The silencing of Gator Growl....

[ATXGator]

Over/under on 3 responses until somebody blames Muschamp

http://www.gatorcountry.com/feature/silencing-growl/

 

[Gator87]

I'll do it in one, it's Muschamp's fault. :D

 

[bradgator2]

I have great memories of Gator Growl. It's sad my kids wont have the same experience. Gator Growl has become a legend. A "back in my day" story.

 

[I Have No Friends :(]

Dane Cook? Really? That's definitely a good way to put the nail in the coffin.

 

[TheDouglas78]

It was sad to watch the decline of Gator Growl, it was a great event to watch for many years. When I was a kid my favorite joke was the spoof on the "Brain on drugs" commericals. When I got older and understood some of the more adult jokes I and through my 4 years as a college student in Gainesville. For many of us it's like a family tradition is dying.

 

[divits]

It really is a shame what's happened to Gator Growl. It was at the height of it's popularity when I was in school but has really gone down hill. The first Bob Hope appearance was kind of cool because the stadium was packed to capacity even though his comedy was pretty old and tired. The skits used to be pretty good and the fireworks were fantastic (accept for the time some still flaming embers landed in the up deck).

The last time I went was when I took my then 10 year old son to the one with Dane Cook. He sucked and couldn't speak a sentence without saying f**k or s**t. We left in the middle of it along with thousands of other alumni. It's a shame that they've pretty much destroyed what used to be a can't miss event at UF. Even the student skits sucked with gratuitous use of cuss words that seemed forced and totally lacking in humor.

Homecoming by its very name is designed for the alumni not the students and just like football games it's the alumni who make up the majority of those attending. Pissing them off proved to be the death knell for Gator Growl. Unfortunately UF has lost a great tradition that brought national recognition to the school.

 

[NCOGator]

To play devil's advocat. What if they no longer try to bring in the family friedly talent and bring in whatever is popular? If they do this by telling the audiance that it isn't family friendly, then maybe more students and young adults would attend.

 

[VulcanAlex]

I have some great memories of Growl, and it is sad that it has deteriorated. Now things change and that is just something that happens. As mentioned it is homecoming so doing something that alumni won't be turned off by is essential. Now I believe that you meet your audience or refuse the money. Surely someone could be funny without using the F word (and I don't mean Florida) constantly. If not you are poor or worse.

 

[divits]

To play devil's advocat. What if they no longer try to bring in the family friedly talent and bring in whatever is popular? If they do this by telling the audiance that it isn't family friendly, then maybe more students and young adults would attend.

Because that's exactly what killed Gator Growl. You could have whatever raunchy concert you want anytime but you won't get more than 10-15,000 people to attend. Gator Growl used to get 70-80,000 people. It's the alumni and their families who mainly filled those seats. Hell, you can't even get 20,000 students to come to a football game anymore.

 

[WobbleGator]

I blame Meyer.

 

[oxrageous]

Shockingly to the newest generation, it is possible to have good comedy without being raunchy. This country did it for well over a century.

 

[GatorFin]

The Dane Cook show was the first ever Gator Growl I went to. I went with my girlfriend's family and her 4 and 6 year old nephews. The family worked for a company that had a box so we had tickets in there. The dad who was super religious went beet red when Dane Cook came on with his act and immidiately grabbed the kids and sat them on the stools in the kitchen portion of the box. He was frantically trying to find nickelodeon on the Kitchen TV as a slew of curse words were blaring through the speakers in the box. I felt bad for the guy but it was somewhat funny to see him that flustered and to be honest the kids had no idea what was going on either way.

As a side note - I think it's funny that the article listed Jim Gaffigan as an attempt to make it a more wholesome family time. That dude came out so sloshed to the point where it was awkward.

By far the highlight of my GG experience would be Lynyrd Skynyrd playing free bird and just blowing away the crowd for like 10 minutes. I'm not even a huge skynyrd fan but I respect good music and they dominated. Listen below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2i_clfGUIj0#t=211

 

[divits]

Shockingly to the newest generation, it is possible to have good comedy without being raunchy. This country did it for well over a century.

The thing is, when used properly in the right atmosphere off color humor can be very funny. But you have to know your audience. The kind of stuff I can't stand that seems to pass for funny these days is when cuss words and raunch are used indiscriminately for no other reason than to provide some sort of street cred to your "comedy". I see it as nothing more than a crutch for comedians who just aren't very funny.

 

[MatthewM.]

It's the pornographic world we live in today.

 

[ATXGator]

I remember when I was in school the comedians would either be like Ray Romano who's comedy was entirely for the alumni and the opening comedian would be a little more raunchy for the students. The truth was as students we didn't find Ray Romano funny at all. I would find him hilarious now that I am married with a kid, but as a college student... I just didn't relate to his humor.

I think there are very few comedians whose humor can cross generational boundries.

 

[Zambo]

There are lots of comedians that are funny without being raunchy. Hell, we had SEINFELD at GG one year. Stephen Wright. Stuff like that. How about Brian Regan? Or, if you can't get a comedian then get a name brand musical group. BTW, the comedy doesn't have to be totally chaste like everybody over age 30 is some total prude, but just don't fill the air with nonstop blue language or xxx subject matter. Ya know it can be done.

 

[HogtownGator]

I'm going to take issue with the premise that raunchy comedians ruined Growl. Growl has been a bitch-fest between alumni and students since I matriculated in 1979, and probably before then. Stuff like You Tube and HBO ruined growl.We can watch whatever comic act we want anytime of day on HDTV. There was a time when the whole country sat down and watch Wizard of Oz on the same night, too.

Another factor: in the 90's the actual game became more fun than the pep rally.

 

[divits]

I'm going to take issue with the premise that raunchy comedians ruined Growl. Growl has been a bitch-fest between alumni and students since I matriculated in 1979, and probably before then. Stuff like You Tube and HBO ruined growl.We can watch whatever comic act we want anytime of day on HDTV. There was a time when the whole country sat down and watch Wizard of Oz on the same night, too.

Another factor: in the 90's the actual game became more fun than the pep rally.

When I was in school the comedic act wasn't the main reason for going to Growl. It was the skits, fireworks, and chance to party with 80,000 Gator fans that was the main attraction. The comedy acts were added in the 80's and they have proven that they can either make or break a Growl. The proof is in the pudding that they have pretty much done the later.

 

[Coach9]

I remember Robin Williams created a stir when he made some joke about some front row administrator's kid spending too much time on her hobby horse.
:hehehe: I think we got Bob Hope again the following year.

 

[T REX]

I'm going to take issue with the premise that raunchy comedians ruined Growl. Growl has been a bitch-fest between alumni and students since I matriculated in 1979, and probably before then. Stuff like You Tube and HBO ruined growl.We can watch whatever comic act we want anytime of day on HDTV. There was a time when the whole country sat down and watch Wizard of Oz on the same night, too.

Another factor: in the 90's the actual game became more fun than the pep rally.

There's definitely something to say for the camaraderie and football was peaking in the mid 90's. Those are all factors. It was a blast.