Thanks for reading week ten of the Rivalry Name Rankings, brought to you this week by…cool animal mascots (especially the dog that has a uniform).
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The No. 6 ranking is a match-up of SEC foes that first played each other in 1912. The Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs have squared off 84 times, including every year since 1926 except 1943. It’s easy to see that these teams have a long-standing rivalry, and probably hate each other. Recent games have done nothing to change that.
The name of the game is the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Don’t try to tell me you wouldn’t want to go to THAT event. Naturally, this game name falls under the “clever” category of names, because it just is. You really don’t need me to explain why.
However, the SEC does not want the game to be referred to using this nickname. They are afraid that it can be connected with drinking-related deaths that occur around the time of the game. While some call this claim idiotic, I will remain neutral, and from here on out will not use the name again. If you want to read it, refer to the paragraph above.
It is difficult to determine, after hours of researching, where the name originated from. It probably came from one person being humorous after seeing all the tailgating (and drinking) going on before (and during?) the game. However, it is known that each year, thousands of tailgaters pack “The Jacksonville Landing” (an area that faces the St. Johns River) to drink and party. Perhaps you should check it out sometime, if you can, and let us know how crazy a scene it is! (But be safe if you do.)
Here are some details on the history of the rivalry. The game has been played at a neutral site – Jacksonville – since 1933, except for 1994 and 1995 (played in Gainesville, FL and Athens, GA respectively). Georgia holds a 47-35-2 all time lead, including wins in the first six games played between the teams. The Bulldogs won those six games by a combined score of 190-9. Ouch.
Through 1989, Florida had only won 22 games in the series, and had suffered four streaks of at least six losses. However, the Gators turned the tables on the Bulldogs starting in 1990, going 15-2 since that time. One of those wins, in 1995, was a 52-17 romp over Georgia, in a game that many know as Steve Spurrier’s revenge game. That game was played in Athens (see above), and marked the most points allowed by the Bulldogs in the history of their home stadium. Of course, as a former Heisman Trophy winner at Florida, Spurrier had suffered some bad losses to Georgia as a player. He wanted to put some points on the board, and he surely did. Also, last year, Florida won 21-14 in October en route to their National Championship victory.
I know this is a short column but there is little to say, because major media outlets are no longer using the name. The SEC, as previously stated, does not want the name used, so they asked ESPN, CBS, etc. to stop using it. As such, I can’t find much more information about the game. If you do, please post on our message boards.
That’s it for this week – if you have any comments for me, please post them on the message boards, using the link at the top. Thanks for reading, and check back next week. Go Wahoos.
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