A short political speech is a good political speech, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said at the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity house Saturday.
The front lawn filled with more than 300 people for Jindal's 10-minute speech. Gators for McCain and the Alachua County Republican Party sponsored the event.
His appearance was paid for by Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's campaign.
Tau Kappa Epsilon donated the venue.
Although Jindal couldn't stay to watch the football game, he gave autographs and took pictures with supporters after his speech.
Jindal said in an interview that when he was a freshman, he was involved in a presidential election campaign as part of College Republicans.
"It's encouraging to see students, even on a big football day, to take time out and get involved in the campaign," Jindal said.
Although he rallied a number of supporters in his speech for McCain, he couldn't deny the UF-LSU rivalry.
"Look, SEC football is the most competitive football conference in the country," he said. "You've got two back-to-back, former national championships here - that's just unprecedented within the same conference.
"You've got great rivalry, strong fans on both sides, and that's a great thing."
Alireza Dayerizadeh, a UF building construction junior, said he was impressed with the governor's speech.
"He seemed like a real people's person," Dayerizadeh said.
Despite the rivalry, everything was peaceful during the rally, said Jessica Corbett, the events coordinator for Gators for McCain.
"It was great to be able to finally be on the same page as LSU fans without the intense hatred," Corbett said.
