Gator Growl: a night of laughs, talent and spirit

Despite wet seats and an uncomfortably chilly night, about 35,000 to 40,000 students, parents and alumni raided the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Friday night for Gator Growl. We were genuinely impressed by the array of talent that was brought out for the night - both local and national. America's Best Dance Crew season one winner, JabbaWockeeZ, received the biggest response from the crowd as they wowed us with their array of street/hip-hop/interpretive/theatrical dance moves. The crowd roared when they switched up the mix with a dance to Michael Jackson's P.Y.T., and a very effeminate choreography to Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).

Local dance groups like Sabor Latino and Apocalypse could have given JabbaWockkeZ a run for their money, and we would have loved to see a battle between the groups.

The whole night alternated between a vibe of play-along hip-hop beats and comedy skits. Dana Carvey got the job done as he joked about everything from safe sex to Obama's name. He ended the skit by beating his own world record of the most impressions done in one minute, while Danny Wuerffel kept time.


The only fail of the night will have to go to the fraternity boys Lonely-Island-esque video. The comedy in The Lonely Island videos comes from the ironic douchiness of Andy, Akiva and Jorma - the frat boys' video missed the ironic element.

In between skits and musical acts, the homecoming king and queen were announced to be Kristen Gillis and Chris Emmanuel. Check out our interviews with the Homecoming Court.
By the end of the evening, the Gator crowd was clearly sad about the farewell of the all-star, senior class football players, but spirits were high that the Gators would devour the Razorbacks for the Homecoming game, (which of course they did.) Pasadena here we come!

Check out more photos from the weekend at INsiteMagazine.com.

--Story by Stephanie Granada; Photos by John Davisson

P.S. After the Growl, we spotted Dana Carvey with fans at Hillel's Olam Cafe! (Photo by Rodney Rogers)