Florida Gator football lovers: A perspective on your program

[Karibeth19]

To the OU fans---
we were, in this house, very saddened to hear of Sam's injury and then his having to sit out the rest of the season. If it had been Tebow- and for awhile there we were worried with his concussion--- we would have been devastated.
Hope all is well with him soon.

Thanks, Jo! We were all glad that Tebow's injury wasn't more serious; it certainly could have been. Head injuries can be career enders! It's like I said before, these are all good kids, for the most part, and as fans we should want what's best for them personally, no matter what. I wouldn't want someone to ruin their health or future just for a crystal ball. Sure, it's a great honor, but there is still the rest of their lives to consider.

 

[lillygator]

did anyone catch the special on football injuries starting w/high school players? I am not sure it has aired yet, I really wanted to see it...it may have been on ESPN and I think they were focusing on head injuries, but what these guys, starting as kids go through and what many of them play with and through is horrible.


I think almost everyone hates to see a player get hurt....unfortunately it will continue to happen. I am more shocked we don't have more people having heat strokes esp here in fl....it is darn hot out, even when my daughter is at PE class....they come back bright red faced and sweating like bullets.

 

[Rora]

Too bad. You'll be denying your kids the opportunity of the best education in Florida.

All this Gator hater stuff is so silly.

Agreed. UF is one of the best public schools in the Country. The don't call it "Public Ivy" just for kicks.

 

[jodifla]

What is it with you and the NFL????


It always goes back to "Wait until they get to the NFL..."

We're talking about right now, and that is college ball. The future will take care of itself.




What I find so amusing is that people get very heated when speaking of the Gators and especially their hatred of Tebow. And yet they hang on his every word.

Go to an away UF game and what do you see?

I'll show you......

This is the Mississippi State game--- the Gator fans started gathering to welcome our team into the stadium.
How many opposing team fans do you see? Guess who they were there to take a picture of, get an autograph of, yell his name?

I was there. My children were pushed out of the way by not one, not two, not three, not four, not five different Miss State fans--- they were pushed 10 different times by fans wearing Miss State shirts. The Gator fans standing around us even started taking up for my children because the other team's fans were unbelievably rude in trying to get the best position in order to lay eyes on Tebow.

Here are some comments we heard :

"Why are the Florida fans even here? They get to see him all the time."

"Well, I don't like them Gators, and I don't like Tebow, but I want to see him."

"I don't follow State ball, and I don't like the Gators. I'm here to watch Tebow."

"My grandson wants Tebow's autograph even though we're here for State."

"I want my picture taken with Tebow- the Gator fans are in the way."


This isn't the only away game it happened. It happens at every single one. I've seen it more than once.
It is a circus. The busses couldn't even get thru because there were thousands of people pushing one another to get a glimpse of him.
The roar from the crowd when he stepped off the bus was deafening.

Carlos Dunlap's Mom was even pushed and shoved, standing right next to me. She just wanted to see her son as he came off the bus.

Now maybe it's just me- but if I don't like a player or think his team is awful I certainly don't go looking to get a picture of that player, much less an autograph.

It's just all very strange to me, this love/ hate thing going on with opposing fans and Timmy.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the OU fans---
we were, in this house, very saddened to hear of Sam's injury and then his having to sit out the rest of the season. If it had been Tebow- and for awhile there we were worried with his concussion--- we would have been devastated.
Hope all is well with him soon.

Wow, great picture!! Thanks for sharing...I didn't realize that was going on at games...especially AWAY games.

 

[lillygator]

at home ==== the Gator Walk before every game is awesome!! they close Univ Ave!

 

[mmackeymouse]

no not at all to do anything with his senior year. It's not about leaving early, in a pp post, I just it's just vibes I have gotten off him when I have seen him speak on ESPN and other stations.

I don't suppose you ever did bother to go to Youtube and search for Sam's "I am Second" video. Bad vibes? Are you kidding me? He is incredibly humble.

And to call him a quitter is insane. He deferred many millions of dollars (he has said he was guided by the Lord, and still people call him crazy) to return this season. Seems pretty unselfish to me.

And also, to be fair, he is an academic Senior, so it is not like he is dropping out of school or anything. He will graduate and get his degree. He is just forgoing (dependent on how his surgery/treatment goes) his final year of eligibility.

