The song was released in 1989 and UF didn't really do anything until after Petty passed away in 2017.
Well we could play a random song with zero meaning other than you can jump around to it. Or we could play a song that was written by a band from another state (Sweet Home Alabama) because we didn’t have a home town band that could write anything near that caliber or that anyone knows. Or — we can embrace the fact that we’re the only college town that can lay claim to a band as iconic as TPATH — arguably the greatest American Rock n’ Roll band of all time — who’s leader loved and embraced his hometown. No other college can lay claim to a music act in the same stratosphere as Petty and the Heartbreakers. The meaning behind playing Tom’s song makes the tradition worlds better than Wisconsin or Penn St playing a beat that you can jump up and down too but has zero significance to the University or city. Even the ESPN announcers at the end of the 3rd of the Missouri game commented, “and now it’s Tom Petty time — we’ve been waiting for this!”
I figured one person would have issues with that. But my point is, you can still pay homage but also consider maybe something that pumps up the crowd. You may not care for the meaning of "Jump Around," but 90% of popular songs have inane meanings. Hell, you can pay homage to Tom Petty with a museum. Shoot, name a street off of him (always hated 34th anyway). I'm just saying its not a song that elicits a crowd reaction (watch that Wisconsin video again, and countless others online....student section is jacked!) As for greatest American rock band...debatable, but unnecessary to debate. I'll just say that we're not the only school in the country that has a great musical act associated with it. "Damn Straight...tell em Swamspring!" - Uncle Luke and five rando Cane Fans. Swampspring, "I said Great!"
Well Lynyrd Skynrd wasn't from another State, but apparently recorded songs at Muscle Shoals, AL. However we do have a great song from another Jacksonville band and I can't fathom why they don't play this song at every game:
Let's not give those chumps up north any great ideas. The last thing we need are Creed song being played at Doak Campbell.
BTW, I was at a tailgate as a kid in the early 90s sometime and someone was blaring that song...brings back some good times.
Ive also noticed UK has stolen our dueling Blue-Orange with their Blue-White and how the Vols now have stolen "Its great to be a..." as have many other teams.
My point was Alabama plays a song by a band from another state because Tuscaloosa doesn’t have a famous band of their own to lay claim to.
I highly doubt I’m the only person that has an issue with swapping out a song that lays claim to an iconic hometown hero which promotes and adds to the tradition and history of Gainesville and UF (college football is nothing if not about tradition and history) — for a random meaningless beat for 30 seconds of “fake juice” (that’s what Tim Tebow called it). And I wrote “arguably” — which is the same as “debatable” — obviously there’s never going to be a complete consensus when it comes to “best of” in music — but any discussion of the Greatest American Rock Band will have TP firmly in the conversation — and it’s an elite few that would make that discussion each and every time. I also never said no other college town has a music act associated with it — I said no other has a truly iconic one on the same kind of elite level (and don’t say REM — not in the same stratosphere). I’d certainly love to hear any you think have the same iconic status as TPATH. For a tiny college town like Gainesville to be the beloved home town of an icon is something to be incredibly proud of and something no other college is able to compete with.
Gravitas. Authenticity. It is another data point to argue that the Philadelphia Eagles stole "Won't Back Down" from UF, which was the OP assertion. There are other songs we could use for the Gators that are perhaps cooler or more "run through the wall" motivators, but none of the others meet all of these requirements: 1) written/ sung by a Gainesville native 2) generally well-known song lyrics 3) uniquely supported by the artist (or their estate if deceased).
Gator Country by Molly Hatchet was out in the 70s, and I never understood why it wasn't at least played right before kickoff. It would've been every bit as iconic as Sweet Home Alabama, plus it disses Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
