Where the Girls are the Fairest

I realize this is a blog primarily focused on basketball, but I am taking this opportunity to discuss a little football, Gator style. I recently had the great pleasure of meeting up with 7 other girlfriends from the college days (all Tri Delta ladies, of course) and hanging with my sister and her family as they have just relocated to Gainesville. We all gathered for the Florida/Kentucky game, in which Florida made a very promising performance and beat Kentucky with great finesse. Prior to the game, one of the Delta ladies and her lovely beau took us on a tour of the "behind the scenes" areas at Florida Field. We even went out onto the field that other teams know and fear as "the Swamp". At this point I was with my brother in law, niece (of Vero Beach Rivers Volleyball fame) and nephew (also famed, but not yet discussed in the Full Court Dress) and the three of us dropped to the ground to touch the fine blades of grass as we stood in the south endzone. In addition, we checked out the training room, the fitness center, the locker room, the lucky gator the team touches on their way out onto the field and the storage room stacked from floor to ceiling with Gatorade, that tasty beverage invented by the fine folks at the University of Florida. Really, this was a Gator fan dream come true.

I am writing this now so that I can remember good times with the Gators, rather than the heartache inflicted by that houndstooth-loving, semi-pro team in Tuscaloosa. Ouch!! And many thanks to my friend Mark, a big fan of this blog, and an even bigger Bama fan, for not heckling me during the game and after the miserable loss. That was a true act of kindness.

The Gator defense may have been lackluster last week, but I have a little defense of my own for my alma mater. I hear a great deal of criticism of the game day attire worn by the Gator Nation. I'm sure it's shocking that unlike our oh-so-southern rivals in the SEC, we don't do cocktail dresses and you'd be crazy to wear a tie, let alone a sportcoat into the great sweltering heat of Ben Hill Griffin stadium. But I do have evidence, as I am photographed here tailgating with my friends, that we are looking quite nice for our game and very stylish, in a relaxed UF kind of way. We may have left our pearls and stilettos from the previous nights outing behind, but I think we look quite nice and are proof of good Gator fashion. Krissy (third from right) even managed to find an orange and blue, lightweight Tory Burch dress for the occasion. I mean, really, how cute is that?

Now I've got to go assemble my own game day attire as the Gators play those crazy Tigers from LSU tonight. I'll be watching from home with my husband and a nice glass of wine, hoping for a Gator win. (Sorry Mr. Baton Rouge)

Wins and losses aside,

It's great to be a Florida Gator!

xoxo