 

[JoBird]

The away games are just Gator Walk- (Which is soooooo much fun)-- with a few thousand opposing teams fans thrown in, all jockeying for position to see Tebow.

We always wonder if the other fans actually ever go to see their team, they are so interested in ours.

State weekend, we stayed at the hotel the State players stayed at. There was hardly anyone around, a few kids asking for autographs of their players.

We went to UF's hotel---- security was so tight- the officers saying "no pictures" to the fans.... roped off areas--- no one was allowed near them the day of the game.
There were lots of State fans there as well, all clamoring for Tebow.

My DD- age 14 ---was actually more impressed when she came face to face with Hernandez, and then when she saw R.Cooper--- it was all over then.

For true Gator fans... it's more than just the Timmy show. That's the difference.

 

[lillygator]

And to call him a quitter is insane.

did you bother reading anything else I wrote?

Aren't you the one who posted Tebow was not real Christian? That is INSANE.


your post

"No the heck kidding. What a stand up Christian guy, eh? A real Crusader for Christ.

Listen, no one knows another person's heart, and I know he has done some great Mission work. But, sometimes Christian men and women have to stand up to those closest to them in real, everyday situations. It's not always about being flashy about being a Christian; but a real leader, Christian or otherwise, would have used this opportunity to say that, "No this is not okay. This is not how we play ball around here. I am disappointed in his actions."

But Tebow's reaction? Not much for turning the other cheek.

Look up Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy's "I am Second" videos on Youtube. Now, those are real men of the Lord. "
__________________

 

[Rora]

My DD- age 14 ---was actually more impressed when she came face to face with Hernandez, and then when she saw R.Cooper--- it was all over then.

For true Gator fans... it's more than just the Timmy show. That's the difference.

Cooper is so CUTE!

And the last statement you made (bold) is so so true. Tebow is fantastic but it's about the TEAM and the love of the game. NOT just Tim.

Gosh, people have some serious beef with Tim. Sheesh.

 

[ChrisFL]

Bradford is twice the player Tebow is. Just wait until they get to the NFL, then we will see... Tebow as a TE/slot WR.

who lost the championship game last year? to what team?

 

[lillygator]

Cooper is so CUTE!


Gosh, people have some serious beef with Tim. Sheesh.

it's jealousy....plain and simple.....god forbid you have a great athlete and wonderful human being.....

 

[mmackeymouse]

Oh.....my....gosh.

I sincerely did not mean to create the firestorm I did. I do not personally know Tebow. And, if you'd like to check out my Twitter, I was the first person to defend Tebow about the "Are you saving yourself for marriage?" question, which I found completely inappropriate, despite my feelings about him.

I am a Christian, and unapologetically so. But, I feel if you are going to advertise yourself as a Christian, which is fine, but then there are a thousand montages about you and your missions, which may not be totally his fault, you should be held to a higher standard. You should hold yourself to a higher standard.

Now, from my team, which is not Oklahoma, by the way, I would be absolutely appalled. I would demand a several game suspension. Look at Oregon's LaBlounte; he was suspended for much longer for something much less severe.

From any team leader, regardless of faith preference, I would expect something a bit more diplomatic than "They did it, too." From a devout Christian, be it Tebow, Bradford, McCoy, whoever, I expect a bit more. I would expect them to follow the book, to remain nameless, that both I myself and these young men subscribe to, which says that if a brother does wrong, it is your obligation as their brother to call them out on it.

I expected more from Tebow, because he DOES have a reputation as a man of high character. If McCoy had said the same thing, I would have lit him up too.

 

[Uuaww]

it's jealousy....plain and simple.....god forbid you have a great athlete and wonderful human being.....

people like myself have a problem with Tebow being treated like the 2nd coming; when in fact it is very likel you will all forget about him the second he leaves Florida. Florida fans are just over the top and the Gators aren't playing that well this year anyways. I mean, how many ranked opponents has Florida even beaten this year versus say Iowa or Alabama?

 

[lillygator]

people like myself have a problem with Tebow being treated like the 2nd coming; when in fact it is very likel you will all forget about him the second he leaves Florida. Florida fans are just over the top and the Gators aren't playing that well this year anyways. I mean, how many ranked opponents has Florida even beaten this year versus say Iowa or Alabama?

well maybe bandwagon fans will forget, but not I.....

and in case you haven't read, they are playing well enough to be #1....that is all that matters - now anything can happen any given Saturday...and next year will be a whole different ball game, but I bleed orange and blue as does hubby and our girls and always will no matter if we are on top or not.

