In the Outback Bowl's pregame matchup, fans and players mingle on the beach, where the Gators excel in eating pies and Iowa's Hawkeyes slide into eating grit.
By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published December 30, 2003
[Times photos: Scott Keeler]
Dan Doubleday of Sanding Ovations finishes an Outback Bowl sand sculpture on Clearwater Beach. The sculpture took three days to create and featured a gator and hawk.
Florida Gator fan Brian Roseman of Palm Harbor gets his mini helmet signed by University of Florida quarterback Chris Leak.
University of Iowa trumpet players Leah Ledtje, 20, center, and Blake Lubinus, 21, right, play with other members of the band on Clearwater Beach on Monday. The cheerleading squad and dance team also performed.
Above: Kyle Hart, 18, a University of Florida cheerleader from Jacksonville, eats one of 19 key lime pies during the pie eating contest. Hart won the contest.
Above: University of Florida cheerleaders compete in a tug of war against University of Iowa cheerleaders during the Outback Bowl Beach Day. Florida won.
CLEARWATER - As the Iowa Hawkeyes Marching Band played Hey Jude, 11-year-old football fan Chris Creery of Cedar Falls, Iowa, made snowballs in the sand.
The Red Barons buzzed in propeller planes overhead; the Budweiser Skydivers parachuted to the shore.
And University of Florida and University of Iowa players signed footballs.
They were all enjoying the annual Outback Bowl Beach Day, a pep rally and beach party celebrating the matchup between the University of Florida Gators and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday at Raymond James Stadium.
"We're having a wonderful time," said Iowa fan Lynn Worrell of West Branch, Iowa. "We're just flying by the seat of our pants."
She and thousands of others gathered behind the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort on Monday for the event, a day of nonstop entertainment and an opportunity for fans to mingle with players and coaches.
"What's not to like?" said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. "The weather's great, they have an air show and I think the fans are in a festive mood."
University of Florida cheerleaders swept the tug of war competitions and the pie-eating contest.
Their happiness was enhanced by a rumor that spread around the beach that whoever wins those contests will win the game.
To Spirit Team Coach Donni Frazier's delight, the Gators had little trouble yanking the Hawkeyes kicking and screaming into the watery pit.
"They didn't practice," she said of her team, obviously proud. "They were mentally prepared."
The pie-eating contest got ugly.
The contestants, Kyle Hart, a student at Florida, and Pat Stuart, who attends Iowa, took their seats on the stage.
Stuart looked a little unsure. A few hours earlier, long before he learned he had been chosen to represent his team in the contest, he had polished off a hamburger, hot dog, three bananas and two Cokes to gain weight for the tug of war.
Now he sat gazing at a platter of dozens of coffee-cup sized key lime pies.
He looked kind of green.
The Outback Bowl record was 22 pies.
Could Hart and Stuart come close to that?
The two started squishing handfuls of gooey filling, crust and whipped cream into their mouths, double fisting at times, the yuck spreading all over their faces.
The crowd was supportive.
"Yak! Yak!" one guy shouted. "Throw up!"
But the competitors were able to keep the dessert down without much gagging.
Hart emerged as the winner, downing 19 pies.
Stuart ate 14, and claimed he had room for more.
"I'm still kinda hungry," he said, leaving the stage. "I'll eat again tonight."
But while the cheerleaders were full of pep, some of the players were winding down, especially because they had endured a two-hour practice that morning.
"I'm tired," said Brian Ferentz, who plays center for Iowa. "I'm going to get off my feet for a while."
Above: Kyle Hart, 18, a University of Florida cheerleader from Jacksonville, eats one of 19 key lime pies during the pie eating contest. Hart won the contest.
