Just because the grass is greener, shorter or thicker on the other side doesn't mean it's more fun to play in.
The UF soccer team begins a six-game home stint tonight when it hosts Duke, and so far this season, home is where the Gators' heart is.
The team is 2-0 at home versus 1-2 on the road.
While the team has struggled on the road, UF coach Becky Burleigh said the trip was good experience for the younger players.
Playing away from home also provided the team with a glimpse of what happens when things don't go the Gators' way.
"There's going to be days where you can't really connect, so how are you going to win games when you're not in that rhythm?" Burleigh said Monday at a press conference.
While playing on the road is a staple of any level of athletics, there is a certain routine to be established at home that can't be mimicked on the road.
Sleeping in your own bed, knowing what to expect, not having to worry about making up schoolwork missed because of travel: all perks of home-field advantage.
"I'd play all our games at home if we could," Burleigh said.
Playing at home means playing on a field UF knows all too well. And soccer fields aren't the same everywhere.
The ball moves differently on different grass surfaces, just like in golf.
"It's like a different climate," midfielder Erika Tymrak said.
At UF, the grass is thinner, which makes for a faster-moving ball that rolls smoothly across the surface. The grass fields in Indiana and Illinois were thicker, which meant a slower-moving ball.
"We like to have fast balls on the ground, so it made it difficult at times (in the Midwest)," midfielder Jessica Eicken said.
Three consecutive weekends of home play means the Gators will have a relaxed rest of September.
"Personally, I'm done with traveling," defender Caitlin Howard said. "I think it's going to be good to have home advantage and all our fans out here and getting a lot of rest, too."
The Gators will have to hope the timeless remedy of rest and relaxation found on a home field yields results.
Eicken said playing at home is more relaxing because there are no worries about what homework needs to be made up or what time zone you're in.
It's a vastly different atmosphere for the Gators at home, where they can practice on the playing field a day before the game.
"It starts with the warmups. It doesn't start with the whistle being blown," senior Lauren Hyde said.
And being at home means home cooking for those pre-game meals. Three straight weekends of that may spoil some people, and it remains to be seen for UF.
"You can get a little too comfortable (at home)," Eicken said. "But I think with having a couple more weekends traveling away, it's not going to have a big effect on us."
If nothing else, playing at home means one thing: the opponent is doing all the traveling.
So for the rest of September, while the opponents rack up the travel miles, the Gators will look to rack up the wins at home, sweet home.
