Live Music, College Football, and the Uniting Passion the Two Give Us

Think of your favorite band. Now remember the last time you saw them live. The two-hour set. The energy of the performance. The rocking solos and the sweet jams.

Now think of your favorite college football team. Go back to the last home game. Relive the emotions of the experience.

They are quite the same, don’t you think?

My personal favorite live band is the Dave Matthews Band. My favorite college football team is the Florida Gators. Whether you agree with me on either of those or not, you must agree on the similarities.

Let me take you to Atlanta in September, 2007. Piedmont Park is awaiting 60,000+ raving fans all psyched up to see a brilliant performance by Dave Matthews and his very talented friends.

The Allman Brothers Band leads the pregame show, performing for over two hours themselves, riveting the crowd with their slide guitar ways as only they can do.

The sun sets. The crowd stirs in anticipation. Chants start in different parts of the crowd, but never in unison. We need guidance. We need a leader. We need the show to begin.

Finally, the band emerges from behind the stage sending the crowd into a frenzy. This is what we were waiting for. It is time.

Dave kicks off the show with the song "One Sweet World." The crowd is loving it. The world at this moment is as sweet as can be.

The night moves on, but the show keeps us mesmerized. Every intricate detail of every moment is studied by the extraordinary number of fans in the crowd. We are now in unison. We are now united in our passion.

Let me take you to Gainesville, Fla., in October 2008. The LSU Tigers are in town. This is the first real test after the Ole Miss loss for the Florida Gators. 

The Pride of the Sunshine lead the pregame activities. The Gator faithful are fired up for the fearsome football upcoming. The team takes the field, the crowd erupts. We are in unison, united in our passion.

The truly inspiring aspect of the crowd is that for 164 hours of the week, we have nothing to do with each other. For those four glorious Saturday hours, however, we are the closest of friends.

The season moves on. Our lives continue. Yet, we wait with childlike anticipation for the next time we can join the tens of thousands of our closest friends that we don’t know for a few short hours.

A few short hours of bliss.