I spent this past Saturday back in Gainesville, Florida. It was where I spent my college years while attending the University of Florida.
I’ll tell anyone who asks, it was the best 6 years of my life. And before you ask, no, I’m not a doctor…or even a lawyer. I just wasn’t in any hurry to leave that environment and the friendships that I built over that time.
I was in town for the Tennessee-Florida football game. UT is one of our more bitter rivals, and UF has its fair share of hated opponents. There’s our in-state foe, Florida State, and SEC opponent (and two-time defending champion) Georgia that could take the top spot for many Gator fans on the “most hated” list, but for me, it’s always been Tennessee. I’m really not sure why, because Florida has always had a pretty good track record against The Volunteers since my time in Gainesville (Tennessee hasn’t won in “The Swamp” since 2003) and I have tons of friends in the state of Tennessee. I’ve had some fun visits to Knoxville for games we won, games we lost, and even a game that I had no dog in the fight (Auburn vs Tennessee in 1989)
As I pulled up into my side-yard parking spot at my fraternity house, I was greeted by Jim, Tom, and Bill. Three of my closest friends. Three guys who were in my wedding. I was in all three of their wedding parties. Three guys I would drop what I was doing to help them with anything they asked. Their “ask” would never be followed by a “why?” It would simply be, “Yes. Where and when?”
We tailgated all afternoon exchanging stories about our college days and talking about our children’s college days. (Yes, we all have children who are in college, recently graduated from college, or will soon be attending college). Another brother, Matt, was there with his wife Becky, and his UF freshman daughter. It was all I could do to hold back on the stories I could have told.
It was “My Generation” and the “next” generation. More relationships to be built…
We Never Missed a Beat
I’ve seen these guys regularly since graduation and at our weddings. We’ve connected at Gator games in Gainesville, on visits to their home cities, and for road trips for Gator games across the SEC. These are “my boys.”
But there’s just something special about every time we meet up.
We laughed. We thought. We would have had no problem crying in front of each other, but this weekend we had no reason to cry.
We talked about family. We talked about our jobs. We talked about the future. We checked all the “FORD” boxes there were to check. We just didn’t do it with any other motive than to talk amongst friends.
The tailgating was awesome. The game was even better, with our underdog Gators pulling off an upset win behind an electric crowd of blue-glad Gator fans in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It was another chapter in the decades-long story of brotherhood and friendships.
It was a perfect example of building relationships and then deepening them with every single encounter you have.
Who knows where you might build your next relationship? Who knows where you might have an opportunity to deepen an old relationship? You’ll definitely know it’s a true relationship when you never miss a beat from one connection to the next.
To paraphrase the song “We Are the Boys” that is sung at the end of the third quarter at Florida Gator football games,
“In all kinds of weather, we all stick together…”