Florida-Georgia is leaving Jacksonville for a couple of years, but the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” nickname apparently can’t make the trip.
Saturday’s rivalry game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta while EverBank Stadium undergoes renovations, with next season’s meeting scheduled for Tampa before the series returns to Jacksonville in 2028.
Because simply calling it Florida-Georgia would be too easy, Saturday’s game is officially the "Invesco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Classic" — a name that sounds less like one of college football’s great rivalries and more like something your financial adviser might suggest adding to your portfolio.
USA TODAY Sports’ Blake Toppmeyer, Paul Myerberg and John Brice aren’t buying the rebrand,
either.
The trio opened a discussion of college football’s best rivalry nicknames by calling this year’s Florida-Georgia moniker an “abomination of a nickname,” then made it clear what they intend to keep calling the game.
“The corporate sponsors can call it what they like, but in our hearts, this game remains the ‘Cocktail Party,’” they wrote.
Hard to argue with that.
"The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" was one of four rivalry names USA TODAY Sports gave special consideration, joining Georgia-Georgia Tech’s “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate,” Kentucky-Tennessee’s former “Battle for the Beer Barrel,” and BYU-Utah’s “Holy War.”
The "Cocktail Party" nickname grew out of the tailgating atmosphere surrounding the annual game in Jacksonville. A sportswriter coined the term decades ago, and it stuck even after Florida, Georgia and the SEC stopped officially using it roughly 20 years ago.
USA TODAY Sports also mentioned "Bedlam," "Farmageddon," the "Egg Bowl," the "Backyard Brawl," the "Iron Bowl," the "Border War" and the "Brawl of the Wild" among college football’s best rivalry nicknames.
Florida and Georgia won’t be partying in Jacksonville again until 2028, but moving the game apparently hasn’t made the old nickname any easier to replace.
“Invesco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Classic” may look good on a sponsorship agreement, but “The World’s largest Cocktail Party” still looks better on a college football schedule.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: USA TODAY Sports roasts Florida-Georgia’s corporate rebrand
