In the lead-up to Saturday's game between Florida State and Georgia Tech, both schools spent 17 months making spreadsheets, filling out paperwork and triple-checking customs regulations to make sure they packed all the essentials for their trans-Atlantic trip.
Uniforms? Check.
Are you wearing tights? Done.
Ranch dressing? Hey, ready?
The Ramblin' Shipwreck? Sadly, again in Atlanta.
Renegade, Osceola and his flaming spear? I wish that pesky quarantine problem had been solved.
Even without their most iconic pregame traditions traveling with them to Dublin, Florida State and Georgia Tech will head into Week 0 with everything they need to play football thanks to an exhaustive behind-the-scenes effort that Georgia Tech director of football operations Josh Thompson describes as “not for the faint of heart.”
In all, the schools combined to bring in 238 boxes weighing more than 40,000 pounds, packed and shipped on cargo planes last week, filled with everything from game-day equipment to sports medicine essentials, protein powder, snacks like Goldfish and yes, condiments not available in Dublin.
“There's no margin for error here,” said Jason Baisden, Florida State's assistant athletic director for equipment operations. “Once we're here, we're here. We can't go back and call and say, 'Hey, bring this with you.'”
Both schools began preparing for this game in March 2023, shortly after it was announced. Florida State director of football operations Bruce Warwick had played several games overseas in his previous NFL stints, so he already had a good idea of what it would take to move an entire team more than 4,000 miles away.
In addition to preparing all the necessary equipment, passports would have to be secured, multiple in-person visits to the team hotel (including food tastings) would have to be made, and communication with officials in Ireland would have to be precise. Nothing, such as assuming that an American cookie and an Irish one are the same, could be left to chance.
“I had to learn to speak their language,” Baisden said. “To them, it’s not a uniform, it’s a team. It’s the English language, but we had to make sure nothing was lost in translation of what we’re doing.” Baisden and Thompson called people they knew at Notre Dame and Navy, two schools that had previously played in Ireland. Baisden asked them for their carnet, a document that facilitates temporary international imports and exports. The carnet basically lists every item being brought into a foreign country line by line, with exact numbers.
Want to bring snacks for the team? No problem. But all snacks, from applesauce to cookies, must be listed. The same goes for rolls of duct tape, gloves, and protein powder. Want to bring them? You must include them on the list.
At Florida State, Baisden became the point person between departments. In January, he asked the sports nutrition, sports medicine, creative video, weight training, radio broadcast and sports information teams to begin identifying what they should bring with them.
He described the process as preparation for “a trip to an international tournament.” But the detail that had to be put into everything goes far beyond tournament preparation, where schools can simply load up their trucks with equipment and be on their way. For this trip, Baisden labeled each box with its purpose: hotel, practice, game.
International travel is the reason Ramblin' Wreck and Renegade and Osceola stayed home. Irish officials had inquired about their availability and both schools had serious discussions about how to do that.
Renegade, the legendary horse Osceola rode before every Florida State home game to deliver a flaming spear at midfield, would have had to be quarantined on the way back to Tallahassee, as required by international rules. As a result, the horse would not have been available for the home opener against Boston College on Sept. 2. Plus, this is technically a Georgia Tech home game.
A gold-and-white 1930 Ford Model A Sport Coupe known as the “Ramblin' Wreck” has carried the Yellow Jackets onto the field for every home game since 1961. The Wreck would have had to travel by boat to get to Ireland. The travel time back home would have meant it also would not have been available for the home opener against Georgia State on Aug. 31. There had been discussion about using an Irish “cousin” of the Wreck, a Peugeot-type substitute from Dublin, but the idea was scrapped.
There was plenty more to discuss to get to the finish line. Florida State ended up having to get 85 walks for its players; Georgia Tech had to get 70 total between players and staff. Perhaps the most unexpected challenge facing teams was making sure they could use the new technology allowed starting this season: coach-to-helmet communication and iPads on the sideline.
The headset systems coaches use on the sideline in the United States don't work overseas because they use different radio frequencies. Both schools had to rent new systems, meaning coaches have to get used to a different belt. Florida State practiced with them during scrimmages so coaches could start getting familiar with them.
