Whether it’s swinging and swaying with 90,000 of your closest friends, or singing the University of Florida alma mater, Gator fans pass down the history and traditions of home football games through generations.
For UF students and fans, attending a football game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has three main phases, with different ins and outs for each one.
Phase one: Pregame festivities
After battling your way through game day traffic in Gainesville, which could be considered a phase of its own, you find yourself amid a college town foaming at the mouth to watch its beloved Gators take the field. The energy is palpable.
The first true act of a Florida game day is the Gator Walk. Two to two-and-a-half hours before kickoff and before stadium doors open, fans line University Avenue leading into the stadium as the team arrives by bus for the game. Led by head coach Billy Napier, the Gators make their way onto the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as the thousands of fans in attendance cheer them on.
About half an hour before kickoff, Steve Spurrier Florida Field is swarmed by The Pride of the Sunshine, better known as the Gators marching band, blaring the notes that lead into the famous UF chant, “Go Gators! Come on, Gators, get up and go!.”
The band makes whimsical shapes while playing the fight song before settling into the shape of the state of Florida for the national anthem performance, followed by the first playing of the school's alma mater.
After the anthem, the band begins to work its way to the South endzone, where it splits into two groups to spell out the letters U and F aligned with the home tunnel. From there begins one of the more iconic traditions at a Florida football game: Mr. Two-Bits.
The story of Mr. Two-Bits dates back to the 1950s. George Edmondson, a Gators fan, originally performed the Mr. Two-Bits chant from the stands at every UF game he attended. The chant is, “Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar, all for the Gators, stand up and holler!”
In the 1970s, Edmondson began to take the field for the chant, clad in a bright yellow button-down shirt and an orange and blue striped tie. He would jog out to midfield holding the famous “2-Bits” sign; he hushed the crowd and exploded with emotion, pointing at each side of the stadium, queuing them to say the next line of the chant.
After Edmondson retired from doing the chant, his legacy remained, and the tradition has continued. UF has an honorary Mr. Two-Bits for home games, wearing the trademark yellow shirt and orange and blue striped tie.
Finally, the team takes the field after a hype video plays on the jumbotron, and the words, “The Swamp: Only Gators get out alive,” blast through the speakers.
The final act of pregame festivities is a simple, yet effective chant. Spurred on by the cheerleaders and spirit emcee, half of the stadium is prompted to scream orange, and the other half to scream blue. The two sides go back and forth right up until kick-off.
Phase 2: During the game
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has been known to be one of the most challenging environments to play in across the country because of the noise the fans make and how close the stands are to the field. The crowd is at its loudest on third downs.
Every single third down is a crucial one to try and get off the field and give the ball back to the offense. When the Gators' defense gets to a third down, the words “money down” appear on the jumbotrons and signs on the sidelines, and people in the crowd will be rubbing their fingers together, signaling for money.
Former defensive coordinator Geoff Collins began the trend when he was with the Gators from 2015-2016, and the phrase has carried on ever since. His teams were known for getting off the field on third downs. During his time here, Collins was responsible for the No. 6 and No. 11 scoring defenses in the nation.
After the conclusion of the third quarter, fans wrap their arms around each other and prepare to sing and sway to “We Are the Boys.” The song has been tied to the school since the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until the 70s that the band began to play it at the end of the third quarter.
Immediately after “We Are the Boys,” one of the newer traditions, but perhaps the fan favorite of them, begins: Gainesville native Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
First played in 2017 after the death of the rock legend, the tradition quickly took on a life of its own and is among the most well-known in all of college football. Fans hold up their flashlights on their phones and sing their hearts out, hoping the Gators also won’t back down.
Phase 3: Endgame
Win or lose, the football team always goes to the band’s section in the stands after a game and sings the alma mater one last time before heading off the field. After a big win, it’s a celebration. After a tough loss, it’s a moment for everyone to come together in the face of adversity.
As soon as the song ends, fans make a mad dash back to I-75 and Archer Road to avoid traffic and get ready to do it all again next weekend.
Contact Chandler Hawkes at chawkes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @HawkesChandler.
