Tim Tebow, Thanks for the Memories!

The Florida Gators for the past 4 years have been spoiled.  We’ve had a special quarterback behind us these 4 years making it special as well.  Thanks for the memories Tim Tebow!  Florida has by far had it’s best 4 years in school history.  In part this is from Urban Meyer but a lot has to do with Tim Tebow.  His performance led the Gators to a 51 – 24 victory.

One Night and One More Time, Thanks for the Memories, Thanks for the Memories.

Tim had a career best in his last collegiate game against Cincinnati going 31 – 35 for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns.  This ties the most times he’s passed the ball and surpassed his previous most yards in a game.  What a way to go out!  Tim Tebow is a great player on the field and even more of a man off the field.  There isn’t a way you can’t like him as a person unless you’re just a terrible person.  He does what he can for the community and just is a good spirited person and anyone who displays negativity should only direct to his football playing because he’s done more for the community and young kids than most of us will do in our lifetime.

Winning two national championships and a Heisman trophy while at Florida, he will go down as one of the best to ever play for the Gators and possibly college football.  I wish you the best of luck at the next level and hope to see you succeed in the NFL and prove the critics wrong.  As you said last night, you just want the chance to play and I think you’ve by far have shown you deserve the chance.  I mean you can’t be worse than Jamarcus Russell!

What a Decade for the Orange and Blue

It all started out pretty well for the Gators. Well maybe not from the very start. On Jan 1, 2000 Florida lost the Citrus Bowl on a last second field goal to Michigan State. It was the Gators third straight defeat. They ended the greatest decade of Gator football by far (the 90s) by losing to eventual National Champ, FSU and the SEC Title game to Alabama. (Sound familiar?) But that’s when things started to pick up. The Gators made a memorable run through the NCAA Tournament by pressing the daylights out of the NCAA Field. They beat both Duke and North Carolina before dropping the NCAA Title Game to Michigan State. The football team then followed that up with a win in the 2000 SEC Championship Game against Auburn.

The momentum quickly faded however. UF’s hoops team would then suffer through five straight first weekend NCAA exits. The fans were actually grumbling a bit after the fifth one was also accompanied by the Gators top three players leaving the program. Two of which were juniors who were not exactly lottery picks. If you think the basketball team fell on hard times, the football team was a disaster.

The ’01 Gators were loaded with talent. And they had experience. They were ready to compete for a National Title. Then the unthinkable happened. September 11^th, 2001. A day none will ever forget. One of the least important circumstances of that horrible day was the cancellation of many sporting events that week. For Florida , that meant the Tennessee game that was scheduled for the following Saturday in Gainesville. The game was moved to the end of the season, following the annual rivalry game against FSU. It proved to be too much for the Gators to beat FSU and UT on back to back weeks.  There was also a controversial play in the FSU game that caused a stir. FSU’s Darnell Dockett allegedly hurt UF’s star Running back Earnest Graham’s knee in a pile up. Not only was Graham out for the UT game, Coach Steve Spurrier was irate. He was mad not only at FSU, but also the UF administration for not backing him up enough. After an Orange Bowl demolition of Maryland, Spurrier resigned. In came Ron Zook.

Ron Zook is the man who inspired the invention of the “fire__.com” websites.  His tenure was a train wreck. Five loss seasons, players getting into trouble, the bubble screen, and the interviews. Oh those interviews. Did the head coach of the University of Florida really have to make Yogi Berra sound like an intellectual giant? If he wasn’t blowing games to Tennessee, he was losing 23 point leads to Miami. If he wasn’t stuttering his way to another embarrassment he was losing to Ole Miss. The final straw was losing to a horrid Mississippi State team in ’04. That’s when things really turned around.

In ’05 the Gators hired Urban Meyer, the up and coming hot shot that had taken Utah (who?) to an undefeated season and a Fiesta Bowl win in ’04. He was the anti-Zook. He was a hard liner with the players. He was an offensive innovator. He had a plan. He had the guys he wanted to bring in to run his offense. The fans bought in, the players bought in, the Gators were back.

