Billy Napier encourages Florida Gators to wear blue on Saturday night
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Leading up to the Florida Gators season opener against Utah, the program released its jersey combinations for the entire season. While the Gators’ new black jerseys drew all the headlines, there was some fine print, and a request from the Gators.
Under each game designation, Florida added a designation for what color fans should wear to the game. Last week, fans were instructed to wear white, which didn’t exactly work out like a Penn State White Out game. This week, with No. 11 Tennessee coming to town, there is an obvious choice.
“Look, I think what’s understood sometimes doesn’t need to be said, if that makes sense,” Billy Napier said on Monday. “This is Florida-Tennessee. I think our fanbase pretty well-versed in this one. But we are encouraging our fans to wear blue.”
Napier is right. If there are any games where a fan doesn’t need to be told what color to wear it’s for Tennessee and Kentucky. This week the football team will be in all blue and Florida hopes the stadium looks like the team. Florida has pulled the look off in the past, most notably in 2010 against South Carolina, where a sea of blue blanketed the stands on Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“Look, our fans have an opportunity to contribute to the game. They are truly part of the team. They can impact the game. There’s an energy that they provide for our players,” Napier said. “There’s also an element where they can make it very difficult for the opponents. It’s one of the most iconic and more challenging venues in all of college football. I anticipate that Saturday night, it will be at its best. I know our people take great pride in their role and what they bring to the table.”
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Florida and Tennessee are set for a primetime matchup at 7:00 pm with the game broadcasted on ESPN with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Holly Rowe on the call.
Florida Gators staff pushing the message
Taking Napier’s lead from Monday, Florida Gators Assistant AD of Recruiting Strategy Katie Turner and Gators Director of Football Recruiting & External Engagement Bri Wade both tweeted encouraging fans to wear blue.
The Gators will have a star-studded list of recruits in attendance this weekend, including five-star quarterback D.J. Lagway.
Keep up with who the Florida Gators expect to have in town this week. Gators Online has a running list of the prospects that are expected to be in attendance.
