The big story at UF this week was the cancellation of the inaugural game of the 2014 Gator football season against Idaho. After hours of lightning delays, Gator fans got a small, exciting taste of the upcoming season when Valdez Showers — how appropriate — ran back the opening kickoff for 64 yards. Unfortunately, the game was immediately postponed, and eventually canceled, after more lightning was spotted nearby. For making The Gator Nation wait a whole extra week to start the football season, we give a really-bad-timing DART to Florida thunderstorms.
National pharmacy chain CVS finally implemented a surprising and innovative policy this week. The company announced that it will no longer sell cigarettes and other tobacco products in its stores. Although government regulation and taxation of cigarettes have been largely effective in reducing smoking rates, this bold, voluntary stance by a large corporation sends a powerful anti-smoking message. CVS Health anticipates a $2 billion loss in sales as a result of its decision, so this is more than just a minor branding strategy. Although some argue that those seeking cigarettes will just get their fix elsewhere, making tobacco products less accessible is an excellent way to reduce the number of new smokers. We award a people-over-profits LAUREL to CVS Health.
Unlike CVS Health, which made the courageous decision to counter the scourge of smoking, a member of Florida’s congressional delegation spent this week reinforcing one of our country’s uglier trends. The Huffington Post reported that Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., sent out a fundraiser invitation that is sure to make the blood of any opponent of sexism boil. According to HuffPost, "The ‘small group of concerned men’ invited to a Republican congressman’s fundraiser were instructed to ‘tell the misses not to wait up’ so they could enjoy ‘after dinner whiskey and cigars’ without any women present." Southerland’s campaign manager called the attention being drawn to the email "laughable." The only thing laughable about this situation is that Southerland and his ilk think that such overt sexism will go unnoticed by Florida voters. This week’s this-isn’t-the-1950s DART goes to Rep. Steve Sutherland.
Although the weather last Saturday was about as bad as it gets, that didn’t stop Gator football fans from coming to The Swamp in droves. Even through the interminable weather delays, the fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium stayed enthusiastic and eager for the game to finally start. After a relatively disappointing 2013 campaign, the passion of The Gator Nation for the new season was truly a sight to behold. Let’s hope their energy helps carry the Gators to a big win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday and a successful season overall. An in-all-kinds-of-weather LAUREL to the best damn football fans in the country, The Gator Nation.
