Much to everyone’s surprise, the Hurricanes were able to pull a win out of their ass this weekend in the Swamp. I was one of the lucky Hurricanes in attendance who got to watch that miracle happen live. I’m thankful for that win too, because if I had to haul myself to Gainesville to watch us get creamed I would’ve been submitting my transfer application.
I’m not usually the most informative in this newspaper, but I’ll paint the picture of Gainesville for those who didn’t make the trip.
UF’s campus is stationed right next to a large strip on University Ave filled with stores and bars. Think if Dooly was right across the street from the Grove. Which is great… in theory.
Without needing an Uber to get to the bars and clubs of note, practically the entire campus was out and about. It gave a whole new meaning to “campus club fair.”
Knowing Miami wallets were in town, UF bars did not play with their prices. Multiple bars had covers from $30-$50??? Miami students are used to high covers, but for actual night clubs. There was no way I was going to pay $50 to be sandwiched next to freshmen in a dive bar the size of a Richter study room.
To give the Gators some credit, their stadium was very nice. Not physically — it looked and smelt like a high school locker room — but the vibes were very college.
They’re so committed to their school in their orange and blue they couldn’t even follow their own whiteout instructions. But to be fair, there were maybe 3 people of color in their student section, so I guess they did?
The fans also live up to their name as Gators with their very dangerous mouths. I was able to get my hands on stude-nt section tickets and had to show it like a badge to each Gator around me who accused me of stealing someone’s seat.
One man even threatened to rip my shirt off if I stayed in their section. Odd threat — I wanted to ask what he would do next but I wasn’t about to engage in stadium hanky panky.
The heat was bad, but nothing us ’Canes can’t handle. Being hot, wet and sandwiched next to big men is just the norm at any frat tailgate.
It was a nice trip, but nothing to write home about. Seeing all of the Gator fans file out of the stadium by halftime brought a smile to my face. For the first time in years, it was them abandoning their team not us.
Hopefully our team can make a winning streak from this victory and I won’t hate every second of the 45-minute shuttle ride to and from Hard Rock.