O-town Gator
Gator Fan
WOW - It's hard to think that the football season came and went as fast as it did. Even so, in spite of all the turmoil in the news outside of sports with the war, the economy and so forth, at least we Gator fans have something to feel good about with the National Championship win last week!
Somehow I had a feeling that this was going to be a good year for Florida football well before things got underway. Once again we brought in a decent freshman class for 2008 that included standouts such as Jeff Demps and Janoris Jenkins, and better yet Coach Urban Meyer survived a challenge to his integrity when somebody squealed to the NCAA that he may have committed a recruiting violation involving Carl Moore, which turned out to have been no wrongdoing on his part.
The 2008 Orange and Blue Game was a sign of these good times to come, as I saw it. In spite of his getting over a case of the flu Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes put on a good show that afternoon, Emmanuel Moody showed us what he could do and Ahmad Black gave us a sneak preview of what he could contribute to our defense with a forced turnover. Later at the Gator Gathering in Orlando, Coach Meyer admitted that he may have let his guard down more than he should have and too a little too much for granted in 2007, but it was a mistake that he learned a lesson from as evident by our team's performance this season. I still recall the smile he gave me in response after I told him "We're going to have a great season, Coach", as I stood in the autograph line prior to his speech.
I'll admit I was a little worried when we lost CI and Dorian Munroe to season-ending injuries; the sports media had already been talking about Florida having probably the best tight end depth chart in college football before that happened. Still, Tate Casey and especially Aaron Hernandez contributed a LOT toward this team's success on offense in 2008.
I knew that if we could get by Hawai'i, and then finally beat Miami after all those years, we could clear one obstacle towards getting to the National Championship. In my honest opinion there was no excuse for that 2003 loss to the Canes after we had a decent halftime lead, but that was attributed to Zook, and that's another thread which I'm not going to expound on at this time.
We humiliated Phil Fulmer in his own house by beating his Vols, but then we got a little too complacent, downright sloppy, and blew the Ole Miss game that could have been a win had we not committed so many mistakes - Tim Tebow included. Natually Gator Nation went into a meltdown afterwards, and the lunatic fringe wanted Dan Mullen's head served up on a platter to be presented to Albert the Alligator as the finger-pointing started. We lost because we screwed up - nothing more, nothing less. It was valiant of Tim Tebow to take accountability for what went wrong out there with that now-famous "I'm sorry" speech - what he had said resonated throughout Gator Nation and was in itself a motivational tool that this team used to get back to playing their game, with a HUGE impact going forward.
The Arkansas game, in spite of the win, was just as sloppy as Ole Miss was, but we managed to stay in control and get the "W" in the end. In the ensuing weeks, beginning with the LSU game, we saw what this team was really capable of doing - and REAL Florida football found its way back into The Swamp reminiscent of the middle Spurrier years. It was a welcome sight!
We made easy work of LSU, Kentucky, Georgia, Vandy, South Carolina and The Citadel - naturally our rivals accused us of "running up the score", but this was Urban Meyer football - 60 solid minutes of play, tough, fast and relentless football. It was a welcome break from shotgun draws, bubble screens, and going into 2nd-half "prevent" mode that we saw from 2002-04 which was uncharacteristic of our style.
I was saying before the season started that the Georgia game was pivotal if we were to go on to Atlanta, and as things turned out that was true. Urban Meyer, in his own way, hinted at a "get-even" for the 2007 loss in his bio "Urban's Way", and he didn't easily forget Mark Richt's tacky stunt in the first quarter of last year's game. We evened the score by beating them 49-10, containing Knowshon Moreno on the ground, and forcing them to make mistakes.
The faction of Gator Nation that still worships Steve Spurrier as a deity may have had mixed feelings after Florida humiliated SOS's Gamecocks 56-6 in, of all places, The Swamp, but hey - we were the better and much stronger team that night. Spurrier may have been forced to swallow his pride a little, but as far as I'm concerned he was a little too hasty when he bailed on us following the 2002 Orange Bowl win. Hindsight is 20-20, Stevie.
The wins over Bama to take the SEC and Oklahoma to win the National Championship weren't easy to come by, but they showed how tough this team was and the wisdom of Urban Meyer paying off - when the going gets tough, the tough get going; tough teams and smart coaches find a way to win whatever the circumstances.
This team's performance was, in my opinion, much better than that of our 2006 team; the unity was stronger, the quality of play was much better, and there was an aggressiveness with this group that wasn't quite there two years ago. Since the senior class on this team had been with Meyer for four years and the underclass with him since the day they arrived in Gainesville, there was less resistance to his way of doing things as I feel may have been evident in the past three years, especially during the 2005 season. Thus the results we had in the end - the best since Meyer took over this program.
I also want to give Coach Meyer some more well-deserved props in another area besides gameday strategy and recruiting that I feel he deserves after this season - in the area of player discipline. After admitting he was a little too lenient in 2007 after the 2006 National Championship win, he stuck by the "core values" he established for this team - tell the truth, treat women with respect, no drugs, no stealing, no weapons - which is why Ronnie Wilson, Jamar Hornsby, Jacques Rickerson and Cam Newton were dropped from the roster. It's a privelege for ANY of our players to put on the Gator Orange and Blue, and it's one that can be taken away just as fast for doing something stupid as these four had done.
Coach Meyer finally has this team going in the direction he has envisioned, and I only see better things ahead for us. We've come full circle in the four years since Meyer's been here, and the transition from Zookville to Titletown is finally complete. I only hope we can keep Meyer in Gainesville for a long time, and bring more titles to our football program.
