I can't say it was actually the game itself that was my favorite because we lost, but the 1985 game provided me with one of my most enduring and endearing memories in the Florida-Georgia series.
The prior year, you see, we'd beaten Georgia, thereby ending a six-game losing streak. After that victory, our fans went ape with glee, stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. The lack of police presence on the field allowed us to tear up the field and celebrate undeterred. But by the time the 1985 game rolled around, the city got wise and lined the stadium with police in riot gear and drawn nightsticks. When Georgia won, the fans in the end zone pushed down the fence and crashed the field. The UGA fans in the front rows, who were well aware of the heavily-armed police presence in front of them, became reluctant participants in the aborted celebration, receiving a brutal clubbing at the hands of enthused law enforcement personnel. The police were swinging wildly at anything that moved, cracking skulls, etc.
My friends, there are times during even the most bitter college rivalries that opposing fans can put aside their differences in moments of crisis and feel sympathy and compassion toward one another. This was definitely *NOT* one of those times. It was sheer beauty to watch the Georgia fans' joy and exuberance over their win turn into screams of horror, pain and blood-gurgling agony as the police unleashed their brutal assault. It was almost worth losing to watch it all unfold before our joy-filled eyes.
By the way, this is a great lesson to all Gators to stay until the end of the game, even if we are losing. You never know when some opposing fan will get his ass kicked for being a loudmouth or challenging law enforcement. When it happens, you want to be there to see it.