So, this weekend I went to Gainesville to visit the younger child at University of Florida.
With the weather being sunny and in the low 80s it sure beat the wet and cold of Michigan this early April.
Flew into Jacksonville and drove the couple hours to Gainesville.
Met up with the kid and we watched the Gators advance into the finals.
Victory for the Gators was assured as Leah took us out that night to feed the campus feral cats.
Quite a few ferals around and apparently it's lucky to feed them prior to exams for good results, and during various sportsball games to ensure the Gators do well.
The offerings to the cats must have worked, as the Gators ended up beating Auburn to earn a place against Huston for a shot at the national championship in b-ball.
Much cheering throughout the dorm was heard when they game resulted in the Gator's victory.
The next day we did more sportsball, in this case Gator Baseball.
Got some grass seats on the left berm, inside the foul ball danger area and had a great view of the game. Gators vs the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Initially during the warm-up, it appeared it was unclear to the Commodores as to what sport they were there to play.
Yes, he's throwing a football around.
The game got off to a good start with hits by both teams in the first but no runs.
By the third inning it was tied 1-1.
That would change.
Sadly, an offering to the cats had not been made, as the Commodores swept the series and harvested the Gators 11-3 in the game we watched.
Still, even ending in a loss, it was a lot of fun to watch and the atmosphere at the ballpark was very family friendly and had great sportsmanship. The crowd applauded for great plays regardless of which team made them, and it was a highly enjoyable time.
After that we head back to her dorm where she studied preparing for an exam that was set to occur tonight - right at the same time as the championship game - and I did some work.
She then found out via email that the prof, recognizing the historic nature of the championship game was offering all students the opportunity to defer the exam so they could watch the game as part of the college experience. This was happy-making and she'll be viewing the game with friends tonight and taking the exam another day. Pretty cool on the part of the professor.
So she had three classes today so I did some work as she did and then took her to lunch.
On the way to lunch we passed by the pond near her dorm.
They're serious about that sign.
Did you see the gator to the lower right in the picture?
Gilbert, the dorm gator, was back from brumating for the winter. He's been known to sunbathe on the grass and even hang out by the dorm entrance at times.
That he's back has been declared to be a good sign that the Gators will do well tonight.
It was a great visit. Good luck to the Gators tonight.
3 comments:
Gainesville has some 'interesting' characters, not all of which are human.
Old NFO: Yes indeed. Lots of interesting characters around, both human and not.
Aaron, Here in west Michigan we have the Whitecaps minor league baseball team. They are a fun game to attend, even better in my opinion than MLB games including the Detroit Tigers.
It is very family friendly and cost much less than major league teams with food and drinks are figured in.
I have not been to a game for a couple of years, but my daughter lives about 2 blocks or so from the stadium. It is a fun family outing when we go together.
I started attending the Whitecaps games when they first opened. At the time I recall thinking that I could have hit some of the pitchers when I was in high school baseball. I never thought that about MLB pitching. Their pitching is just too dominant, with their fastballs not just going really fast, but moving from one side of the place to another. It makes me that much more impressed by how MLB hitters are able to do so on a consistent basis.
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