When did you realize you were a Gator for life? Tell us your story in writing by using the form below, and we’ll post it for Gators everywhere to enjoy.
When did you realize you were a Gator for life? Tell us your story in writing by using the form below, and we’ll post it for Gators everywhere to enjoy.
March 13th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
One day in the 90s,I was looking for the VA hospital to pick up a friend, and I rode around and rode around and could not find that hospital. There was a baseball game and so many people were there, so I stopped and asked the 4th person for directions and when I finally found it, I told my friend that I am a Florida Gator even though I live in Ga. I moved to Jax, Fl in 1996 and have been a G A T O R since.
March 12th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
I became a Gator at the age of 14. When I attended my first college football game On October 25, 1952, the University of Florida defeated Georgia 30-0 . From that moment and forever on, I have been a Gator. I was fortunate enough to start at the University of Florida as a freshman in 1956 and am proud to day I have been a possessor of season tickets to Florida football games since 1956. It has truly been one of the great joys of my life.
February 28th, 2010 at 6:33 am
I’ve been a Gator my whole life. My dad went to UF and I have always wanted to go to UF. I was lucky enough to be admitted to the University of Florida and I am having the time of my life here! It’s amazing how great it is to be a Florida Gator. I wouldn’t trade my time here for anything. There is no place like the Swamp. I can’t wait for football season! Go Gators!
February 19th, 2010 at 11:56 am
I became a Gator at the age of 14. When I attended by first college football game which was played in Jacksonville, the University of Florida defeated Georgia 30-0 on October 25, 1952. From that moment and forever on, I have been a Gator. I was fortunate enough to start at the University of Florida as a freshman in 1956 and am proud to say I have been a possessor of season tickets to Florida football games since 1956. It has truly been one of the great joys of my life.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:12 am
I read about Tim Tebow and his values and became a fan. The more I read and saw him play, the more I liked. I started at that point to become a Gator fan.The more I watched and learned about the Gators,the more I liked them. Then came what made me a Gator fan for life. My son knew how much I liked the Gators and treated me to a trip to a Gator game. We are from Chicago and flew to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game. We stayed at the same hotel as the Gators. I never saw such a close knit group and Never Never saw a coach as devoted and decent as Urban Meyer. He and the Gators were “family”. It was so impressive to see a team that was so close and a staff that was so so nice and appreciative.This was all happening a few days before the biggest game of the year. Urban Meyer’s values and Tim Tebow’s character got me started, but since that total experience, I’M A GATOR FAN FOR LIFE!!!!
January 20th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
When I was 11 and in 6th grade, I remember growing up in Lexington, KY. a Wildcat town, wanting to root for the Gators … and I have ever since… DIE HARD GATOR FAN, GO GATORS!!
January 11th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Simply have been, grew up in Gainesville, saw literally all home games since 1966, followed when overseas again it was and is just part of Life.
January 6th, 2010 at 6:13 am
I was about 13 years old in middle school, I watched my Dad root for the Florida Gators. My school colors were orange and blue, so I put on my gym clothes to root for the Gators with him. I have been a Gator ever since!! That has been about 24 years ago.. GO GATORS!!!
January 4th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
My girlfriend and I have been together for about a year. She is a UF graduate, and an ardent Gators fan, as are the majority of her friends and family. I am originally from England, and now live in North Carolina. For twelve months or so, I dutifully tolerated the adulation bestowed upon Tim Tebow with great bemusement, and felt little more than indifference as I watched her friends, all adorned in orange and blue, feverishly “gator chomping,” and shouting at the TV during football games. We even took the pilgrimage down to Gainesville to visit “The Swamp,” where I felt completely unmoved by the words of Tebow etched upon the wall of the stadium, otherwise known as “The Promise.” Indeed, I believe my girlfriend had pretty much given up any hope that I would ever share in her passion of all things Gator. Then it happened, my epiphany moment.
January 3rd 2010, Raleigh, North Carolina - My girlfriend, one of her Gator friends, two of her Gator relatives and I attended my first Florida game. Florida faced off against NC State at the RBC Center. Sitting in a sea of red T-shirted NC State fans, I watched as Florida played two halves of uninspired, lackluster basketball. As the game went to overtime I must confess I was already contemplating what I was going to eat for dinner, and was secretly wishing the game was over. Florida did not play well in overtime, and to make matters worse, some of the NC State fans behind us were beginning to gloat, and mockingly Gator chomping each other. I sank further into my seat as the outcome of the game became increasingly inevitable.
