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- Unlike years past, this year’s Florida/Florida State game will be played on Black Friday instead of the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
- Football fans in Florida are very upset about the schedule change.
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Florida and Florida State have played one another on the Saturday following Thanksgiving for quite some time. That is set to change in 2022 and football fans in the Sunshine State are furious.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, this year’s meeting between the Gators and Seminoles, which was previously scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26, will be played on Friday, Nov. 25. The game will be played at Doak Campbell Stadium in primetime on national television.
It will mark the rivalry debut of new Florida head coach Billy Napier, and could be the deciding factor for Mike Norvell’s future at Florida State, depending on how the rest of the season goes. It is a big game, but the quality of the two programs has certainly been lesser in recent years.
There are a few reasons why this change is a big deal:
- Out-of-town fans, and particularly students, may not be able to travel as well without the buffer day after Thanksgiving.
- Black Friday business in Tallahassee may be affected as people watch or attend the game instead of shopping.
- Last year’s Florida High School Athletic Association football regional games were played on the day after Thanksgiving, which could cause a conflict with the in-state Florida rivalry.
- South Florida and Central Florida typically play on Black Friday.
- Tradition.
As a result of the change, college football fans in Florida are very upset.
Many of them took to Reddit to share their thoughts. Some more rational than others.
- “Someone wants to try and make more money so they screw with the rest of us.”
- “Apparently the ACC really thinks they’ll have a killer slate of rivalry games more compelling that this one.”
- “Appears literally no fans want this.”
- “Dang this rivalry got so bad it got downgraded to Friday.”
- “Laaaaaaaame.”
- “Thanks, I hate it.”
- “I’m going to blame FSU being bad for this one.”
- “Well, I blame the Gators for firing their coach.”
- “Both of our administrations are letting the fans down. This is on both schools.”
- “Ok that’s it, I’m totally in favor of leaving this trash conference. F*** this s***, we literally built this trash ass conference, walked so lil Clemson could run and Tobacco road continues to f*** us.”
- “It’s so obvious at this point… the ACC is trash. What student is gonna go to this game? Best case scenario you’re driving all day and don’t get to tailgate.”
- “It’s annoying to me that the broadcasters will mainly benefit. Does this even help Tallahassee? My guess is that there will be less spending in town because fans won’t want to spend Thursday night in town, whereas they may have spent Friday and Saturday nights in town if the game were on a Saturday… Seems like an inconvenience more than anything else.”
- “Not a fan at all. This means we’ll have to convince my in-laws to let us host Thanksgiving this year. They are scheduled to host, and they always make a ton of noise at their house during games. They’re also not big drinkers and I’m gonna need a fierce buzz for this one. I try to respect their wishes at their house, but if it’s at my place I’ll be good and blasted for this one.”
- “I hope fsu doesn’t forget it’s changed days. Would hate for them to miss the kickoff…”
- “Oh good, now we can all see the thrilling conclusion of Virginia-Virginia Tech on Saturday.”
Clearly, the decision did not go over well. Sorry, Florida. Maybe if your teams produced a better product, this wouldn’t be an issue.