Meanwhile at the O’Dome, Donovan’s Gators were quietly putting together quite a team. The media ignored the ’05-’06 team in the preseason. Most picked the Gators to finish in the bottom half of the Eastern Division. However the Gators started off 17-0. They were doing it with a bunch of sophomores and freshman, many who had seen little playing time in Gainesville before. Before the season was done, these Gators had impressed enough to gain a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But what happened after that is the stuff of legends. They ran through the NCAA Field that year with reckless abandon. All the way to the school’s first ever NCAA Title. And then they did the unthinkable. They all came back.

Then it was football’s turn. In Meyer’s second season things were starting to take shape. The players believed they could win. And win they did. They weren’t always impressive, but they were tough with game on the line. The most memorable game was against South Carolina. The Gators had to block three kicks, one on the final play, to eek out a 17-16 win against their old coach. They ended up winning the SEC and were picked to face might Ohio State in the BCS title game. In spite of few giving them a chance, they vowed to show up. And did they ever. It was an epic beat down. The offense clicked like it had not since the days of Spurrier. And the defense was a stone wall that would have made the Steelers proud. The result was the University of Florida to become the first school to EVER win the basketball national title and the football national title in the same year!

How do you top that? You win another hoops title. And the Gators did. This time they went into the season with a big bulls eye on their backs. But the Gators answered the challenge. They ran through the NCAA Field for the second straight year on top of winning their third straight SEC Tournament. In April of 2007, the University would stage its third national title celebration in 12 months! The three Gator juniors in the starting frontcourt, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer bid a tearful farewell to Gainesville before all becoming top 10 draft picks.

And if you think that’s enough, just wait. On the football field, there was a new hero. Quarterback Tim Tebow, who played the role of short yardage QB for the title winning ’06 team, was ready to take over full time in ’07. He ran Meyer’s spread offense to perfection. He ran over people, who ran through people, he passed over them. With his cohort, Percy Harvin leaving them in the dust, the two were nearly unstoppable. Tebow became the first sophomore and the third Gator QB to win the coveted Heisman Trophy.

What would he do for an encore? How about leading UF to another National Title? After an early season loss to Ole Miss, Tebow vowed that his team would be the hardest playing team in the nation for the rest of the season. They did not disappoint. The Gators blasted every team left on the regular season schedule, then beat two consecutive #1 ranked teams to win yet another NCS Title.  They would not be stopped until the very last game of the decade. Before losing to Alabama in the ’09 SEC Championship Game, Florida would win 22 straight games. The Gators will start off the ‘10s in the Sugar Bowl against an unbeaten Cincinnati team with a top five ranking at stake.

So there you have it folks. The decade of the ‘00s has been a decade of Orange and Blue. Between the two major sports in college athletics, 4 National Championships, 6 SEC Championship Game wins, and a Heisman Trophy. Also another Final Four appearance and a 12-0 football regular season. It will be tough to top the last decade. That is for sure. But if the next one is even close, it will be a fun ride.

Where Have All the Rivals Gone?

Everyone has a rivalry game that means a little more to them than all the others. Most old timers will tell you its Georgia. Lose every game on the schedule but beat the Bulldogs, and they’re happy.

Georgia has been taken out behind the woodshed so many times as of late, it’s simply become routine to come back from Jacksonville with a win. Once in a while the Bulldogs pull out a win, but the last 20 years have been dominated by Florida.

Tennessee could be on its way back as a revived rivalry, thanks to all the trash talking by Lane Kiffin. Games against the Vols and Phil Fulmer were fun to watch, but the fact that the Gators played them so early in the season kind of softened the intensity. The fact is, you can stumble early against Tennessee and still salvage the season and play for a National Championship.

For me, Florida State is that game each season that gets the hatred stirring in my stomach. Despite FSU being down for quite some time, it’s also the game I’m always most worried about the Gators losing.

The Seminoles are in desperation mode. For a historically “dirty-playing” team, I have no doubts they will go to any lengths to injure players and win at any cost. You do remember all the late hits on Danny Wuerffel? How about Darnell Dockett at the bottom of a pile twisting Earnest Graham’s knee?

You will see late hits on Tebow. Plenty of taunting and trash talking will take place (from both teams) and if there isn’t a fight before, during or after, I’d be surprised.