Down by a seemingly insurmountable margin, with very few seconds left on the clock, a predictable back-and-forth foul and free-throw rally ensued. Florida was down by 2, with less than 3 seconds on the clock, and NC State were shooting a freethrow. I was zipping up my jacket, and preparing to head out into the cold winter air. Then, and this is where my memory goes into slow motion, State missed the free throw, Chandler Parsons rebounds the ball, dribbles maybe twice, and unleashes a shot from 3/4 court. My eyes followed the arc of the ball, up, down, and straight through the hoop. A miracle shot. One of the most amazing feats I have ever witnessed. I have no rational explanation for what transpired in the subsequent few moments (and wish to take this moment to express my apologies to the shocked NC State fans who sat around me), I jump out of my seat and start Gator chomping and yelling with all the fervor and voracity of a rabid lunatic.
As the orange and blue mist dissipated, reality set in, and I had a moment of self realization. Somehow, in that one moment, I had become a Gator. Go gators!
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I became a Florida Gator when I was born. I was born on campus and that really means something to me. But I never knew what it was like to be a Gator or what it meant until the 2009 SEC championship game against Alabama. I know that we lost that game but it meant the world to me to see our team play. When I saw Tim Tebow’s tears I cried harder than I ever had in my life and fell in love with the Gators and Tim Tebow. That’s when I became a gator!
January 2nd, 2010 at 9:32 am
My husband and I visited Gainesville from Canada at the end of October 2009. I loved the city instantly - the way the air smelled, the lush trees - in short, I felt at home. One of the first things a local asked me was “Do you like the Gators?” and I had to admit to him that I wasn’t that much into football. However, throughout our visit I realized that having Gator pride didn’t only have to do with liking football or attending the University of Florida - it’s about team spirit and community. This may sound odd but I do now consider myself a Gator - I wear my Gator t-shirt with pride and even find myself watching (and enjoying!) Gators games on television.
January 2nd, 2010 at 12:47 am
I became a Florida Gator the day I was born in Shands. My dad was a student at Florida and had to skip out on a final to be present at my birth. He swears I was already doing the Gator Chomp when I was just a few minutes old. Since I was a premie I had to stay in the hospital in the NICU until I was better. In the meantime my dad bought me doll sized Gator gear, socks and hats to wear in the hospital and sang the fight song to me to help me fall asleep. Twenty-seven years later, through the good times and the bad, I am so proud to be a Florida Gator! GO GATORS!
December 31st, 2009 at 2:35 am
I became a Gator on Friday, September 26th, 2009. I was on my first tour of the university and I was completely exuberant! Thursday night, we drove along Museum Road and saw the bookstore/welcome center lit up in all its glory. We stayed in the hotel in the Reitz, and I loved how the carpet and bedspread were orange and blue. I woke up and saw the fountain behind the Reitz and explored the Reitz lawn a bit; I just had this great intuitive feeling of belonging.
We took a tour with an awesome Cicerone and I was positive that UF was where I belonged. The absolute moment I became a Gator was in the afternoon when our group passed by Graham Pond and my tour guide showed us the REAL alligator in the lake. And that was it–I KNEW I had become a Gator! I am having the time of my life at UF and I know I will bleed orange and blue until the day I die!!
December 30th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I have always been loyal to the Gators … and my girlfriend, too.
December 26th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
It was in 1974 while my uncle was going to UF. My Grandfather put a game on TV and it was the Gators playing (I do not remember against whom). I liked thier uniforms and th GATOR symbol. I liked Penn St. at the time and still do but, Nittany Lions against The Gators, I’ll take UF.
