As our beloved Football season comes to an end, why not go out with a bang? After all, there’s nothing more exciting and dear to our heart than Gators football right? Here’s a few tracks to celebrate our last home game this weekend and the last few weeks of college football season:
1. "We Will Rock You" - Queen
Where would we be without this classic? It’s easier to think of it as a war chant than as an actual record made in a studio. The easiest song to get a mass audience to start with a single stomp-stomp-clap beat, this is certain to get the whole crowd ready for a “good ol' Gator Chomp” of a game.
2. "Turn Down For What" - DJ Snake & Lil Jon
It's really not even just a gameday anthem, but an everyday anthem (that just happens to play at all home games). This song is sure to get everybody "turn't," so to speak and ready to cheer the Gators on to victory.
3. "Let’s Get It Started" - The Black Eyed Peas
The title says it all really. And the opening line from will.i.am says everything we want to say to an opponent really: “In this context, there’s no disrespect so when I bust my rhymes, you break your neck.” Figuratively, of course.
4. "Black Skinhead" - Kanye West
You might not even hear it over the loud screams, but our team actually comes onto the field to the booming bass and drums of this cut off West’s “Yeezus” album. A re-imagining of Marilyn Manson’s "The Beautiful People," the song is perfect for that ubiquitous pre-game warmup jump that we all do when we’re not even a part of the game.
5. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
A classic in every way, the song is an anthem for the youth of past, present and future to unite around a common goal: being yourself and having the greatest time of your life! Can we petition for a name change to “Smells Like Gator Bait”?
6. "We Dem Boyz" - Wiz Khalifa
Put your fists out in front of you, lean back and bounce. Now of course say “Holla Holla Holla! We dem boyz!” Try not to get excited. Wiz Khalifa came back earlier this year with the most effortless hit he’s ever made. Catchy and hype, it’ll be hard for anyone to convince you that you aren’t "dem boyz."
7. "Can’t Hold Us" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton
Thank God we don’t have a ceiling in The Swamp because it couldn’t hold us. “Raise those hands. This is our party. We came here to live life like nobody was watching,” Macklemore booms like a commander of some sorts. Whatever the reason, you can’t help but jump along and feel some sense of pride.
8. "Livin' On A Prayer" - Bon Jovi
Reminiscing about our first (canceled) home game, I remember standing out in the rain by the end zone with my fellow Gators fans as we sang, “Ohhhhhh, we’re halfway there! Ohhh, livin' on a prayer," in unison. Something about Jon Bon Jovi’s conviction leads you to believe absolutely anything is possible no matter how much it looks like you can’t.
9. "Don’t Stop Believin'" - Journey
“Don’t stop believin' Hold on to that feeling,” sings Steve Perry right after Neal Schon nails his guitar solo with such conviction you couldn’t possibly stop believing. It truly solidifies the fact that in all kinds of weather, we all stick together.
10. "We Are the Boys from Old Florida"
Speaking of sticking together, what would the end of the third quarter every game be without this grand song that sticks to our hearts the very moment we first hear it as we try to muffle the words and sway back and forth? A regular old boring game. That’s what it would be. “We Are the Boys from Old Florida” basically summarizes why it’s great to be a Florida Gator, not just on gameday but every day.
