Greetings VSers, I am hoping most here enjoyed yesterday's game as much as GC Jr. and I did.  We made a day trip of the game yesterday and since we went to dinner with Mrs. GC and GCette as soon as we returned, I didn't get a chance to post my thoughts last night.  Here are my impressions of yesterday.

First and foremost, I thought everyone associated with the University of Floriday did a fantastic job making the game a fun experience for the Gators who made the trip.  Since we only made a day trip of it I cannot speak to the events on Friday night, but the Gator Walk was fun (and well attended, particularly in the rain and how little there is to do around the stadium), the alumni association tailgate was very good.  I also thoroughly enjoyed meeting Dr. Fuchs and his wife at the tailgate.  They could not have been more engaging and pleasant, taking time to speak with everyone who approached them.  Dr. Fuchs spent several minutes talking with my son, and doing so in a genuine and interested way.  Although I already donate to UF, as a father, seeing this only encouraged me to donate more.

I was definitely pleased with the turnout by Gator Nation.  Based on the drive over it seemed like most of the Gators in Atlanta were going to the game, but more importantly, from our seats it appeared as though the UF side of the field was mostly full.  Our fans were also engaged throughout the game, passionately supporting the team.  ECU didn't travel well (only filling about 3.5 sections on their side of the field), but were mostly engaged too.  Also, the fans I encountered were absolutely pleasant (more on the ECU fans later though).  

Legion Field...um, let me start with the positives.  Traffic was a breeze getting in, but we did arrive around 8:30 CT so we'd be there for the Gator Walk.  Also, everyone who worked at the stadium was very friendly and clearly wanted us to feel welcome.  From the first person I encountered in the parking lot, to the security guards, the concessionaires, etc., everyone treated us very well.  The stadium on the other hand, was a complete and total dump.  It seemed as though it was not touched since it was built.  The paint was peeling, the  scoreboard had many missing lightbulbs, and one of the "jumbotrons"  only showed advertisements, not replays or highlights.  It was also comical looking at the ads as there were old Pepsi ads on the scoreboard even though Coke products were sold throughout the stadium.  I think nobody ever bothered to remove the Pepsi ads.  I realize Birmingham really doesn't have a need for a modern and sophisticated stadium, but this place was definitely a dump.

On the game, I don't have much to add to what was already said with respect to football, etc., so I'll comment once more on the ECU fans.  As nice as they were, they were absolutely unsophisiticated in terms of being football fans.  We obviously had several injuries throughout the game, and while they didn't "cheer" our players being hurt, they didn't behave like most football fans I've seen during an injury.  There were several occasions when they'd be doing school cheers "ECU! ECU! ECU!" while a player was down.  Again, I don't believe they were being rude, it seemed as though they were oblivious to what was going on on the field.  Like I said above, just not sophisticated as football fans.

All told, GC Jr. and I had a great father-son day.  We're a bit hoarse this morning from screaming and are looking forward to what game we're going to go to next year.