DESTIN — There are two things local residents hold dear above all else: boating and football. Unfortunately, it’s not often easy to enjoy both at the same time.
The folks at Legendary Marine are working to change that.
Legendary Marine announced Monday on Facebook that it is planning to host a “dive-in” college football game where people can anchor their boats and watch a game on a 23-foot projection television above the water.
The boat dealer set the screen up on a barge Aug. 2 in Destin Harbor near Boogies Watersports and hosted its first Friday Night Dive-In movie. Reminiscent of cars parked at an old drive-in theater, 12 boats pulled up to watch “Knight and Day,” starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.
Soon after, social media began to buzz with boaters wanting to know when the next Dive-In would be, said Wanda Kenton Smith, Legendary Marine’s director of marketing.
“We had no clue when we did this if anybody would show up. Not only did they show up, but there’s been a great chatter about it,” Smith said.
Bill McKissick came up with the idea after the marketing team challenged employees to come up with new ways boaters can have fun on the water.
“It was kind of a cool assignment because people kind of took ownership of it,” Smith said. “Legendary Marine is all about engaging customers.”
After the success of the movie, McKissick and the marketing team gathered again and spun off an idea to show a college football game on the big screen. The only issue now is which game.
The comments on Legendary Marine’s Facebook page seem to favor games featuring Alabama, Florida State and Florida.
“Destin is Nole Country!” David Binder commented.
Tracy Brooks Saucier disagreed. “LSU-Alabama!” she responded.
Anyone interested in watching a game on the water can be a booster for their team at www.facebook.com/LegendaryMarine.
The one major limitation is that it has to be a night game so the projection on the screen is visible.
Smith said Legendary Marine also is interested in teaming up with other businesses to sponsor the event and vendors to provide food and drinks. She said she also would like to see Destin help provide a prime location to watch the game.
“We would love to be able to do it at Crab Island, but there’s no barge big enough there now,” Smith said.
Contact Destin Log Staff Writer Jacob Fuller at 850-654-8464 or jfuller@thedestinlog.com. Follow him on Twitter @destinlogjacob.