Florida has to be careful. They are the team with everything to lose here. One out-of-control fight against FSU means potential suspensions for their match-up against Alabama the following week. Players must remember to keep their cool.

On paper, FSU has no chance to beat the Gators, but with a long history of meaningful rivalry games, you can throw out team records and rankings. For all the reasons FSU has to get up for this game (rivalry game, beating Tebow in his last game at The Swamp, ruining the Gator’s perfect season, throwing a BIG monkey wrench into the BCS system, winning for their once-relevant coach), Florida will use those same reasons to take care of business.

Urban Meyer is the best in preparing his players for big games. Let’s just hope they remember playing FSU is still a big game.   

I was a WLOCP Virgin

That’s right… I was a WLOCP (World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party) Virgin.  I wanted to save myself for a special occasion and found no better opportunity than in a year where the Florida Gators have the shot to go Wire to Wire and Tim Tebow had a possibility of setting a SEC rushing record against the team that currently held the record.  What better time to pop my proverbial cherry.

If there’s one thing I learned is that next year it’s definitely worth getting a hotel and going up Friday night and not returning until Sunday.  Me being unexperienced with the WLOCP, I chose to go early Saturday morning with a friend.  Unfortunately we didn’t get on the road until 10 AM picking up some last minute tailgating supplies.  While waiting for my friend, I chose to start the party early and had a couple drinks while I sat on my couch waiting.

As we neared the stadium the aroma of tailgating fluttered past as we strolled down the street screaming Go Gators out the window to every Gator and Bulldog fan.  One thing that I must say is that Georgia knows how to make ‘em right.  The girls from GA were just ridiculous and they definitely won the battle of hot girls.  The Georgia guys in an effort to make fun of Florida fans wore cut off jean shorts because we apparently wear “jorts” in Florida.  However, because they were acting normal it just led me to believe it was their normal attire.

We were lucky enough to snag a spot in a lot right off East Bay street less than 1/4 mile from the stadium.  As soon as we parked, the grill and beers were out.  We arrived right at 12 with just enough time to get going.  It wasn’t more the 2 hours before I was done with my first 12 pack and we began going from tailgate to tailgate.  At this time my phone decides to no longer want to hold a charge and I’ve lost my buddy.  Luckily I thought ahead and gave him his ticket already.  After going around to a few other tailgates, I decide in my drunken stupor that it would probably be best to go ahead and sit down and get hydrated.

My tickets were in enemy territory on the 30 yard line or so.  Unfortunately the Georgia side is directly in the sun and boy was it beating down today.  After paying $6 for my souvenir cup or Mountain Dew, I still was dehydrated from the sun and beer drinking but forced to deal with it as kickoff was on its way.

Almost immediately after the game started a fight between 2 bulldogs almost broke out.  To diverge attention, my buddy and I stood up and screamed “HOW BOUT THEM GATORS, WE LOVE US SOME GATORS”.  The crowd’s attention went from the 2 bulldogs about to fight to us and the tension ceased. Drinking 2 mixed drinks, 14 beers or so and sitting in the hot set me up for an embarrassing moment nearing half time… I passed out with a minute to go in the 2nd quarter and woke up on the kickoff of the 3rd quarter.

We left after the Spikes INT for a TD which was the last score of the game and began our journey back.  I was no longer a WLOCP virgin and I didn’t cry myself to sleep or regret my choice at all.  While I definitely learned next year a hotel is a must to truly get the experience needed, it was an enjoyable time and can’t wait to do it again next year.

Florida Georgia Recap

Yesterday I had the luxury of attending the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail party (oops are we not supposed to call it that anymore?).  Going into the week, there were questions about the offense and whether we could put up points like we used to.  What most folks don’t realize is that our defense was a major reason that we put up so many points last year. Would we see the Florida Gators of old?  Would we see the Tim Tebow of past years?  These questions on the minds of many as we went in for the chance to clinch the East with a South Carolina loss.

The Florida Gators opened the game strong driving right down the field with a deep pass to Riley Cooper to draw first blood and go up 7 – 0.  The defense holds Georgia on their first opening drive and Florida came back down the field quickly again with another deep pass to Riley Cooper for a touchdown making it 14 – 0 and had most people thinking blowout at this point.

