Nothing will ever feel as bizarre as the 2020 college football season did. This is a sport predicated around insane fans, wild student sections, packed stadiums and tailgating that begins the day before the game.
The energy and excitement you feel walking into a historic venue like the Swamp or Death Valley at LSU or Bryant-Denny Stadium at Alabama often stick with you longer than any player or coach.
Unlike many other sports, fans aren’t a passive viewer at a college football game. They are part of the action. Their screaming, chanting and singing can rattle even the most experienced of teams and play a role in the outcome of the game.
“I’ve had coaches come and say it’s the loudest place they’ve ever been and the hardest place they’ve ever played,” UF coach Dan Mullen said. “So, that’s something that is pretty unique and what makes it a very, very special place.”
The Swamp wasn’t a special place during the pandemic-affected 2020 season. The stadium only welcomed about 17,000 fans per game through its gates. On-campus tailgating was prohibited, and some beloved traditions such as Gator Walk were scrapped.
You could walk up to the stadium on game day and hear the flag clanging against the flagpole and pick out specific conversations that people were having. You could’ve never guessed that a major football game was happening inside the stadium.
In five days, that all comes to an end when the No. 13 Gators host Florida Atlantic in their season opener. UF is allowing full-capacity crowds this season, with no COVID restrictions in place. That means masks aren’t required, tailgating is allowed and the roads and parking lots surrounding the Swamp will be a weekend-long party.
In other words, the Swamp is back.
“Going to be an exciting weekend here on campus,” Mullen said. “I know our fans did a great job last year, but to go get fans back in the Swamp and create that atmosphere, create that home-field advantage, the energy, the excitement, whether you’re going through the Gator Walk to running out in front of 90,000 fans in the Swamp, to hearing that energy and excitement they create for the players.
“Last year [was] just very, very unique in guys having to motivate themselves to play the game. Our guys love to play the game. We love to coach the game. We love everything the game stands for. So, the motivating factor’s there, but it is that extra energy. You feel the crowd. You don’t just hear it, but you feel it, and I think that’s something that can really draw out things inside of you that you don’t get through last year [with] your self-motivation and desire to go play. When you can feel the energy of a crowd, it lifts you up even more.”
Senior safety Trey Dean could’ve declared for the NFL Draft after last season and perhaps been selected in the later rounds.
Instead, he chose to return to school for one reason – to win a national championship. The Gators weren’t far away from making the playoff last year, and he thinks the crowd can help push them over the top this season.
“The No. 1 goal is to win the national championship,” Dean said. “First, win the SEC Championship. Before that, just win the East. It’s going to be great. Our crowd is going to play a big factor every game. Not just the big games, but every game.
“There’s no other place like the Swamp. When the Swamp is fully packed, I think it’s second to none. So, we’re very excited.”
On the other end of the spectrum is redshirt freshman cornerback Avery Helm. The approximately 17,000 fans that were allowed in the stadium last year were the largest crowds he’s ever played in front of.
Not only will he play in front of the largest crowd he’s ever seen by far on Saturday, but he’s also expected to start the game.
That combination of energy, excitement and pressure can be a little overwhelming, but Helm said he’s trying not to overcomplicate things.
“You’ve just got to remember the reason you’re there,” he said. “I’m there to play football, so that’s what I’m showing up to do.
“It’s been a year since the stadium’s been packed, so I really don’t know what to expect. I haven’t been on the field and in a packed stadium ever. So, I’m just going in just ready to soak it all in.”
Mullen said he looks at this game as a reward for his players. They’ve worked extremely hard all offseason in the weight room and in the unbearable Florida heat on the practice fields without any fanfare.
Now they get the chance to show their fans what they’ve been working on all offseason and to receive energy and encouragement from the fans.
“We’ve been practicing for so long,” Mullen said. “You go from offseason conditioning to spring ball and then training camp practice against each other and do that for so long. I’m excited to see these guys go out – all the hard work they’ve put in – to get to see them go play and go play in front of a packed stadium and go play in front of fans. Just can’t wait because I know these guys are excited to get out there to go.”
Like all coaches, Mullen is a little extra focused this week on making sure their preparation goes exactly according to plan leading up to the game. Coaches love having every single second of the week accounted for on a written schedule.
Because they haven’t been in game week mode for eight months and have 26 true freshmen on the roster, he wants to make that everything goes as smoothly as possible. No detail will be too big or too small to address this week.
“You try to always leave a little bit of extra time in the schedule this week just to get yourself into the routine,” he said. “I’m always going through my checklist. We have a long checklist of things to make sure that you’ve crossed every ‘T’ and dotted every ‘I,’ that we’re completely prepared in every single way, especially in game one.”
It’s been nearly two years, but the light is finally there at the end of the tunnel. The Swamp will feel normal again.
“It’ll be very different,” Mullen said. “It’ll be great. It’ll be awesome. The excitement, the energy, even walking into the tunnel, it’ll feel very different.”
And so, so much better.
Welcome back, Swamp. Gator Nation has missed you.