Weather Trouble for Cotton Bowl?

Based on our conversations, P-Cola was exceptionally bad. He has worked for four different Florida agencies. Three in the panhandle/Big Bend.

 

I was living in Honolulu then. Thankfully.

 

Looks like they could play a Winter Classic hockey game there! I didn't realize Florida Field had turf at one time, must have been just before I became a fan in the early 90's?

 

I was in G'ville then too....for some reason I don't recall the super cold weather that January....its interesting how its easier to recall certain weather around significant life events. I'll bet a lot of those who were living and old enough to recall know what the weather was like the day JFK got shot too.

One thing, though was that I was so thrilled to be in Gainesville at UF just starting a Grad program that month. I was over the moon and probably didn't notice the weather at all!

 

january 21 1985

 

I remember when all the Nile Perch in Lake Alice died. Wow what a stink (literally) that caused. I can't recall the year, but I know it was sometime before 1/1/04 because I was working at UF at the time and used to run around the lake at lunchtime.

 

Yep, Doug's Rug. Damn thing had a heck of crown on that field at that time for drainage purposes. If you were running toward one of the sidelines from the middle you were going downhill.

 

Terrible artificial turf (carpet on concrete) for all of the 80s. Upgraded to a new artificial turf in 87. Spurrier arrived in 90 and first thing he did was install grass and switch back to blue unis. It was beautiful.

 

There was another bad one I think it was '89. My car door was frozen shut and couldn't get my key in the lock to unlock it. Had to heat up some water in the apartment to thaw it out. No keyless entry back then on my 1979 ford fairmont.

 

Yeah back before they pulled up the rug, you could go out and play on it, as long as no one was practicing. I could not believe how hard it was, and that there wasn’t an injury on every play. It was basically concrete. Even to this day that is crazy to think about.

 

Nobody trusts them here. There's some good ones, and some bad ones

 

Agree. I remember running and then planting a foot to make a turn and my foot stuck in place. It’s amazing there weren’t more injuries. I also remember standing on the sidelines and looking across and not being able to see the other sideline due to the crown in the middle

 

We got out there once for track- no idea why and I realize it makes no sense in hindsight. But I know we did in the mid 80s.
My reaction was just like yours- I could not believe how hard it was.
I could not believe they expected football players to actually tackle/ fall/ dive/ whatever on this green concrete.
It almost seemed criminal to me.

Spurrier actually made pulling up the rug and installing grass one of the conditions of his hiring.
I guess that's one of 1000 reasons I love the guy so much.

 

Damn. I am old. I was thinking of the REAL Cotton Bowl, on the Texas State Fair grounds...where men were men, and cows were skeered.

 

Yep, and hot as hell come Aug/Sept.

 

fwiw:

 

I remember a bunch of disoriented FSU kids returning home after Christmas break and got off at Archer exit thinking they were in Tallahassee two hours early. Follow your nose.

 

When I was there, on Sunday afternoons, we used to go to Florida Field and play pickup games. It was great. A lot of rug burns. Nailed my career long 42 yard field goal to the south end zone. Remember it like it was yesterday. Me and my roomies went nuts as it barely crossed over the crossbar.

 

Spurrier's first order of business when he arrived - natural grass field.