GO GATORS!!!!!! :gator::gator::gator:
Somehow I had a feeling that this was going to be a good year for Florida football well before things got underway. Once again we brought in a decent freshman class for 2008 that included standouts such as Jeff Demps and Janoris Jenkins, and better yet Coach Urban Meyer survived a challenge to his integrity when somebody squealed to the NCAA that he may have committed a recruiting violation involving Carl Moore, which turned out to have been no wrongdoing on his part.
The 2008 Orange and Blue Game was a sign of these good times to come, as I saw it. In spite of his getting over a case of the flu Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes put on a good show that afternoon, Emmanuel Moody showed us what he could do and Ahmad Black gave us a sneak preview of what he could contribute to our defense with a forced turnover. Later at the Gator Gathering in Orlando, Coach Meyer admitted that he may have let his guard down more than he should have and too a little too much for granted in 2007, but it was a mistake that he learned a lesson from as evident by our team's performance this season. I still recall the smile he gave me in response after I told him "We're going to have a great season, Coach", as I stood in the autograph line prior to his speech.
I'll admit I was a little worried when we lost CI and Dorian Munroe to season-ending injuries; the sports media had already been talking about Florida having probably the best tight end depth chart in college football before that happened. Still, Tate Casey and especially Aaron Hernandez contributed a LOT toward this team's success on offense in 2008.
I knew that if we could get by Hawai'i, and then finally beat Miami after all those years, we could clear one obstacle towards getting to the National Championship. In my honest opinion there was no excuse for that 2003 loss to the Canes after we had a decent halftime lead, but that was attributed to Zook, and that's another thread which I'm not going to expound on at this time.
We humiliated Phil Fulmer in his own house by beating his Vols, but then we got a little too complacent, downright sloppy, and blew the Ole Miss game that could have been a win had we not committed so many mistakes - Tim Tebow included. Natually Gator Nation went into a meltdown afterwards, and the lunatic fringe wanted Dan Mullen's head served up on a platter to be presented to Albert the Alligator as the finger-pointing started. We lost because we screwed up - nothing more, nothing less. It was valiant of Tim Tebow to take accountability for what went wrong out there with that now-famous "I'm sorry" speech - what he had said resonated throughout Gator Nation and was in itself a motivational tool that this team used to get back to playing their game, with a HUGE impact going forward.
The Arkansas game, in spite of the win, was just as sloppy as Ole Miss was, but we managed to stay in control and get the "W" in the end. In the ensuing weeks, beginning with the LSU game, we saw what this team was really capable of doing - and REAL Florida football found its way back into The Swamp reminiscent of the middle Spurrier years. It was a welcome sight!
We made easy work of LSU, Kentucky, Georgia, Vandy, South Carolina and The Citadel - naturally our rivals accused us of "running up the score", but this was Urban Meyer football - 60 solid minutes of play, tough, fast and relentless football. It was a welcome break from shotgun draws, bubble screens, and going into 2nd-half "prevent" mode that we saw from 2002-04 which was uncharacteristic of our style.
I was saying before the season started that the Georgia game was pivotal if we were to go on to Atlanta, and as things turned out that was true. Urban Meyer, in his own way, hinted at a "get-even" for the 2007 loss in his bio "Urban's Way", and he didn't easily forget Mark Richt's tacky stunt in the first quarter of last year's game. We evened the score by beating them 49-10, containing Knowshon Moreno on the ground, and forcing them to make mistakes.
The faction of Gator Nation that still worships Steve Spurrier as a deity may have had mixed feelings after Florida humiliated SOS's Gamecocks 56-6 in, of all places, The Swamp, but hey - we were the better and much stronger team that night. Spurrier may have been forced to swallow his pride a little, but as far as I'm concerned he was a little too hasty when he bailed on us following the 2002 Orange Bowl win. Hindsight is 20-20, Stevie.
The wins over Bama to take the SEC and Oklahoma to win the National Championship weren't easy to come by, but they showed how tough this team was and the wisdom of Urban Meyer paying off - when the going gets tough, the tough get going; tough teams and smart coaches find a way to win whatever the circumstances.
This team's performance was, in my opinion, much better than that of our 2006 team; the unity was stronger, the quality of play was much better, and there was an aggressiveness with this group that wasn't quite there two years ago. Since the senior class on this team had been with Meyer for four years and the underclass with him since the day they arrived in Gainesville, there was less resistance to his way of doing things as I feel may have been evident in the past three years, especially during the 2005 season. Thus the results we had in the end - the best since Meyer took over this program.
I also want to give Coach Meyer some more well-deserved props in another area besides gameday strategy and recruiting that I feel he deserves after this season - in the area of player discipline. After admitting he was a little too lenient in 2007 after the 2006 National Championship win, he stuck by the "core values" he established for this team - tell the truth, treat women with respect, no drugs, no stealing, no weapons - which is why Ronnie Wilson, Jamar Hornsby, Jacques Rickerson and Cam Newton were dropped from the roster. It's a privelege for ANY of our players to put on the Gator Orange and Blue, and it's one that can be taken away just as fast for doing something stupid as these four had done.
Coach Meyer finally has this team going in the direction he has envisioned, and I only see better things ahead for us. We've come full circle in the four years since Meyer's been here, and the transition from Zookville to Titletown is finally complete. I only hope we can keep Meyer in Gainesville for a long time, and bring more titles to our football program.
GO GATORS!!!!!! :gator::gator::gator:
