The Meaty Lasagna: We know sports, we know food, we know life.

January 8, 2009

"I'll spend 500 dollars and not a penny more." Those were the words I uttered to myself and friends following the Gators 31-20 victory yesterday over the Alabama Crimson Tide, following what some are calling the greatest 4th quarter in Florida Gator history. 846 dollars later -- I lied to myself and put a significant dent into my bank account. Yes, my name is Eisy - and you might think I have a problem. I've been trying to rationalize it all day. Did I really just spend upwards of $800 to go to a football game I could watch on TV? There are children starving in Somalia that could eat for 3 years with $800 -- but that isn't what's important. What's important is being there on January 8th, 2009 to cheer on my Florida Gators at the BCS National Championship game for the 2nd time in 3 years.

You see, there's really no feeling quite like the one you get on the morning of Gameday. It's tough to sleep the night before, yet you wake up energized and excited for the possibility of things to come. Before you go to sleep tonight, your team will either have emerged in victory or faltered in defeat, and nothing in between (this previous sentence was written by Donovan McNabb). There's booze, food, and camaraderie all morning/day long -- and then -- it's gametime. And there's nothing like feeling the energy of watching your team run out onto the field come that time. That's the difference between watching a game from the comfort of your couch/at a bar and being there. There's nothing quite like being there when it matters, and it just makes the victory that much more sweet -- like it did 2 years ago. So what's the point of all this?

There's few things in life that bring me enjoyment like the success of Florida Football does - and call it whatever you want, but this, right now, is the Golden Age of Florida Football. The whole year we Gator fans have been spoiled by blowout victories and utter dismantlings of top ranked teams, until yesterday when the Gators were not the best team on the field for the first 3 quarters, and it looked like the magical run of a season might come to an end. But it didn't -- Tebow and the Gators wouldn't let it happen. Tim Tebow sat at that podium and promised me and every other Gator fan out there that this team wouldn't lose again -- and he was right (so far). As Tebow willed us to victory in the 4th quarter for the 12th time of the season, I realized how lucky we were to be watching something like this. College football is cyclical in nature. Miami is down in the dumps, so is FSU -- but we know it won't always be like that - and while for the forseeable future it looks the Gators will reign king in Florida and have a space on the national landscape, I know it won't last forever. That's why days like January 8th, 2009 can't afford to be missed, even if you start in the hole 846 dollars.

Big Eisy, 12.7.08