As many of you may have heard, a UF student recently posted a video about the UF/FSU rivalry in the form of a parody cover of Lorde’s “Royals.” Naturally, the Gator Nation and Seminole fans have put in their two cents about it, and an FSU fan even made a response video. Our partners at Her Campus FSU also posted an article about the original video, and now we feel the need to respond. Before you continue, please watch this – especially if you have no idea what videos we’re talking about:
“Seminoles,” original video by UF student
Now here are four reasons UF’s original video still wins:
1. It’s not supposed to be taken seriously. It’s satire. Kira Silverman, the UF student behind the video, specifically told the Independent Florida Alligator, “The music video is a satire of the entire rivalry in general.” In addition, the description of the video reads, “We also joke about our own school. And no we don’t actually think we’re better than FSU because of Gatorade.”
2. It was created for a student organization. Silverman is a part of Generation Sketch Comedy, Gainesville’s longest-running sketch comedy troupe. Its most recent show, “Generation 18 Presents: Love Free or Die Hard” took place April 17 and 19, about a week after the video was posted on April 11. Silverman told the Alligator, “This was not intended to be a serious jab at FSU. It was a basic song that we thought would appeal to our friends and other students in order to draw them to our show.” GSC is also known for its videos that use UF to parody the Make It Reitz campaign and Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” You know what they always say: Don’t dish it out, if you can’t take it. I’d say we can take it.
“FSU Loyals” an FSU student’s response
3. Four words: the response from FSU.First, watch the video above. UF’s video was a joke, but this guy is dead-serious. Naturally, I guessed he was a Florida State fan, and after further research, I confirmed he is an FSU student. I’m not publishing his name here because it’s irrelevant. First of all, his singing is completely off timing-wise, but that’s not a big deal; he may not be very familiar with Lorde’s original. I think the most memorable quote from this poor guy’s video is, “We’re still at Florida State in our dreams.” Maybe he’s nervous, but I’ll just leave that there and let you decide. However, the worst part of this entire response video is when he says, “Pulitzers, Nobel, f*** it, Ted Bundy. We don’t care.” I’m sorry. Since when is it cool to glamourize serial killers and rapists? … Oh wait.
4. HC FSU’s article (and video comments) said UF didn’t invent Gatorade. Just no.The girl in the original video can be seen with Gatorade being poured on her head and body a lot. Is it the most attractive thing in the world? No. But again, this video isn’t serious. However, although we always support our fellow collegiettes™, HC FSU’s “5 Ways UF’s Attempt to Troll FSU Backfires” claims its university is actually the institution behind Gatorade, which is inaccurate. These claims can also be seen in numerous comments on each video.
In 1998, ABC aired a segment during the annual Florida-Florida State football game that said Gatorade was originally called “Seminole Firewater” and invented by FSU’s team physician R.A. Johnson. An ESPN spokesman was later quoted in the Alligator saying the airing was a mistake: “While we had multiple sources for the information, we did not research that information thoroughly enough to put it on the air,” he said. Tomahawk Nation, a website that is clearly pro-Seminoles, cites another website that doesn’t even work anymore to say, “Contrary to popular belief, the University of Florida did not come up with the sports drink that is now known as Gatorade. The team doctor for the FSU football team, Dr. R.A. Johnson, began producing a sports drink that he called “Seminole Firewater” as early as 1962. Dr. Johnson blended sugar and lime flavoring with electrolytes (salts) to help keep the players hydrated and to prevent cramping. In 1964 at an annual Seminar of Collegiate sports physicians and athletic trainers held in Tallahassee, Fl., a representative from the University of Florida found out about the discovery that sodium and potassium keeps athletes better hydrated because it gives back to the body what is lost through sweat. They returned to Gainesville and, after being tested on the UF football players, the name “Gatorade” was given. The University of Florida requested a certified patent in 1967 for the drink that Dr. Johnson had freely shared with the public.”
Even if this is true, the keywords are “freely shared with the public.” In the previously referenced Alligator article, then-FSU spokeswoman Browning Brooks is attributed to have said she thought, “FSU was developing a similar product around the same time but said she doesn’t think Gatorade’s unique formula was created first at FSU.” Can we say with 100 percent certainty that the researchers did not consult FSU researchers? No. But according to a 2008 CNBC article, many universities were experimenting with sweetened beverages for athletes, including Rutgers University.
At the end of the day, the formula for Gatorade was created by four UF researchers – Dr. Robert Cade, Dr. Dana Shires, Dr. Harry J. Free, and Dr. Alejandro de Quesada – in a lab at the university’s College of Medicine and patented in 1967, and the patent, which the researchers had to apply for, could have taken years to officially obtain.
Let’s be honest: The UF/FSU rivalry will probably never die. But do we really want it to? Would our Fall semesters be the same without our annual Sunshine Showdown or our random bench-clearing baseball brawls? You’d be lying if you said yes. College rivalries give schools a sense of pride, a sense of community, and a second family. Now, could these videos have been executed better? Yes, of course. The quality was mediocre, and comments are attacking the appearances of the two people in the video rather than the overall content. Neither video was that great. But it’s still great to be a Florida Gator, and that’s all that matters.