Florida Football Team To Honor Gainesville Native Tom Petty On Saturday

The Florida football program is set to honor a Gainesville native this weekend.
On Thursday, it was announced that the legendary Tom Petty will be honored by the Gators ahead of this weekend’s clash with SEC rival LSU — which is Florida’s homecoming game.
“Let’s celebrate together what he meant to the world of music and what he meant to this community,” Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said.
“Since we are already singing ‘We are the Boys,’ let’s go right from that into one of his great anthems and make that the way we are going to jointly celebrate Tom Petty and the Gators.”
Florida will do the following to embrace Petty’s legacy:

At the end of the third quarter, after the UF band plays “We Are the Boys from Old Florida” and fans lock arms and sway as they sing the UF spirit song, Petty’s famous tune “I Won’t Back Down” will blast across Steve Spurrier/Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to honor a local legend treasured by Gator Nation and far beyond.

“We encourage fans to sing along as a way to honor a local legend and share a special moment in his music,” said Alicia Longworth, assistant athletics director of marketing and promotions. “Tom Petty is a beloved figure for so many Gator fans.”
Perhaps Florida will start a new tradition.
LSU and Florida are set to square off on Saturday evenin in the SEC Game of the Week.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.


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