Carter's Corner: Orange & Orange (End Zones, That is)
Friday, November 2, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gators' turf staff, the crew that gets Florida Field ready for game day, used more orange paint than usual for Saturday's Homecoming game against Missouri.
Both end zones are painted orange, with the traditional blue lettering spelling "Florida" in the south end zone and "Gators" in the north end zone.
The Gators will keep the orange-painted end zones for their final three regular-season games at home. Florida hosts South Carolina next week and Idaho the following week in the 2018 Swamp finale.
Florida Field's look as remained consistent over the years since former head coach Steve Spurrier arrived in 1990 and led the way for the natural grass to be installed, replacing the artificial turf that was put in place in 1971 under then-UF coach Doug Dickey. Based on initial research, it appears the last time the Florida Field end zones were painted orange was the 1989 regular-season finale against Florida State, Emmitt Smith's final home game.
In recent years, the most significant change to the playing surface was in 2012 when the Gator Head logo replaced the block "F" at midfield and the "Fast F" was inserted at the 35-yard lines. A new type of turf was also installed the previous summer.
The Gators-Missouri game kicks off at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network on Saturday.
Both end zones are painted orange, with the traditional blue lettering spelling "Florida" in the south end zone and "Gators" in the north end zone.
With the high potential of rain today, we finished painting @GatorsFB yesterday. Crew did an amazing job finishing a day early. Hopefully the rain will not be too heavy and the paint still look good for homecoming. #GoGators pic.twitter.com/FjA9obdlrD
— Gators Turf Staff (@GatorTurfStaff) November 2, 2018
The Gators will keep the orange-painted end zones for their final three regular-season games at home. Florida hosts South Carolina next week and Idaho the following week in the 2018 Swamp finale.
👀#TheSwamp 🐊 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/bOPoRxr1nd
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) November 2, 2018
Florida Field's look as remained consistent over the years since former head coach Steve Spurrier arrived in 1990 and led the way for the natural grass to be installed, replacing the artificial turf that was put in place in 1971 under then-UF coach Doug Dickey. Based on initial research, it appears the last time the Florida Field end zones were painted orange was the 1989 regular-season finale against Florida State, Emmitt Smith's final home game.
In recent years, the most significant change to the playing surface was in 2012 when the Gator Head logo replaced the block "F" at midfield and the "Fast F" was inserted at the 35-yard lines. A new type of turf was also installed the previous summer.
The Gators-Missouri game kicks off at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network on Saturday.
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