September 07, 2002

Miami dominated. Florida flopped.:

I spent nine months thinking about 'next year' and it pretty much ended right at the beginning. It was incredible to have such a premier game so early in the season, but to be on the losing end is crushingly depressing. A home loss decimates any hopes of a national championship, and without that ... well ... is there really any other point to the season?

At Florida it's all about beating FSU and shooting for the SEC Championship (beating Georgia, Tennessee) ... but even if we manage to do that it will only bring a small solace after taking such a beating.

What do you do when you have to wait 10 or 12 games and another nine months to be hopeful again? Does anyone else know that feeling?

(Insult to Injury: Also a Red Sox fan.)

posted by GatorDavid to football at 11:45 PM - 7 comments

I would not be so quick to become depressed. If Florida runs the table, then they could very well be ranked number 2 and have another shot at the Canes.

posted by jasonbondshow at 12:39 AM on September 08, 2002

Does anyone else know that feeling Hi, my name's mick and I'm a Bengals fan. (yes, yes I will beat this dead horse 'til they make the playoffs)

posted by mick at 01:37 AM on September 08, 2002

another Gator David here... They looked absolutely awful on defense, and Grossman looked like crap at the top of the offense... watching that drive that almost made it 27-23 end up as 34-16 was just crushing... Hopefully they learn from this so that there isn't a repeat performance vs. UT... I mean, I wasn't expecting much vs Miami but I'm going to really be in a foul mood if they end up 2-2 and out of it in the SEC as well... a 9-3 or 8-4 season won't sit well at all...

posted by Bernreuther at 03:46 AM on September 08, 2002

Does anyone else know that feeling? I think that feeling is one half of why we're sports fans. It's what makes winning such an incredible feeling. Without that feeling you might as well be a Yankees fan. Bleh.

posted by elsoltano at 08:05 AM on September 08, 2002

The championship-or-nothing disappointment of Florida fans is one of the reasons I find it hard, as a North Florida resident since 1997, to like the Gators. You guys should try being an alumnus of one of the directional schools (I graduated from the University of North Texas, which reached its first bowl game last year after 47 years and was a national joke because of its 5-6 record). I didn't expect Florida to contend for a title in its first year under Ron Zook, but it was a surprise to see Miami blow them off the field. Local talk radio ought to be entertaining this week, as Gator fans call for his head.

posted by rcade at 12:12 PM on September 08, 2002

"last week you said no gator fans were calling, so I'm calling" "OK, what are you calling about?" "Because, you said noone was calling, and now I'm calling" .... Heh, Dave Barry rocks. Anyone read his mockery of football talk radio in Big Trouble? I think that championship or nothing is the attitude of pretty much all the big schools in the country... Nebraska, UT, UF, FSU, Miami, etc... to these schools anything less than a perfect season and title is a letdown.

posted by Bernreuther at 04:40 PM on September 08, 2002

Take heart, David: Florida can still win the SEC title and find its way into a BCS bowl. It just depends on how they react to this. And I'll say this for Ron Zook, who I covered during his first go-round in Gainesville: he's nothing if not resilient. Most folks demoted by Spurrier would have packed their bags immediately after the season ended.

posted by thescoop at 07:22 PM on September 08, 2002

You're not logged in. Please log in or register.