The Florida Gators and LSU Tigers didn’t play a football game on Saturday as Hurricane Matthew barreled towards the east coast of Florida. The final decision to postpone the affair was made Thursday afternoon, which immediately sent social media and many national media pundits.
Clay Travis of Fox Sports accused Florida of dodging having to play LSU on his radio show.
“Right now it seems self evident to, I think, anybody with a functional brain that Florida is trying to use the hurricane as an excuse to try to advance their own opportunities to win the SEC East by playing one less game against a top opponent and that’s shameful,” Travis said.
Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio took exception to the sound bite on Twitter.
This is hilariously incorrect and very insensitive to those being affected by this Hurricane @ClayTravis https://t.co/GLklHF4DOx
— Luke Del Rio (@Ldelrio12) October 7, 2016
Del Rio was asked about his tweet on Monday during a press conference.
“Yeah, I thought it was extremely unprofessional, to be honest. That’s all I’m gonna say about that,” Del Rio said before being asked and answering about the response his tweet received. “I thought it was important to say something. I fought myself a little bit on saying more. I think less is more in that situation.”
Hurricane Matthew took a turn east late Thursday night, early Friday morning, after the Southeastern Conference had made the final decision to postpone the game. Before Matthew took a turn it had already caused major devastation in Haiti. As of Monday the death toll in Haiti had surpassed 1,000. 19 more lives were lost in America as Matthew made its way up the coast.
Jim McElwain looked shocked when he was asked about the perception that he, the university or his players were “scared” to play LSU.
“Nineteen deaths, 2.5 million people without power. Families in dire need. Obviously, they don’t know me, they don’t know the Florida Gators,” McElwain said. “They don’t know our players. Dodging the game? Wow. Obviously, those people … man … Obviously, I have grown up in Montana and never been through a hurricane, but I think a lot of people around here have and have seen the devastation. How anybody could even think that way is beyond me.”
Florida had more than 50 players on its roster from areas that were under a hurricane warning on Friday afternoon. Florida invited many of the families that were in those areas to come to Gainesville and get away from the storm, but others were left calling, wondering and worrying how their family would be affected.
“Friday night, Friday afternoon, I tried calling them kind of as the storm was approaching. They finally called me around lunchtime. They said the power got knocked out,” starting right guard and Jacksonville native Tyler Jordan said. “They had a bunch of debris out in the backyard, but nothing too serious. They got their power back the next morning around 10 o’clock. I had some family, who probably lived about 10-15 minutes away from me there, sitting in a room as a tree fell down into the room. Took out part of the brick fence and pretty much totally damaged the whole room.”
The SEC will handle the attempt to reschedule the game. Jeremy Foley said Florida will agree to whatever the league decides to do while LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva continues to posture in the media and has been less than accepting of the circumstances as Florida has. Alleva told reporters on Monday that LSU will not give up their November 19 home game against South Alabama (Florida would cancel/buyout/ reschedule with Presbyterian).
“One thing we’re going to hold very firm on is that we have a home game on Nov. 19th and we’re going to have a home game on Nov. 19,” he said. “We are going to have a game on Nov. 19. We are not going to change that situation.”
Ultimately it doesn’t matter what LSU wants to do. It doesn’t matter what Florida wants to do. The final decision is up to the league. LSU has made their feelings very public, something that Florida will not do. Will the Tigers and Gators play this year?
Only the SEC can decide that but players on both teams will be ready if and when they put the football down on a field and line up against each other.
“We’re all obviously upset that we didn’t get to play,” Del Rio said. “We came here to play teams like LSU, but it was bigger than a game last weekend.”