History of ‘Move Back, You Suck’ Chant at The Swamp

A few traditions are certain at Gator football games in The Swamp: The Gator Chomp rippling through the crowd, the Florida fans swaying and singing of “We Are the Boys” after the third quarter followed by Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” and more recently, the Gator Band striking up the tune that sparks the ‘Move back, you suck’ chant.

But it wasn’t always guaranteed.

The chant, better known by the crowd’s words “Move back, you suck,” was banned by the University Athletic Association in 2015 after a decade-long run, sidelined by complaints that it was unsportsmanlike. Nearly a decade later it’s back and the UAA says it didn’t have a hand in reviving it.

“The UAA didn’t give the band a directive about playing it again,” the UAA said in a statement.

WATCH: HISTORY OF “MOVE BACK, YOU SUCK’

So how did a simple penalty chant rise, fall, and rise again? To answer that, we need to go back to the beginning.

The tune behind the chant was written by Matthew Sexton, who served as UF’s associate director of bands from 1998 to 2006. When his successor, John M. “Jay” Watkins, arrived in 2006, the melody did not have any vocals so they added the words “You can’t do that” to accompany the tune.

“The members of the band would also take their hats off and wave them like penalty flags and that’s how the chant got started,” Watkins said.

That version lasted for a while, until fans eventually changed the words to “Move back, you suck.” As time went on, the chant began to be picked up on TV and radio. The complaints soon followed.

The chant carried on without interruption until 2015. On Sept. 26, 2015, Florida beat Tennessee in a dramatic 28-27 comeback at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. But throughout the game, when the Volunteers would commit a penalty, there was no sound queued by the Gator Band.

Two days later on Sept. 28, it was announced that the chant had been banned. Watkins told WUFT that complaints led the UAA to halt the band’s role in cueing the chant.

“The reason why it’s been stopped is because there have been too many complaints from fans to the athletic department that the student section was saying something else that the fans thought was vulgar and inappropriate,” Watkins said.

The removal of the chant sparked strong reactions from fans. Many fans took to Twitter to voice their frustration, and the hashtag #SaveMoveBackYouSuck soon began trending.

The band did not play the tune again until 2023, when it began to play it at away games where crowd noise wasn’t strong enough to carry a vocal impact.

By 2024, the band gradually reintroduced it at home games.

“The band loves playing it and anything that the band can do to generate student excitement or fan excitement in the stadium is ideal,” Watkins said. “Anything we do that generates vocals is great.”

Now, the chant is back as a staple of game days in The Swamp, once again energizing fans and players alike even through its rocky timeline.

As the Texas Longhorns head into Gainesville on Saturday, we will see how many times we hear that penalty chant.

Category: College Football, Football, Gainesville, Gator Sports, Gators Football, SEC, University of Florida