Florida: Saturdays at the Swamp (Hardcover)

by David Stirt (Author) "John James Tigert probably never imagined that the stadium he first championed in 1928 when he arrived in Gainesville as the University of Florida's third..." (more)
Key Phrases: Florida Field, University of Florida, Fleming Field (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls The Swamp "the loudest, most obnoxious and notorious piece of real estate in all of college football." The Florida Gators call it home. With humidity reminiscent of a rain forest, on-field temperatures often topping 125 degrees, and the wildest fans in America, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, also known as "The Swamp," is universally regarded as one of the toughest stadiums for opposing teams to play. Saturdays at the Swamp captures, in words and photos, the unique experience that is game day at The Swamp.

About the Author
David Stirt has been a keen observer of the Gator football scene for a quarter of a century, first as the editor of Go Gators magazine, then as the founder and publisher of Gator Bait newspaper, and most recently as the editor and publisher of FightinÂ’ Gators magazine. In addition to his publishing activities, he taught sports reporting in the University of Florida College of Journalism for eight years and was a graduate student at UF after earning his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Stirt served as the president and executive director of the College Sports Publishers Association for nine years and is currently a publishing consultant with Citadel Media, LLC, the parent company of Citadel Publishing and TheInsiders.com network of sports websites.

Glenn Danforth is one of AmericaÂ’s top documentary photojournalists whose work has earned a variety of prestigious awards in sports, news, and feature photography and has graced magazine covers and appeared in newspapers worldwide. He has covered the Florida Gators for the past five seasons and been widely recognized for his ability to go beyond the scope of traditional sports photography to capture the passion, drama, and unique thrill of game day at The Swamp.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582611130
• ISBN-13: 978-1582611136
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,036,431 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful coffee table book on The Swamp, April 24, 2005

By	Raymond Hines III "It's GREAT to be a FLORIDA... (Gainesville, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Make no mistake, this isn't a history book on the Florida Gators. What it is, though, is a great "coffee table" book on the game day atmosphere in The Swamp where the Florida Gators play (and opponents fear to tread!).

The star of the book (as it should be for coffee table books!) are the photographs. The photographer, Glenn Danforth, is world class and it shows in the photos - they're stunningly beautiful and make the book a worthy one to have in your collection.

Not only that, the photos are often taken from unique perspectives and areas that the every day fan doesn't have access to, giving even more insight into what goes on.

I love the book and so does my Dad, whom I bought a copy for. Every Gator ought to own a copy.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's ok but not what you would expect, March 30, 2005

By	S. Stowell "Go Gators" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book expecting that it would be a history of FL Field and the Swamp. It is not even close. It's an OK coffee table book that has some ok pictures of gameday activity during the Zook years and some text that does give a brief history of how Florida Field was developed. There is a nice interview with Mr. 2 Bits but a good portion of the book is talking about Bull Gator Stumpy Harris and his tailgating activities. Overall just an average book. Buy the history of FL Football which is far better.