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Florida fans pack O’Connell Center for national championship game watch party
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Florida fans who could not make it to San Antonio have found plenty of fun opportunities to watch the Gators compete for a national championship.
Over the past 24 hours, numerous social media posts have shown that Florida students were already camping outside of popular restaurants and bars, including campus-area favorite The Swamp. Those who don’t want the sports bar atmosphere have another fun option: the O’Connell Center.
Alyssa Britton-Harr took a video inside the ODome showing that the venue is packed as if Florida basketball were getting ready to play a home game. UF is hosting a watch party inside, and it proved to be a popular option for Gator fans.
Gator Nation is HYPE! The O’Connell Center is packed for a watch party. Go Gators pic.twitter.com/YBPG465beA
— Alyssa Britton-Harr (@abrittonharr) April 8, 2025
UF is trying for its 3rd national championship in Florida basketball history. For students, this is the first time they’ve seen the Gators try to win it all in basketball. Florida’s previous 2 titles came under Billy Donovan, a legendary back-to-back run in 2006 and ’07.
While plenty of Florida fans did make it to San Antonio for the big time, it’s sure to be an electric atmosphere around the many watch parties in Gainesville. We’ll see in a couple of hours if those fans are celebrating.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
