When 90,295 fans erupted Saturday as Gators wide receiver Vernell Brown III dodged Florida Atlantic defenders to deliver a 49-yard touchdown reception during the offense’s season-opening drive, the Florida Club Rowing team manned their concessions station, absorbing the energy as it flooded out through the concourse.
Wearing blue T-shirts and Gators caps, 11 club rowers arrived at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium around 3:30 p.m., nearly four hours before kickoff, to set up and take inventory at their concession stands near Gate 1. Working the concessions serves as the team’s primary fundraiser, receiving a portion of the sales and any tips earned, which they use to cover expenses like race fees that cost the team around $75,000 last year.
“We had our own little community outside of the stadium [in the concourse],” club rower Liam Ramsey said. “People [were] hanging around, watching from the TVs, so even though I wasn’t physically in there watching the game, [I] still had an opportunity to be involved with everybody in the area. It feels just as great as being on the inside would.”
The club has both men’s and women’s teams with over 70 UF students competing on the varsity or novice level. In the fall, the teams compete in 5K regattas before shifting to 2K races in the spring. The rowers open their season Nov. 7-8 at the Head of Hooch Regatta in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where last year’s team recorded six top-5 finishes, including two first-place finishes.
Given the sport’s expensive nature, members must work at least one football game or two other sporting events each semester. If rowers work additional games, their $165 monthly club fees are reduced.
“For a lot of us, we incorporate concessions into our payment plans, and I think that’s what makes it worth it to a lot of people,” Brianna Babani, club rowing concessions executive board chair, said. “Just making this more feasible for them financially [to be] part of the team because we all love the team, and the worst part is having to pay for races.”
Katie Purcell, the concessions chair under Babani, communicates shift information with the team and washes the concessions uniforms. Purcell works three football games each fall to lower her fees to around $100 per month, but also uses the experience to grow closer to teammates.
“You all experience it together so you know the work that goes into it and you know how hard it can be,” Purcell said. “If you were to do it alone, it’s awful, but because you’re with your teammates and you get to know everybody, it’s honestly kind of fun. Even if you weren’t friends before, you’re friends now.”
Saturday marked Ramsey’s first Gators football game as a freshman student and concessions worker. He showed up to the shift not knowing his gameday coworkers, only having attended a couple rowing practices. As the Gators stayed busy racking up points during their 66-21 rout over FAU, Ramsey used pockets of downtime to learn about his new teammates, leaving the 8-hour shift knowing seven new names.
“Being able to stand around and watch the game from an outside perspective with all of these random people that I just met, it’s truly a bonding experience, and I really value that,” Ramsey said.
The rowers can still watch the game when working at some stands, but with a delay. Most in attendance at the Gators’ 23-21 win against Mississippi State on Oct. 18 remember the game for Gators defensive lineman Michai Boireau’s last-minute interception that staved off a potential Bulldogs game-winning field goal attempt, but Babani remembers the anticipation of hearing the crowd roar seconds before the play unfolded on TV.
“The energy just goes up,” Babani said. “It’s like the HD version of watching the game at home. It was invigorating.”
After the final whistle, rowers stay for clean-up, final inventory check and supervisor approval, and typically get to take any unsold food that’s already warmed up. Though the team doesn’t limit working concessions to only football games, partaking in events like commencement in addition to other UF sports, their Saturdays spent in the Swamp bring them the closest.
“There’s been multiple times when we’ve all met up after a game from different stands, and we’ve just eaten a bunch of hot dogs and pretzels, and it’s awesome, especially because we’re so tired and everybody’s just so drained after that day,” Babani said.
