The Florida Gators were home on Saturday and their fans found a way to give tribute to hometown hero Tom Petty. The musician, who died on Monday, was a Gainesville native.
Florida offered a simple tribute to the music legend on Saturday, playing his hit “I Won’t Back Down” during a stoppage in play while the Gators took on LSU at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Fans sang and clapped along, making for a surprisingly emotional moment during a commercial break at a sporting event.
https://twitter.com/FloridaGators/status/916793476343324673
“This one’s for you, @TomPetty.” the Gators Twitter account tweeted on Saturday. It was an incredibly cool moment and a worthy tribute to the rock legend. Hopefully it turns into the type of thing that becomes a tradition during Gators home games.
Some Florida fans were upset on social media that the LSU band seemed to be playing “We are the Boys” during the tribute, but the videos make it clear that the fans singing drowned the instrumental out, with nearly the entire stadium singing along.
RIP Tom Petty. pic.twitter.com/8akHgv3hKd
— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) October 7, 2017
As for what happened when the game resumed, well, it wasn’t exactly the best news for the Gator faithful. LSU held off a late rally from Florida and won on the road, 17-16.
