A guide to the inaugural Tom Petty Day at The Swamp
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Swamp will rock to the tune of Tom Petty this weekend as the Gators will celebrate the inaugural Tom Petty Day at The Swamp in conjunction with Florida’s sold-out game against LSU Saturday.
For complete details on all the events surrounding Tom Petty Day at The Swamp, visit the official Tom Petty Day at The Swamp website at FloridaGators.com/TomPettyDay<https://floridagators.com/sports/2022/9/29/tom-petty-day.aspx>.
Gator Nation will honor the legendary music icon and Gainesville native all weekend long, starting Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Chomp the Block at Celebration Pointe, the official block party of the Florida Gators, and continuing Saturday before and during the game.
Airstream pop-up shops featuring the Tom Petty Day X Florida Collection will be available Friday night at Celebration Pointe and Saturday at Gator Walk Village in the North Lawn, starting at 4 p.m. The Gator SportShop<https://floridagators.com/sports/2015/12/10/sportshop.aspx> locations at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and the UF Bookstore<https://www.bkstr.com/floridastore/shop/specialty-shops/tom-petty-day-x-florida-collection> location on campus will also carry items from the co-branded merchandise line.
The Tom Petty Estate is donating its full proceeds from the sales of the Tom Petty Day X Florida Collection merchandise to give back to underserved communities in Gainesville. Kids Count<https://www.kidscountalachuacounty.org/> and Family Promise<https://www.familypromisegvl.org/> will be the recipients this year. Kids Count supports education and early childhood interventions with an emphasis on literacy, while Family Promise works to bring families out of homelessness by providing housing and employment resources.
Additionally, SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio<https://www.siriusxm.com/channels/tom-petty-radio> will be stationed outside Spurrier’s on Friday night and outside the Gator SportShop on the North Lawn beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The channel will host a live broadcast on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on channel 31.
Inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, fans can check out the Tom Petty Day Interactive 360 video booth outside Gate 1 prior to the game. Limited-edition souvenir cups commemorating Tom Petty Day will be available at concession stands throughout the stadium, and the first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive “Won’t Back Down” rally towels courtesy of T-Mobile<https://www.t-mobile.com/>.
Gator Nation will enjoy hit songs and custom mixes from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee during breaks in the action and Tom Petty-themed performances by the Florida Gators Spirit Teams during the game. Additionally, the UF Marching Band will perform a special tribute show during halftime, leading up to the traditional “I Won’t Back Down” sing-along at the end of the third quarter break.
Fans are encouraged to be part of the Gator Light Show<https://floridagators.com/news/2022/9/16/football-light-up-the-swamp-with-the-new-gator-lights-show.aspx>, presented by Pepsi, during the playing and singing of the “I Won’t Back Down” Tom Petty tribute. Make sure to have Gator Lights open (instructions<https://floridagators.com/news/2022/9/16/football-light-up-the-swamp-with-the-new-gator-lights-show.aspx>) at the start of the third quarter break to be part of the show!
Petty, a native of Gainesville, grew up in the area and worked as a groundskeeper at the university in his younger years. He often played at Gainesville area venues before moving to Los Angeles to launch his legendary musical career with The Heartbreakers, many of whom were also local to Gainesville. As a tribute to the singer and local icon following his death in 2017, the university played Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” one of the late artist’s biggest hits, in a game against the LSU Tigers in which 90,000 fans joined in a chill-inducing sing along that rang loudly through Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Since then, the song has been played between the third and fourth quarters of home football games and has become one of the favorite traditions amongst Florida fans.
“Tom Petty and his music has become engrained in the game day experience at The Swamp and serves as a community building rally cry for Gator fans,” said Scott Stricklin, Athletics Director at the University of Florida. “We are excited to work with the Petty family to commemorate a Gainesville son through our upcoming game day celebration and this unique merchandise collection, and we know our fan base will proudly honor his connection to the university.”
The university has also announced it will award the legendary icon an honorary Doctor of Music in May 2023.
“Raised right here in Gainesville-Tom Petty is a clear and shining example of the deep roots that art has in this community, and a steadfast and intentional guardian of his and others’ artistic freedoms and creative controls,” University of Florida College of the Arts dean Onye Ozuzu said. “He was also clearly a thoughtful and responsive member of his community at large, and always made sure to give back as a philanthropist in ways that could improve the lives of others. Mr. Petty’s work is exemplary of the excellence, distinctiveness, and overall impact that we hope our students will emulate.”
Florida and LSU are set for a 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN Saturday. In August, the game was announced as an official sellout, marking the third of the season.
