Touchdowns all count the same. Bands often play the same songs. Every school has a funny mascot running around. Cheerleaders wave the pom-poms in pretty much the same fashion.
What separates one college football team from another are the traditions.
It is there, in the time-honored lore of the game, that the real differences exist between, say, Florida and Florida State, or Texas and Texas A&M. It is there in the weekly rituals that fans find their own identifications.
A glance, then, at the top college football traditions in the state of Florida.
- The Flaming Spear (FSU): Say what you want, but nothing fires a college fan up for the coming game as much as the sight of Chief Osceola riding Renegade onto the field, then launching that flaming spear into the turf. It is distinctive, it is inspiring, and it is college football.
- We Are the Boys (Florida): Yes, the lyrics could use some work. But when the Florida fans start to sway at the beginning of the fourth quarter, there is a uniquely Gator feel to the joint. It’s been that way since the 1930s. Yeah, everyone sings. But not everyone gets into it like this.
- The Sod Cemetery (FSU): It’s a unique tradition, with hunks of turf from the big games won by the Seminoles over the year. Truly a scrapbook for Seminole fans.
- The Run Through the Smoke (Miami): When the Hurricanes were truly the Hurricanes, there were few more intimidating sights in college football. Even now that UM has had a harder time of it, it’s a cool snapshot.
- Mr. Two-Bits (Florida): Yeah, it’s a tradition ripped right out of 1950. That’s what makes it so cool when George Edmonson performs his two-bit cheer before games. It isn’t so much the cheer. It’s the acknowledgement that Florida fans have gathered for another game.
- Touching the Gator Head (Florida): A fairly new tradition that was instilled by then-coach Urban Meyer. As the Gators run out of the locker room, they rub the Gator Head inside. Warning: Teams with live mascots should not attempt to copy this.
- The Chant (FSU): If you didn’t go to FSU, your head probably started to ache as soon as this was mentioned. But if you did go, it’s the sound of college football. One thing: It sounds better when FSU is good.
- The Chomp (Florida): Complete with Jaws music, it’s the Florida answer to the Chant. One thing: It sounds better when Florida is good.
- Touchdown Tommy (Miami): It’s Miami’s cannon that sounds when the Hurricanes perform well. One thing. It hasn’t sounded nearly often enough in recent seasons
10. The Seminole War Canoe (Miami/Florida): This one is over except for the arguing. When Miami and Florida played regularly, they played for a large, hand-carved Seminole canoe. But once the annual series ended, Miami has kept the canoe in its history museum, regarding it as a prize for a former rivalry. After Florida won in 2008, it made a half-hearted effort to get the canoe returned but had no luck.