Georgia in a must score drive did in fact get points on the next drive.  Florida determined to keep them out of the endzone caught some help with Georgia pushing themselves back with penalties.  Nonetheless, the Georgia kicker nails a 50 yarder to make the score 14 – 3.

Florida looked to score 3 straight drives but the Georgia defense had other plans that didn’t involve this and put up their first stop against the Florida offense and drove down the field for a touchdown.  We had ourselves a ballgame…. for a minute.  Florida would answer the field goal with a field goal of their own extending the lead to 17 – 10.

A Florida defensive turnover put Tim Tebow and company in great scoring position nearing the end of the first half.  With a Tebow run up the middle it looked as if the play was done but then Tebow just comes bursting out of the pile and runs with no one in sight giving Florida a 24 – 10 lead and also gave Tim Tebow the SEC rushing record breaking Herschel Walker’s record of 49 TD’s.  Tim would end up with one more rushing TD on the next Gator score (resulting from 1 of the 4 interceptions of the day) bringing his total rushing TD’s to 51 and the score to 31 – 10.

I know the Dawg fans are saying “Herschel did it in 3″.  Well ok, but Tim’s a QB and he wasn’t the starter his first year either so stop the nonsense.

Georgia not going out with a fight did come down the field and score making it 31 – 17.  Florida had issues with tackling again this week.  The running backs from Georgia were consistently getting yards after first contact which is unacceptable.  We must make these tackles.  Also, they were able to eat up the middle of the field when they passed the ball.

Florida would answer the touchdown with a field goal from Sturgis putting the game at 34 – 17.  With Georiga on it’s last hope to come back, Brandon Spikes would soon put the nail in the coffin with an INT for a TD and the game would stay at the 41 – 17 score as a final result.

Florida’s win clinched the SEC East for them and now will await to see if Alabama or LSU will join them.

Gators a Victim of their Own Success?

There has been a lot of gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair in recent weeks about the play of the Florida Gators. I’m as guilty as anyone. I’ve thrown some things at the TV after every red zone miscue. I know we can play better. But let’s stop and look around for a minute. The Gators can clinch the SEC East this Saturday with a win over Georgia and a Tennessee win over South Carolina. This is with still two games left! I know we all pooh-pooh winning the East.

We’re supposed to do that, right? Well, yes. But let’s stop and think a bout this for a second. This is the 18^th year the SEC has been split into two divisions. So that is up until this year 17 SEC Championship Games which means 34 participants. Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and South Carolina have never been. That’s one third of the conference that has NOT ONCE been to the big game. Mississippi State has been one time. Arkansas has been twice. All of them resulting in losses. Half of the teams in the SEC have not won the big game.

So who’s been winning them then? Auburn has won one time. In 2004. That’s it. 1 for 17. Tennessee has won twice. They won in 1997 and 1998. And that’s it. Auburn has played in three of them and UT five. LSU has won three times out of four trips. Georgia has two wins in three trips. To all of these schools, winning their division and getting to Atlanta is still a big deal. Why? Because it doesn’t happen all that often. Entire classes at these schools come and go without ever going once.

Now let’s look at Alabama and Florida. Alabama has made six trips to the championship game. They have two wins. That’s a record only slightly better than Tennessee. You think of Bama as being a school that doesn’t get too excited about winning the West? I’m not so sure. Why is their record so poor? One reason. Florida. They have played the Gators ALL SIX times they’ve been. They are 2-4. Florida has not only been to those six and won four, but also three others. Both of Arkansas’ visits resulted in losing to UF. And so did one of Auburn’s.

That’s nine times in 17 years folks. Over half of the 17 SEC title games have had UF in them. So while we yawn at our 7-0 record and clinching yet another trip to Atlanta, think about how Kentucky would feel to have our team. Or Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, MSU, or anybody else not named Alabama. Those other schools would be absolutely giddy right now. Remember WHY it’s Great to be a Florida Gator.

Florida Gators vs Vanderbilt Commodores Game Time

The Gator football team’s game against Vanderbilt on Nov. 7 will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2, the Southeastern Conference announced on Monday. Coverage of the game is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. ET from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and the network will be chosen after the Florida-Georgia game on Saturday in Jacksonville.

