This week's big event

Sometimes it seems like the entire community has been getting ready for a great big day this week.  There have been months of planning & allocating police & other resources, weeks of coverage in the newspaper & television & of course, the pep rallies will stop traffic. 

That's right, I am talking about Gator Homecoming.

Football is a bit of a mystery to me.  Periodically I have to ask a question about the rules, the names of things & all.  I have never learned what the positions are called (I mean place on the field).  When I was in high school, the high school football team apparently won something important & I did not have a clue.  I would have remained clueless if not for some "Remember When" Facebook-thing.  I didn't remember so much as learn for the first time, but whatever.

It's a funny thing, homecoming.  A didn't realize it had nothing to do with a home game (well it does in that an away game homecoming would be odd) so much as alumni.  Even schools that do not field a football team have an annual homecoming.  Around here, the school shuts down (I know, right) no classes the Friday before & getting through town is a bear.  There is a parade & a pep-rally-sort-of-thing with headline guests (this year it's Tracy Morgan & some country music guy; Fladidah is a melting pot!).  A lot of money comes into town this weekend, national news crews pay a visit as well. 

& this is not all good.  A couple of years ago a person I know who was hiring for MicroSoft declined to go to UF's job fair.  To paraphrase:  I don't have to travel across the country to get a jock-wanna-be party animal who will disappear early Friday & puke on his keyboard Monday.  In many ways, his loss; in order to keep the cream of their public school system in state UF offers a tuition & scholoarship package that is like no other.  As a result more than one undergrad decides to go here instead of anywhere else you can think of.

That's the thing about these high octane events.  What it looks like from the inside or even from just out of the edge bears no resemblance to what it looks like to the majority who only get these glimpses.