Andy Staples/SI
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Because it's always the highest profile Florida home game in October every even year, an LSU-Florida matchup in The Swamp inevitably turns into a political showcase. Before the game, school colors bow to primary colors as parties make last-ditch efforts to grab votes from a mostly inebriated electorate.
Saturday, McCain headquarters stood in front of the Tau Kappa Epsilon house. Obama headquarters was ... well, it's a college campus, so Obama headquarters was pretty much everywhere else. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was scheduled to fly in for a Friday fundraiser and a Saturday rally -- to help the McCain/Palin ticket, or is he possibly filling the kitty for a run in 2012? -- but the red-staters weren't the only ones making a push. Politicos of every stripe permeated this normally quiet college town. At Satchel's Pizza, home of the best counterculture deep dish a living wage can buy, the rusted out van that doubles as a booth bore a "Let Nader Debate" sticker.
But all the candidates should be grateful for Article 2, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution. That's the one that decrees a citizen must be at least 35 to serve as commander-in-chief. Because if the guys holding the sign while tailgating along University Avenue had their way, this critical swing state would fall in a landslide to the Tim Tebow/anybody else ticket. Fortunately for Obama and McCain, Tebow can't run until 2024.
Check back at SI.com after the game for my full College Football Insider on this enormous SEC showdown.
Jessica White
Michelle Damon
Mavs Dancers
College Football, Top 25 Review
Comments (13) Add A Comment
another Florida article by the Florida grad Staples. that's about 5 in a week.
Seminole Bob
Tallahassee, FL
Total Comments (7)
Don't worry, Seminole Bob. Bowden will eventually pass away and give Fisher his shot. Maybe then the Noles will interesting and columnists will write about your team again.
DrBudGreen
High Springs, FL
Total Comments (3)
*be* interesting
DrBudGreen
High Springs, FL
Total Comments (3)
Florida State still has a team?
StokesW25
Total Comments (1)
He is just giving the people what we want!
GatorNation2003
Sebastian, FL
Total Comments (2)
That article was only interesting to jort wearing gators. Staples might try being a real journalist sometime.
Seminole Bob
Tallahassee, FL
Total Comments (7)
Wow! A "jort" joke? This is what has become of Tallahassee trash talk. Be ashamed, be VERY ashamed!
RamblinGator
Total Comments (39)
I'm a FSU fan and wouldn't really consider this a "Florida article", just an interesting aside to the game.
As for the trash talk, its a bit early for it since the teams have the same record and the SEC is over-rated this year. LSU was a bad 4 when their great defense lets Auburn team that can only score 3 points on MSU hang three TDs on it and the MSU team that got no offensive scores on Auburn hung 24 on LSU. UGA with all its weapons only beats UT by 12 point when we all know how horrible the Vols are this year. The best looking team in the SEC this year is Bama but they made their bones by crushing an over-rated UGA and an insanely over-rated Clemson team.
This year the SEC is getting by on tradition and name. Much as I hate to say it, being born and raised in the southeast, the Big 12 is the best confernce in football this year.
osceolafan
Total Comments (16)
These stories come every four years. Tallahassee is the political capital, so it would make more sense to write the story from there. But Florida gets the home game in the even years, and election years are always even. Duh!
jprs
Total Comments (9)
Y oh Y dost thou feel the SEC is not properly rated? If your team is no longer in the top 35 thou shalt be silenced. Only you will read what you write, as the world has deemed your words folly and drivel
Shimesaba
Total Comments (10)
Feel very confident that the Big12 is the 2008 version of the Big12. Chokla-homa and the boys are poised for what they are always poised for:)
Shimesaba
Total Comments (10)
Seminole Bob,
You're right. I need to get to Tally. I'm hoping to get up there in the next few weeks. If they beat NC State on Thursday, that VT game will be pretty big.
Andy
Andy Staples
Total Comments (14)
The SEC is overrated this year because of how those preseason ranked teams have done. UT started out at 18 but is now un-ranked and sitting at 2-4 with one of the most embarrassing loses of the season. Auburn started off at 11 and is now 4-3 with one of the worst offenses in the entire nation, ranked 104th in the nation. I already went over why LSU was overrated, and how unimpressive UGA has looked. But at least UGA had the talent at the skill position players to fool the voters. LSU should have started the year in the mid-low teens based on their youth at QB and in the secondary.
And since people were ranked too high it trickles affects the rest of the ranking. Alabama gets a huge bounce for beating two overrated teams (Clemson and UGA). UF gets a bounce for beating an overrated LSU. With the way the majority of the SEC is playing OU, Texas, Mizzou and maybe OKST and Kansas would be favored against and probably win easily over every SEC team except maybe 3. You can count on one hand the amount of SEC teams who don't have problems on one side of the ball.
osceolafan
Total Comments (16)
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.