Full updated schedule here.

Time to Figure It Out Offensively

Defense wins championships. For the Florida Gators, that statement remains to be seen, but without a doubt – it’s certainly the reason they are still undefeated.  Florida fans can thank the defense for wins over Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi St. Without their effort, three out of the four games are probably losses.

So what happens if the defensive side of the ball decides to have a bad day and not show up like its offensive counterpart? All these ugly performances are going to turn into losses, and Florida will get knocked back down to reality.

By now, I would have predicted the Florida offense would be clicking on all cylinders and racking up points with relative ease. Instead, the Gators look great driving down the field until they enter the red zone. Their play calling seizes up and all Florida can do is run it straight up the middle. In SEC wins over the Vols, Tigers, Razorbacks and Bulldogs, the Gators have scored just seven offensive touchdowns.

Tim Tebow is not the same player he was pre-concussion. His decision making seems to be suffering. I cannot believe that each time he steps back to pass, receivers are so covered that Tebow is forced to run. In fact, Deonte Thompson was open on at least two plays down the field Saturday night, and Tebow didn’t see him.

We keep hearing the Gators are waiting for another receiver to step up and help Cooper and Hernandez carry the load, but how can that happen if they aren’t getting the ball thrown their way? Thompson and David Nelson both seem like viable options, if ever given the chance.

Urban Meyer attributes some of the poor play to mentally not being able to live up to the pressure of being ranked at the top of the polls every week. As defending national champions, the coaching staff needed to do a better job preparing their players for the upcoming season and all the pressure that comes along with being ranked number one.

Two things can happen with the rest of the season. The Gator offense finally starts executing and the ball gets spread around to truly exhibit what this team is capable of. Or…Florida ends up playing against a team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, catches are made, fourth downs are converted and the Gators are left sitting on the sideline wondering what happened to their perfect season. Either way, it won’t get any easier. Every team Florida plays will want to knock them off their pedestal atop college football. Get it fixed Gators.

Florida Gators Remake “Thriller” for Halloween

The Florida Gators remake “Thriller” for halloween:

UF student Kristin Giannas (Telecom-News in the house!) pulled off a nearly impossible feat; getting a bunch of UF athletes to participate in something and videotaping it. Try picking out all the athletes Miss Giannas is able pull together as they perform ‘Thriller’ with Albert and Alberta.

Video created by Kristin Giannas.

Who’s Motivated? Don’t be Shy…

Motivation. I’ve written about it before. I can’t tell you how many times I have read an article about the Florida Gators and motivation. Apparently the only way the Gators can get up for a game is if they are motivated by someone out there saying Florida can’t win. So every week, more stories come out about Florida’s opponent not respecting them.

University of XYZ doesn’t think the Gators are all that special. Coach ABC likes his chances against Florida. Player 123 was talking trash about Tebow, or the running game, or the defense.  Brandon Spikes is motivated to step up and play better when the offensive side of the ball is struggling.

Is there a chance these kids don’t need all this bulletin board propaganda to go out and win? You are talking about the best football players from around the country, all successful at the high school level, coming to play in the best conference – the SEC.  I would think most of them have an idea of what it takes to win, without being told that someone doesn’t think they can.

But don’t worry Gator fans, because this week’s motivation is the AP Poll. Apparently Alabama jumping Florida in the latest AP Poll is supposed to give Tim Tebow some extra pep in his step. Never mind the fact that Florida is ranked first in the BCS standings and that the AP isn’t even a relevant poll when determining who plays for a national championship.

Perhaps Gator players want to go out and win, for the sake of winning? I am pretty sure they know the consequences of not showing up for a game, especially after the near loss to Arkansas Saturday.

If all this motivation stuff truly works, the Gators better be ready for their next game against Mississippi State. Former offensive coordinator, Dan Mullen, will try to beat his old team and throw a wrinkle in the BCS standings. You better believe Mullen’s players will have all the MOTIVATION in the world to get a win for their coach.

Maybe Florida players can take motivation from their opponent’s motivation, who will be motivated to win by Mullen’s motivation to beat the Gators? Confused yet? The confusion has motivated me to stop writing now.

Next Page »