December 8th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I have been a Gator my whole life. Growing up in a Gator house, and having a whole family of Gator fans, it would have been hard to be anything but. Growing up in Daytona and going to the Daytona Speedway for Gator Day was a blast. Having the coach and some players show up was a kid’s dream. I remember my mother made me a Gator dress for Gator Day, and as soon as I saw Steve Spurrier I knew I was going to have him sign it. I walked up to him with a sharpie at hand, and he looked at me and said,”What a beautiful dress, are you sure you want me to sign it for you? I might ruin it!” I had him sign it and he didn’t ruin it at all. My dad was the biggest fan and he got diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001 and fought that for seven years. Besides having his family with him he got all of his enjoyment from the Gators. If he wasn’t watching them on TV he was bound and determined to go to the games. So for me, watching my dad from the time I was small until the day he passed in ‘08, and seeing him get pleasure from the Gators - I wouldn’t exchange being a Gator for anything.
December 6th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Everyone in this part of Virginia know how proud I am to be a “Double Gator” and part of the Gator Nation!
December 6th, 2009 at 9:10 am
I was a Naval Aviator from June, 1952 to June 1964, when I came to Gainesville to see how it fit my plans for completing my Bachelor’s degree. Drs. Bill Buck and Tom Abbott convinced me to enter the Speech Pathology & Audiology program. One big factor in attending UF then was that you had just gone onto the Trimester system. I complelted my B.A. in December of 1965 and continued in the M.A. program, finishing it in June of 1967. I got wonderful support from ALL the faculty and staff in four departments, and was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi the second semester of my M.A. program, when I was elected President of the UF Speech & Hearing Chapter of the American Speech & Hearing Association. WONDERFUL memories of the campus, faculty, staff, and other students! The highlight of watching the Gator Football team was when Steve Spurrier led us from twenty points behind Auburn through an astonishing three touchdowns in less than three minutes. The crowd surged onto the field in joy after the final whistle, but the referee had the field cleared so our kicker could get the extra point, winning the game!
I was invited to move to Lawrence, KS, to get my Ph.D. in Speech Pathology & Audiology in June, 1970, after I had taught a year at Ole Miss. I taught there seven years, then was invited to join the faculty at U. of Southwestern Louisiana (now called U. La. La.) I was invited to write the proposal to start a program in Speech/Language Pathology Audiology at Longwood College, in Farmville, VA. It was very successful, growing from 5 new students and 5 who were ready for the Junior & Senior courses in 1986 to 65 students by 1997. Seventy-five percent of those gaining the Bachelor’s degree at Longwood were accepted into 15 different Master’s programs in 5 states. All but two of those 68 students completed their Master’s degrees with distinction.
December 5th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I became a Gator when Tim Tebow began playing football at Florida. Everyone becomes a sports fan for a reason and Timmy just happens to be mine. Since I watched him play in 2007 I knew the Gators would be my team forever and always. He is such a true inspiration to me and to many people. He is never afraid to share his faith and stand up for what he believes in and that’s what I strive for. I could never ask for a better team or player. And even though Timmy will be leaving Florida this year the Gators are still my team. I love you Gators!! ♥
December 5th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I became a Gator when I discovered UF was the only one in Florida that had my major.
December 5th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
When my granddaughter was born. She was a premie and was born at the hospital there. Then my grandson had to have some work done on his heart and it was done at your hospital. And my nephew went to school there and was a grad. So I think I’m a Gator for life.
Thanks Sue
December 5th, 2009 at 8:35 am
I became a Gator after my Granddaughter bacame a freshman at UF, 2009.
November 30th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
I became a Gator on Jan 8th 2007, I had just moved from Scotland to Orlando, and I watched the national championshp game vs Ohio State. I was cheering on the Gators of course as I was living in Florida, but more importantly it was the first football match I had really watched since I’d moved. My first love has always been Soccer, and then Basketball, but it’s a lot of fun watching Tebow and the boys crush opponent after opponent with apparent ease. After that I was hooked. They just have too much speed and power for everyone else and I am convinced without a shadow of a doubt if we turn up and play Gator football like we know we can on Sat Dec 5th, we will brush Alabama aside with no problems whatsoever, on our way to another National title. I never attended college in the U.S. but I would have loved to have been a true Gator and attended UF.
GO GATORS!!!
