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Fans flock together - for now

At an Outback Bowl parade, cheers fill the air and good-natured rivalry abounds between the Hawkeyes and the Gators.

By AMBER MOBLEY
Published January 1, 2006

TAMPA - The cheers and jeers were flying long before the beads in Ybor City on Saturday evening as thousands of locals and out-of-towners readied for the Outback Bowl parade.

Crowds doused in Iowa yellow and black and University of Florida blue and orange lined Seventh Avenue nearly an hour before the parade, shouting rounds of "Let's go, Gators" and "Let's go, Hawkeyes."

Marching bands, cheerleaders, floats and flag teams performed in the TECO Energy Parade as those watching shouted for beads.

Less than 30 minutes into the parade, 4-year-old Savonne Walters of Tampa had a rainbow of shiny beaded necklaces. And even though Savonne's father, Tony Walters, was wearing Gators gear, a woman in Iowa colors repeatedly handed him bunches of beads.

"See," Tony Walters told Savonne, "you've got somebody looking out for you."

Wedged between Iowa fans along the parade route, Walters said the night was full of fun.

"It's just a healthy rivalry," he said.

"Still, there are a lot of Iowa people here this year," Walters said about the parade. This year's Outback Bowl will be Walters' third.

"I heard they brought 30,000 fans down for the game. ... From the looks of it, most of them are here," Walters said with a laugh.

High numbers of out-of-towners would be music to the ears of hoteliers, who have been racked with worry that Florida's being in the Outback Bowl would limit profits from the event.

After all, Florida fans like Walters, who lives 10 minutes from the stadium, don't need hotel rooms.

But Iowa fans like the Hillenbrand family do. They checked in for a multinight stay near St. Petersburg.

Dad Tom, mom Sandy and son Joey Hillenbrand came to Tampa from Palatine, Ill., near Chicago, to support son and brother Jason Hillenbrand, a junior drum major at the University of Iowa.

"Whenever he performs, he wants us to be there," said Sandy Hillenbrand.

Before going to the parade, Tom, Sandy and Joey went to the zoo and the beach. It's their first Outback Bowl; they said they're having a great time.

Kelsey Burrows, 18, of Des Moines, Iowa, also came to Tampa for the game with family - her dad, stepmother and brother - but said they're using the trip as a vacation more than anything.

"We don't really plan to do the theme parks and all that," she said. "We're down here for four or five days to relax, plus we're huge Hawkeye fans and it's a good way to bring in the new year."

The Hawkeyes will take on the Gators on Monday at Raymond James Stadium in a rematch of the 2004 game.

A midnight fireworks show and ball drop were scheduled in the Channelside area to bring the new year in with a bang as part of the Outback Bowl festivities.

Amber Mobley can be reached at amobley@sptimes.com or 813 269-5311.

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:28:15]