When the Florida Gators played with a Confederate battle flag patch on their helmets

New Republic:

Louisiana State University’s Tigers are named after a company of homegrown Confederates famous for their audacious attacks at First Manassas. College bands kept playing “Dixie” for more than a century after Fort Sumter; the University of Mississippi (where the football team is named, with no attempt at subtlety, the Rebels) clung to the battle flag and “Dixie” until well into the twenty-first century. The University of Florida played Penn State in the 1962 Gator Bowl, just a year after the Nittany Lions’ star defensive lineman, future Hall of Famer Dave Robinson, had broken the bowl’s color barrier; the Gators played with a Confederate battle flag patch on their helmets to show that despite Appomattox, the South had not really surrendered.

“UF played Penn State in the 1962 Gator Bowl, just a year after the Nittany Lions’ star, future Hall of Famer Dave Robinson, had broken the bowl’s color barrier; the Gators played with a Confederate battle flag patch on their helmets.” I looked for some photos of this and maaaan, pic.twitter.com/vmSR2HUWTK

— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) November 6, 2019