 

[lillygator]

people like myself have a problem with Tebow being treated like the 2nd coming; when in fact it is very likel you will all forget about him the second he leaves Florida. Florida fans are just over the top and the Gators aren't playing that well this year anyways. I mean, how many ranked opponents has Florida even beaten this year versus say Iowa or Alabama?

Preseason Polls and schedules:

FL vs
11 LSU
13 GA
18 FSU
5 Bama (sec champ)

Bama vs
7 VT
8 Miss
11 LSU
1 UF (sec champ)

Iowa vs
9 Penn ST
6 OSU

have to look up individual weeks for rankings, I can't find anywhere that there is a nice side by side analysis.

 

[NotUrsula]

Tebow is only a football player; I don't expect him or any other player to be Mother Teresa, and neither should anyone else. All this blather about how "Christian" a given player is is pure rot. They throw themselves at other people for a living; it's never noble.

I'm old enough to remember the college career of Herschel Walker, and there was hero-worship there, too, but not these bizarre crowds. What makes Tebow different? Sorry as I am to say it, I believe that it is the color of his skin. Tebow is the Great White Hope, and that is bringing out the worst in a lot of fans.

Getting caught on film eye-gouging is worth at least a full-game suspension. Yes, I know it happens all the time, but the man GOT CAUGHT, and he has to pay in a public way for that; it is what it is in the age of the instant replay, and he had better get used to that now. Maintaining the pretense of civility is important in College football, because the powers that be like to use it as a distinction.

That said ... Geaux Tigers!

 

[twalton]

Huge Gator fan here. Won't get into the "Tebow worship" thing, except to say that it's not the kid's fault people fall all over him. The media boosts him up because, frankly, he's almost to good to be true. Again, not his fault.

I'm bothered by what Spikes did on the field. But I'm not sure how exactly it should be handled. I think I agree with Urban that he should be suspended--I would have gone a full game--and leave it at that. It should be an internal issue. Given all of that, plus the fact that the guy's apologized, the Georgia RB says it's a non-issue, and the game is over...I think everyone should let it be. I don't know what else could be done.

I'm certainly not condoning what Brandon did, but it has to be taken with the understanding that that sort of behavior goes on all the time at the bottom of a pile. You're talking about mammoth 20-year-old guys playing a physical, emotional game. Even those of us with the best of intentions can't say that we wouldn't do something like that in the right circumstances. If you think that was the only time that happened--by either team--that day, you're delusional. That being said, you hardly hear about it. Why? Because most football players are able to accept it in the context of the game and leave it like that. Shake hands and move on.

Spikes is being punished, as others have said, because he got caught. Plain and simple. And, heck, if you want to stretch it, and say that everyone that does something like that deserves to be punished, whether it was noticed at the time or not, you've got to be really careful. A review of the tape of the game--ANY game--would reveal multiple infractions by multiple players. In our game alone on Saturday there were a number of things many of us saw in slow motion that the refs missed. Facemasks, holding, tripping. There's another clip I saw (noticed it during the game, too) of a UGA lineman blasting Tebow WELL after he handed the ball off. In fact, the lineman looks around, pauses, and then launches his body, shoulders first, into Tim. Didn't get called (which, OK, happens sometimes--the ref is looking the other way). But to apply these same standards to that player--he should be suspended, too.

It's football. It gets ugly sometimes.

 

[schmitty]

Not surprising. This is Thug U after all. Gator football players are nothing but common criminals, paid to win championships.

 

[Karibeth19]

who lost the championship game last year? to what team?

Touche! But, I do have to argue that is not always the best judge of a superior QB. Two fantastic QB's meet in a game, one is always going to lose, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's the lesser athlete. I'd say last year was a draw; Tim won the NC, but Sam won the Heisman. And, yes, Tim won the Heisman the year before, but who's to say Sam wouldn't have won it this year if he had stayed healthy??

 

[ChrisFL]

Not surprising. This is Thug U after all. Gator football players are nothing but common criminals, paid to win championships.

No we're talking about UF, not FSU