By: Michael Spiers

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Few games in college football have the same feel as Georgia–Florida.

Every fall, the Bulldogs and Gators meet in Jacksonville for a border war that splits families, fills the stands with half red and black and half orange and blue, and reminds the rest of the country how much fun a real rivalry can be.

Depending on which record book you believe, the two first met in either 1904 or 1915, but since 1926 they’ve battled nearly every year, taking only one break during World War II.

The matchup has lived in Jacksonville since 1933, which is considered neutral ground right on the border, and the party that surrounds it is legendary.

For years, fans called it The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, and while the schools have dropped that name officially, the energy hasn’t gone anywhere.

This rivalry has always swung in streaks. Georgia owned the early years, Florida took control in the ’50s and early ’60s, then Vince Dooley’s Bulldogs flipped the script through the ’80s.

The ’90s were all Gators thanks to Steve Spurrier, and Urban Meyer kept it rolling into the 2000s. But lately, it’s been Kirby Smart’s world. Georgia has won seven of the last eight, and they don’t look ready to give it up.

Still, there’s more to this rivalry than touchdowns and bragging rights.

Since 2009, coincidentally around the time the Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party moniker was abandoned, the Okefenokee Oar has added a unique twist to the Georgia–Florida story.

The Oar is exactly what it sounds like. It is a 12-foot wooden oar carved from a 1,000-year-old tree pulled from the Okefenokee Swamp, that massive wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida border.

The swamp’s ownership was once disputed between the two states, which makes it the perfect symbol for this tug-of-war rivalry.

Nobody’s really sure why an oar was chosen. The story goes that an anonymous Florida donor came up with the idea in 2009, and student leaders from both schools ran with it.

One side of the Oar features Georgia’s Bulldog and state crest; the other side shows Florida’s Gator and seal. Down the handle, every score since 2009 is carved in, with enough space to keep track for another 150 years.

Florida won the first two “Wars for the Oar,” but Georgia brought it home in 2011 after a 24–20 win.

Since then, it’s traded hands a few times, usually staying with the winner for three-year stretches.

When the Bulldogs have it, you can find the Oar proudly displayed in the Tate Student Center in Athens, Bulldog side facing out. When the Gators win, the Gator side gets the spotlight in Gainesville.

The original idea for the Oar didn’t come from the athletic departments, but instead came from the students. The University of Georgia and University of Florida student governments teamed up to make it official with a joint resolution in 2011.

Ever since, the winning school’s students have been in charge of hauling the massive thing to Jacksonville for the next game.

When Georgia wins, the Redcoat Band usually gets the honor of bringing it back home on the bus.

The Oar started as a quirky idea, but it’s grown into a genuine part of the rivalry. ESPN’s College GameDay has featured it, fans use the hashtag #WarForTheOar, and it’s become one more layer of pride in a matchup that already oozes history and heart.

This year’s game kicks off November 1, and the stakes are as high as ever. Bragging rights, playoff hopes, and a little piece of carved swamp history are all on the line.

When Georgia and Florida meet in Jacksonville, it’s never just a football game. It’s the annual border battle for the Okefenokee Oar, and there’s nothing quite like it in college football.