Thompson said the schools had to secure multiple frequency lines to get the communication headsets working. The iPads required coordination with the Aviva Stadium and local providers for specific fiber lines that were used to update the video in real time. The schools have had weekly calls with the ACC and different providers to make sure everything is ready to go. Everything will be tested on Friday.
“Coaches don't like change. I don't like change,” Thompson said. “We're all creatures of habit. I want to get in the stadium when the team comes in and make sure everything is done. I don't want to have to run around wondering, 'OK, how are we going to handle this?'”
The teams went through several airports to transport their cargo, all under the direction of Aer Lingus, the game's title sponsor. Last week, Florida State packed a truck that left for Orlando, where its boxes were placed on cargo plane pallets called “cookie trays” for international travel and then flown to Dublin. Georgia Tech sent its cargo on a plane to Chicago and then on to Dublin.
Everything that was flown in arrived before the teams arrived Thursday morning. Each team sent an advance party early to open boxes and begin sorting items for use at the hotel or stadium. Equipment handlers prepared their respective locker rooms for Thursday's practice. In addition, both teams shipped hundreds of cases of Powerade and bottles of water directly to the hotel and stadium.
The hotels were chosen for their similarities to regular roadside hotels. They had to have large enough spaces available for team meetings, but also food that tasted like home. Warwick said grits, for example, weren’t an option because chefs couldn’t cook them to specifications. Florida State players have an affinity for ranch dressing, A1 steak sauce and Tabasco — products not available in Ireland — so those specific condiments were packed.
“The food is the biggest challenge because they like what they like and they know what they know,” Warwick said. “We try to keep it as Americanized as possible.”
The teams left the United States on Wednesday night, but even their departures were different. For domestic travel, both teams go through TSA security at their respective stadiums before boarding buses and heading to their charter flights.
But for international travel, both teams must go through the usual security line at their respective airports. It's one thing for Florida State to go through its small regional airport in Tallahassee, but imagine Georgia Tech's traveling party, consisting of 289 people, arriving at Terminal F at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and going through security.
Aer Lingus, the game's title sponsor, had to get special permission to secure a gate. Thompson said he was assured that additional security lanes would be open so Georgia Tech could get through efficiently. He plans to use a “pod system” in which he will separate players into groups, with one of them being the captain and responsible for making sure everyone has their passports.
Players will be frequently reminded of the dos and don'ts of carrying carry-on luggage, including the size of permitted liquids.
“I can't wait to see, when I'm the last person going through the TSA line, everything that was taken during that time,” Thompson said.
Now picture this upon arrival: Players standing around the baggage carousel, waiting for their equipment bags. Those bags had to travel with them because both teams practiced all the way up to the day of their departure. So the bags are checked on the plane upon arrival at the airport, to be picked up at baggage claim, in addition to their own personal luggage. For this trip, Florida State got its players custom wheeled suitcases. Both teams will have a light practice at the stadium after they arrive, with the main goal being to get everyone acclimated to the five-hour time change. Georgia Tech coach Brent Key, who went to Ireland for a game as a UCF assistant in 2014, said he doesn’t want to make the trip any longer than it has to be, based on his previous experience overseas.
“We coached those kids too much,” Key said, referring to UCF's 26-24 loss to Penn State. “We tried to give them an experience. We took them to different places, we took them on the road, and it was just too much when you go there to play a football game. You know what makes a great experience? Winning.”
To that end, Georgia Tech will fly home after the game, as it has little preparation time for the following week. Since Florida State plays on a Monday night, coach Mike Norvell decided to have the team stay Sunday to do some sightseeing before returning to Tallahassee.
While that approach is different, the planning for logistics in the lead-up to the game has been identical. The schools have been in constant communication, but there will be anxiety upon arrival, during the game, and after the game as well. Everything has to be repacked for the trip home and through customs on Saturday night. In both cases (round trip), both schools have to rely heavily on people they have never met to get the job done.
“Whenever I travel I worry about whether my luggage will get to its destination, so you definitely worry about that,” Thompson said. “You're moving almost 300 people at a time, so you just have to make sure everything is correct and in order.”
