Arguably one of the greatest things about college football are the rivalries. The passion, the loyalty and yes even the hatred that fuel our emotions and empty our pocketbooks. Rivalries are what take college football games from being a one day of the year event into a 365 day lifestyle that for so many, especially in the SEC, defines us…and greatly effects our friendships.
We could sit here all day and debate, as many do, as to which are the best rivalries in college football. USC vs. UCLA? Oklahoma vs. Texas? Army vs. Navy? And you will never ever, no matter how hard you try, convince me that there is any greater rivalry in college football, or sports for that matter than Alabama vs. Auburn.
But we can’t look at this list without discussing Florida vs. Georgia. It has earned it’s right to be mentioned amongst the best, evident by the fact that no matter the records or rankings and win streaks each team may or may not have, the city of Jacksonville is still taken over each year for a week long party all leading up to kickoff.
This game has been played over 90 times (the exact number differs based on which school you ask) and even has its own Hall of Fame with a physical presence at the Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.
As former players and coaches descended on the river city for the weekend, we caught up with a few to recount their greatest Cocktail Party memories.
DANNY WUERFFEL
A name that really speaks for itself, Wuerffel played in this game from 1993-1996. The former starting quarterback for the Gators went 4-0 against the bulldogs during that time, a fact that caused Wuerffel his biggest smile of the day when asked about it; and nearly throttled them with each outing. The closest contest was his first one, a 33-26 win! Naturally he has good memories of Georgia and therefore has no qualms about inviting former UGA players to join he and his Gator teammates on the golf course on Friday before the game.
“There’s so much energy around this rivalry. People from both sides invest so much.”
He reflected on all of this while signing a football that had a play mapped out on it.
“That’s the play that we scored on in 1995 in Athens against Georgia…Wuerffel to Doering, no backs, big touchdown for the Gators.”
And while the Gators haven’t experienced anything close to Wuerffel’s success against Georgia (they come in on a 3 year losing streak), he feels they can still pull of the upset this year.
“Absolutely Florida could win. The Dectaur Panthers were winless this past weekend.”
Umm, who?
“My son’s 10 year old football team. And we beat the undefeated team 30-24. I became offensive coordinator the last two games. I drew up a play for the coach and handed it to him before the game and said ‘Why don’t you run it.’ It worked.”
(Click play button on video at top of story to watch Danny describe the play)
JAMES BATES
Bates joined Wuerffel on the Gators squad from 93-96 and loved playing against Georgia so much that he named his youngest daughter the same.
“It was some what prophetic. We never had any problems with Georgia on the field and we’ve never had any problems with our little Georgia. She wouldn’t have been named Georgia if we 2-2 against them…it wasn’t like it was a name we needed to stay away from…we didn’t name her Florida State or Alabama or Auburn. We actually could’ve named her Alabama”, Bates says with a big laugh.
The Gators beat Alabama in all three SEC Championships that Bates and Wuerffel’s team faced the Tide.
The former linebacker has gone on to make quite a name for himself as a college football broadcaster and therefore has missed most Florida vs. Georgia games as a fan. Expect for one though, which he attended with former Gator wide receiver Chris Doering.
“We were running late, and had to spring to make it in on time…probably set a new 40 time.”
As Bates accepted his place in the 2014 Florida Georgia Hall of Fame class, he began to tear up, unable to hold back his emotion or love for this rivalry.
“I just feel so blessed…I feel so fortunate and I really mean that, to be apart of something so big…you really don’t appreciate the magnitude of the rivalry until you come as a fan.”
He was a huge part of the game though, especially in 1994 when the game was played in Gainesville. He had two interceptions, one for a touchdown.
“Those were good Georgia football teams and we just dominated them which showed how good we really were…I’ll never forget that [touchdown]. It was the only touchdown I ever scored and if you watch the video everybody made fun of me because it looked like I got shot as I was crossing the goal line, I dove in, they were like ‘what was there a sniper’, because there really wasn’t anyone that was going to tackle me but I wanted to get in so bad! And it was the whole ‘Act like you’ve been there before’, but I had never been there before so how am I gonna do that.”
He got to keep the game ball for that game.
LINDSAY SCOTT
A name that broke many a Gator heart, Scott is best known for his touchdown run that beat Florida 21-20 with the seconds winding down. It was only supposed to be a first down in order to stop the clock, but Scott had open field and he took it, running straight for the endzone and into Florida Georgia history.
When asked about his favorite memory of the rivalry, it’s easy. Of course it’s that run, and according to Scott, it’s a lot of Georgia fans favorite as well.
“I get asked about that play every single day. Most people just want to mimick the radio call though.”
Larry Munson’s famous call of the play helped give it it’s nickname of “Run Lindsay Run”, although Scott wasn’t to clarify something there.
“Everyone always comes up to me and says ‘Run Lindsay Run’ but that wasn’t what Munson said. He just said ‘Run Lindsay’”.
Regardless of the actual call though, it’s still a moment that has remained one of the games greatest and Scott can remember every moment of it.
The memories and stories can go on for hours and with thousands of different people. That’s just a testament to how big this rivalry has become. As the years go on, more and more will be added, but for these three guys, they’ll hold tight to their memories and the knowledge that they have been apart of college football history.
If you have a favorite Florida Georgia memory, leave it in the comments below!