what just happened. My buddy did not return the hug. He mumbled something to his friends about me being a drunk and they walked away. I mean seriously, what are the chances? I'm from a small town. I didn't know that many people at FSU. Just a couple. Running into this guy in this situation...unbelievable.

Next Day--Gameday. Seeing all those late hits in person was brutal. We were losing our minds in the stands. We loved Danny. Everybody on campus loved that kid. Jewish girls joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes so they could meet Danny. It was heartbreaking seeing what they were doing to him.

We lost the first quarter--had a kick blocked. We actually won the last three quarters but it wasn't enough to get us out of the hole. FSU won. We were devastated. All of our hopes and dreams came crashing down as the FSU fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. I remember looking up at one the the girls who went up to the game with us. She was sitting silently in her seat, crying. This was our last chance. We were graduating. We lost our last chance.

Of course, we still planned to stay another night and drown our sorrows. We were students. But I started feeling bad--really sick. The other girls were staying and one of them drove us so my girlfriend and I were stranded. Then we happened upon a Gator that we didn't even know but who was headed back to Gainesville that night. He agreed to give us a ride in his little pick-up truck so my girlfriend and I headed back the night after the game.

I got sicker and sicker. Waves of nausea washed over me as we were coming down I-75. My heart was racing, my blood pressure plummeting, I was in a cold sweat and dizzy. I finally asked the driver to pull over and stumbled out of the cab and puked my guts out. When we got back to Gainesville, our first stop was the emergency room. Turned out to be a good thing I puked. It was a reaction to some medication I was on.

So, I didn't get beat up and I didn't go into cardiac arrest, but brutal road trip anyway.

As you all know, the story does have a happy ending. Texas upset Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game (I called it). We beat 'Bama in the SEC game setting up a rematch in the Sugar Bowl. Then, the night before our game, tOSU beat an undefeated Arizona State team making our game for all the marbles. Spurrier changed his blocking schemes, put in the shotgun, and we pounded them 52-20 for our first MNC.

Shortly thereafter, we had a celebration in the Swamp. Incredibly emotional. If you were there, you'll never forget it. Nothing like the ones after 2006 and 2008. I can't really describe it. At the end, I remember looking up at the stands and seeing my friend that cried in the stands when we lost in Tallahassee. She was crying again. This time, it was tears of joy.

Alex.

 

[PatDooleySucks]

What Vols always conveniently forget about that play...it wasn't 4th down. It was second and goal. Even if it was called incomplete, we would have gotten another shot on 3rd down and even if that was unsuccessful, we could have gone for it on 4th or tied it and gone into overtime.

Alex.

This. I used to troll gridscape.com, and I was shocked at how many Vols would lament this play and describe it as a fourth down. Another thing Vol fans conveniently forget is the load of lucky charms they got to win the '04 game. In hindsight, I don't mind that game as much now. Zook probably would have stayed had he won that game. Old Zooker. For as much as we hate him, he endured the worst referee decisions of any of our coaches.

 

[Gatorbait25]

What Vols always conveniently forget about that play...it wasn't 4th down. It was second and goal. Even if it was called incomplete, we would have gotten another shot on 3rd down and even if that was unsuccessful, we could have gone for it on 4th or tied it and gone into overtime.

Alex.

Bingo! 2nd and goal from just inside the 5. The Baker PF in 04 was far and away more egregious. I was happy for Dallas when he scored two touchdowns in the 06 game
to redeem himself. One of which included the game winner.

 

[PatDooleySucks]

Best trip was to Miami for the NC.

Had a buddy who lived in a condo that was 15 minutes or so from the stadium. On the way down to Miami we (or maybe just me) were pounding beers. Got to Ft. Lauderdale and went out for a dinner. Actually kept it kind of low key that night, so we'd be ready to hit the stadium at 11 or noon. Drove to the stadium and just tailgated all day. We all made a solemn promise to keep drinking low key before the game, so we'd have clear memories of it. We were pretty good to our word. Just basically took the atmosphere in. I hate the Orange Bowl set up. It's so secluded. I just basically walked around and said hey to ppl I knew. Went to the game with my brother, best friend, and a guy I was in graduate school with. Events like this were so easy to do when you were in school and not married. Watched the game which speaks for itself and then went back to my friend's condo. Watched the game again on DVR. The next day we drove home among a stream of Oklahoma plates shimmering away from South Florida. I think the red gleam of those plates hit my beer a few times as I toasted those guys again and again as they exited the state.

 

[Jabberdave]

Without a doubt, the best road trip was to the first SEC championship game. It was colder than a well diggers ass in Idaho, but we had plenty of antifreeze. Drove up with a buddy of mine and met my mother and her boss/friend. The ladies were up there on business and drove over from wherever they were. Even though that game was a loss (we were sitting in the end zone where Langham returned the int.), I couldn't help but feel like Florida was on the edge of great things. I missed the early '80s and only got a few games sent to us on Betamax. This was the first time for me to be home and actually be there in person to watch the Gators play and be really good.

Edit to Add: We stayed in an old train station that had been converted into a hotel in downtown B-ham. The place hadn't paid their cable bill so there was no TV, but they did have a bar in the basement with pool tables and dart boards and the place was full of Gator fans. Honestly, you'd have thought Florida won by the way everyone was celebrating down there.

Also of note, my car stank of dirty socks and Doritos by the time we got back home.

Worst was probably one that didn't happen. My mother and I were going to fly to Knoxville on a charter flight to catch the game in '94. The plane was delayed coming from Miami and when we finally had the chance to board, the organizer of the trip said he didn't think we'd get there in time. His offer was to buy up any tickets from those that decided to bail out and refund airfare. A good deal, in my mind. Especially since we're still sitting on the ground in Gainesville with little chance of making it on time. My mom and I decided to bail and get our money back. They made it to the stadium right at kickoff and Florida put a beat down on the Vols.