Bronco LB 59
05-20-2006, 05:03 PM
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2006/05/16/a1c_gators_0516.html
Officials aim to dry out UF-Georgia football 'cocktail party'
By Edgar Thompson
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
GAINESVILLE — The Florida-Georgia football game — the so-called "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" — looks to sober up and repair its inebriated image.
Those closely involved with the event want the national media to support them and not use the widely recognized moniker during the promotion and reporting of the annual rivalry game in Jacksonville.
Georgia President Michael Adams publicly addressed the matter last week as the university looks to curb underage drinking and binge drinking. Both schools have worked together with the SEC and Jacksonville city officials to change the event's long-standing reputation for heavy alcohol consumption.
In January, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive sent a letter to CBS, ESPN and Jefferson-Pilot to ask each to avoid the nickname in the future, said Greg McGarity, senior associate athletics director at Florida.
"It's kind of been under the radar," he said. "But a lot of work has been going on."
McGarity said UF President Bernie Machen and Athletic Director Jeremy Foley sent a letter to Slive in November in the wake of a student's death suspected to involve alcohol. After last year's game, a group of men beat a UF student to death a block from the city's Landing area, a popular spot for drinking.
In another death related to alcohol, a UF student apparently fell to his death from a parking garage after the 2004 game.
"UF has a broad range of actions it is taking to address these issues," Machen said Monday in a statement.
Last week, Adams again raised concerns about excessive alcohol consumption at the game and on college campuses in general in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"There are things we can all do to change the culture," Adams told the newspaper. "We are trying to develop (a different culture) here and there."
CBS will do its part to help change the game's "cocktail party" image.
"It's not the focus and hasn't been the focus of our coverage of that game," spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade said. "We focus on the rivalry, the tradition of the game.
"We would certainly work with the schools on how the game is positioned if there's a concern there."
Wade said the network hasn't been formally approached about the matter, but the nickname "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" has been used many times on the air.
The city of Jacksonville intentionally avoids use of the moniker to promote the game, said Susie Wiles, a spokeswoman for the mayor's office. But she said the game could struggle to alter perceptions.
"It's been the game's longtime calling card," she said. "I don't think these things change overnight.
"But all would be well served."
McGarity, a Georgia graduate and member of UF's staff since 1992, said the city of Jacksonville dropped the nickname to promote the game in the early 1980s.
"It's been taboo to refer to that for a number of years," he said. "Back in the '70s and '80s the culture was different. Now the culture has changed and both institutions are sensitive to underage drinking and binge drinking."
Fans might be slow to follow. To some, the Florida-Georgia game will be known for tailgating as much as touchdowns.
"We'll all know what it is whether they say it or not," said Jason West, president of the Palm Beach County Gator Club. "But we don't want the game to be associated with huge partying and people getting hurt.
"I'm like Switzerland, they can do whatever they want."
Officials aim to dry out UF-Georgia football 'cocktail party'
By Edgar Thompson
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
GAINESVILLE — The Florida-Georgia football game — the so-called "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" — looks to sober up and repair its inebriated image.
Those closely involved with the event want the national media to support them and not use the widely recognized moniker during the promotion and reporting of the annual rivalry game in Jacksonville.
Georgia President Michael Adams publicly addressed the matter last week as the university looks to curb underage drinking and binge drinking. Both schools have worked together with the SEC and Jacksonville city officials to change the event's long-standing reputation for heavy alcohol consumption.
In January, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive sent a letter to CBS, ESPN and Jefferson-Pilot to ask each to avoid the nickname in the future, said Greg McGarity, senior associate athletics director at Florida.
"It's kind of been under the radar," he said. "But a lot of work has been going on."
McGarity said UF President Bernie Machen and Athletic Director Jeremy Foley sent a letter to Slive in November in the wake of a student's death suspected to involve alcohol. After last year's game, a group of men beat a UF student to death a block from the city's Landing area, a popular spot for drinking.
In another death related to alcohol, a UF student apparently fell to his death from a parking garage after the 2004 game.
"UF has a broad range of actions it is taking to address these issues," Machen said Monday in a statement.
Last week, Adams again raised concerns about excessive alcohol consumption at the game and on college campuses in general in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"There are things we can all do to change the culture," Adams told the newspaper. "We are trying to develop (a different culture) here and there."
CBS will do its part to help change the game's "cocktail party" image.
"It's not the focus and hasn't been the focus of our coverage of that game," spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade said. "We focus on the rivalry, the tradition of the game.
"We would certainly work with the schools on how the game is positioned if there's a concern there."
Wade said the network hasn't been formally approached about the matter, but the nickname "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" has been used many times on the air.
The city of Jacksonville intentionally avoids use of the moniker to promote the game, said Susie Wiles, a spokeswoman for the mayor's office. But she said the game could struggle to alter perceptions.
"It's been the game's longtime calling card," she said. "I don't think these things change overnight.
"But all would be well served."
McGarity, a Georgia graduate and member of UF's staff since 1992, said the city of Jacksonville dropped the nickname to promote the game in the early 1980s.
"It's been taboo to refer to that for a number of years," he said. "Back in the '70s and '80s the culture was different. Now the culture has changed and both institutions are sensitive to underage drinking and binge drinking."
Fans might be slow to follow. To some, the Florida-Georgia game will be known for tailgating as much as touchdowns.
"We'll all know what it is whether they say it or not," said Jason West, president of the Palm Beach County Gator Club. "But we don't want the game to be associated with huge partying and people getting hurt.
"I'm like Switzerland, they can do whatever they want."