An American Ex-Pat Living And Working In East Asia
The University of Florida Gators started the 2008 football season against the University of Hawaii’s Warriors.
Hawaii was expecting a “lu’au in [the] Swamp” – uh, I don’t think so!
I thought they had already learned their lesson about SEC football… I guess this time they’ll have to take their lesson from the Gators!
Hawaii, consider yourself schooled!
The final score, Florida 56, Hawaii 10.
I turn 35 today… I think I’m gonna skip the diet for the day! (I heard a rumor there is gonna be a homemade apple pie cooking in our oven later on. My sources are pretty reliable…)
It wont be long now and things will begin to get steamy in The Swamp again!
When I was a student at UF, a long, long time ago – back when they were going for their FIRST national championship and the golden armed, Heisman winner was known as “Danny Wuerfell”, I never missed a home game at The Swamp.
I have never experienced anything quite like The Swamp since that time, and if you have not experienced a Gator football game in that stadium, I don’t know what would be a good comparison to suggest to you.
What makes this stadium so special compared to others?
Here are a few reasons from the Bleacher Report:
The name: The official name of the stadium is actually Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field, but since former Head Coach Steve Spurrier tagged it ‘The Swamp” in the early ’90s, the name has stuck. Coach Spurrier said: “…a swamp is where Gators live. We feel comfortable there, but we hope our opponents feel tentative. A swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous. Only Gators get out alive.”
The stadium: The Swamp isn’t the largest stadium in college football, but the stadium does hold over 90,000 fans. The stadium design gives a distinct advantage to the home team. A portion of the stadium is below ground level, and the stadium is completely enclosed. This design traps noise extremely well while cutting off any breeze that could flow through the stadium. The stands are also 10 feet away from the players on both sides, and combined with the 90+ rows of stands behind them give the stadium a claustrophobic feeling.
The fans: Gator fans are loud, loud, and loud some more, all game long. From the time the Orange and Blue chants quiet down before kickoff to the end of the 4th quarter, Florida fans are notoriously vocal. Make a big play on the field, and the the crowd doesn’t just cheer. It erupts. Sometimes the crowd is so loud the stadium will shake. Look around during a game and count the number of opposing fans covering their ears.
The team:
The Florida Gators have not had a losing team since 1979, and have been relevant on a national level since the 1990 season. There were sporadic appearances on the national radar before, but nothing major. It is no coincidence that in this time frame people have started taking The Swamp into consideration as a tough place to play. The progress of the football program combined with rabidness of the fans and the confines of the stadium, and it makes for a daunting task to play in Gainesville.
There are others, people with a great deal of perspective on the matter who also feel the Swamp is a tough place for non-Gators to play football:
“The loudest, most obnoxious and notorious piece of real estate in all of college football.”
– The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on The Swamp
“BEN . . . HILL . . . GRIFFIN Stadium . . . at Florida Field, has the longest name in college football . . . and it has the loudest fans! Trust us!”
– Chris Fowler, ESPN College Gameday Host on The Swamp
“There is no better place than ‘The Swamp’! That opening on the big screen with the alligator, it’s the best ever. When the Gators run out of the tunnel, it is absolutely the moment of moments in college football.”
– Lee Corso, ESPN College Football Analyst on The Swamp
“The Swamp,” as it was nicknamed by Steve Spurrier, can prove to be a rough place for the opposition. It is super loud, and the intensity of the fans remains the same from start to finish.
– Mel Kiper, ESPN Football Analyst about The Swamp
“The Swamp” is incredibly loud and combines with the Gators’ superior talent on the field to overwhelm almost every visiting team.
– Mel Kiper, ESPN Football Analyst about The Swamp
“Florida Field is the nation’s loudest stadium. Take any heavy metal album, crank it, then place your speakers in a tin basement. That sounds like a library compared to ‘The Swamp’.”
– The Sporting News
At Saddleback Barack Obama learned this: If you want to be president in the U.S., nothing on God’s green earth is ever above your pay grade.
Source: Wall Street Journal Editorial
Have you ever heard of a “Blog Action Day”? I’ll admit, it’s new to me.
The idea is for a bunch of people who blog to write a blog post on the same topic on the same day, thus raising awareness. The upcoming topic is “poverty”. Here’s a video that talks about it;
Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.
The video says poverty is the issue of “most pressing importance.” I disagree, but that’s the cool thing about this, I don’t have to agree to participate. Many voices, many perspectives.
Do you have a blog? Want to jump in with your two cents? Go ahead, I’ll be posting too!
Two U.S. hunters are claiming they found the body of a giant ape-like “Bigfoot” creature and plan to prove it at a news conference.
Oh My!
Aug. 30th Hawaii 12:30 P.M.
It’s not the toughest schedule out there, but it certainly is no walk in the park either. It will be interesting to see what the BCS ends up ranking their “Strength of Schedule” at.
It’s great playing in the SEC where there are so many caliber football programs!
Hong Kong Disney Tickets = $122 usd
Cheeseburger = $8.32 usd
Making two girls’ wildest dreams come true = Priceless
I just finished watching the USA basketball team (aka The Redeem Team) finish off Yao Ming and the rest of China’s team by the score of 101 to 70.
Despite this being China’s ‘home crowd’, the cheering seemed enthusiastic for both teams. China put up a spirited fight in the first half, but just couldn’t keep up in the second half.
I was personally impressed by how ‘clean’ everyone played, I’ve been so turned off by the NBA, because of all of the “thugs” who seem to do whatever they want with little or no consequences, that I was very pleasantly surprised by the sportsmanship shown by both teams.
Well, the big day has arrived… The day of the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
I feel like I should tell my Chinese friends, “Ok, everyone can breathe now.” This day has been so highly anticipated for so long, I’m afraid there is going to be some let-down when things don’t live up to the unrealistic expectations many have manufactured for the 2008 Summer Games.
With the Olympics finally coming to China, tens of thousands of young people have rushed to marry or deliver babies.
The Games are due to open on Friday, or 08/08/08. “Eight” is a lucky number among the Chinese, and many couples plan to tie the knot on the “triple 8 day.” Civil affairs authorities have predicted that Friday could set a one-day record for marriages since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded.
As a lucky day, 08/08/08 is also a favorite for many pregnant women. In central Chinese city of Changsha, Hunan Province, several hospitals have increased the number of beds for expectant mothers.
”I want to have an Olympics baby on Aug. 8. It is such a special day worth remembering,” said a 38-year-old woman surnamed Xie at the Hunan Provincial Maternal and Children Health Hospital.
At the request of Xie and several other expectant mothers, doctors will help them undergo Caesarean births on Friday, said a head nurse surnamed Li at the hospital.
”We advised them that natural births are better, but they are eager to have Olympic babies,” Li said.
If all of this strikes you as a bit over the top, well it may be, but it’s also exactly the way the Chinese want it to be.
It appears that the Chinese are not the only ones taking advantage of “triple 8 day”, President George Bush attended the dedication of the 600,000-square-foot US embassy in Beijing with his father, former President George H.W. Bush. The elder Bush once served as U.S. ambassador to China.
As many of you know, thanks in part to the 2008 Olympics, I am in Hong Kong right now working on getting visas for my family and I to live in China. What would have normally been a simple process, has become a bit of a red-tape nightmare.
It’s not all bad though. I LOVE Hong Kong, so if I have to be ‘stuck’ somewhere, this is the place!
Oh, and there is a bit of Olympic spirit here, nearly 1,000 miles south of Beijing, as the equestrian events of the Olympic games are all being held here in Hong Kong.
Hi! I'm Steve Webel and this is my blog. Thanks for stopping by!Follow me on Twitter.
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