November 28th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
September 14th,1991. After living in Alabama for the previous 20 years and being an Alabama fan for all of those,I had just moved to St. Peteresburg with a greyhound kennel that I had managed. A fellow kennel owner who was a Gators season ticket holder offered his tickets to the Alabama game since he knew I had just moved here from there and he couldn’t make the game. Once in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium it was like a religious experience or conversion and I knew at that time I would be a Gator for life.They went on to win 35-0 and I felt like my betrayal of the past had been validated. Not even watching Bama beat us in the SEC championship game the next year and winning the national championship has ever made me look back.I just recently moved back to Alabama but the Gator in me lives on. This week I will live as the enemy among friends, co-workers and aquaintences but at this time next week they will have to admit that the Gators reign supreme!!!
November 28th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I became a Gator when I sat in my dorm at Rawlings Hall and looked around, realizing that that was it. THIS will be where I go to college. This is what I’ve worked for my whole life, what I’ve struggled to be granted admission to — and as I realized that, I realized I was the luckiest girl on the face of the earth. Looking at the buildings, looking at the Swamp, looking at my schedule with the classes offered and the caliber of professors available to me, going to Turlington and seeing the very different people with their very different opinions, meeting those different people and realizing we were all part of the same Nation, going around Gainesville… Then I realized I was the luckiest girl — along with every other Lady Gator. That it when I became a Gator.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Hello. Today is the last saturday for our Tim Tebow. I hate to see him go and retire - to me he is a handsome guy and I would not mind having him as my man. I have been a Gator Fan since I moved to Gainesville a long time ago. Remember, I am a fan and I rave for my Gators! GoooooooGators!
November 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I became a Gator in 1973 when I was a senior in high school. My dad and I went to a college night at the high school. We listened to presentations by U.F. and F.S.U. When it was over my dad asked me what I thought. I told him I thought I liked U.F. better. He agreed and said that they gave a much better presentation and seemed to be a better school. So we went back in and got an application to U.F. I was accepted and went to Gainesville in the fall of 1973. I’ve been a Gator ever since. I met my husband at U.F. and we have 2 Gator daughters. GO GATORS!
November 24th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I became a Gator in 1977 when I received my acceptance letter from UF. I applied only to UF after I heard from my teachers that UF was the best school in the state. At that time the football team was not doing very well but the school spirit was very high. Fans were suffering through the lean years of Doug Dickey and Charlie Pell until Steve Spurrier came along and fulfilled Bear Bryant’s prediction that UF would one day be a powerhouse in football. After graduation, I met a beautiful young CPA who happened to be a Florida Gator and we married. Twenty-one years later we have three baby Gators and a poodle who all cheer for the Florida Gators.
GO GATORS!!!!!!!
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I became a Gator on Friday the 13th. I had just completed a kayak expedition with some friends and was out of touch from my family for a week. My daughter Laura was waiting to hear from the University of Florida to see if she got in. It was her dream.
We got back from our trip a day early, cleaned-up and went out for dinner. Knowing that my daughter should know her status by now, I went outside and called my wife. She said ask your daughter and put Laura on the line. She was quiet and I was very nervous - almost in tears but she said, “Dad, I got in!” With tears in my eyes and very proud I went back into the restaurant and announced it to my friends. It had been a tough year - I was recently laid-off and needed some good no, great news.
November 21st, 2009 at 12:41 am
The semester before our class graduated from the College of Education in 1971, we all knew it was time to enter “The Real World” very soon. As educators we felt a huge responsibility to translate to our students the knowledge, skills, values and standards that had been expected from us at the University of Florida to the students in the elementary, middle and high schools that we were entering. It seemed like an overwhelming task in the beginning, but as time passed it felt like the most natural job on earth.
You graduate high school, start college, select a chosen field, graduate, and then live our your chosen profession. Now, for young people it can be live out several chosen professions throughout their lives.
Our role seemed much easier and more defined.
Belle Turner, Business Education Teacher; Gainesville High School 1971-2006. 35 Years of devotion to young people and I loved every minute - even the hard times.
Go Gators!!!!
Tim Tebow you are the greatest and we will always remember you!!!!
November 20th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I became a Florida Gator when my stepdad always told me all the good and sometimes bad things that he always did with his friends at UF. I became a Gator when I learned that the Gator’s are AWESOME!!! and that my dad loves them so much because he grew up in Orlando and he lives,breaths and probably will die being a Gator!!!
GOOOOOOOOOOOO GATORS!!!
November 11th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
The year was 1976, i was six years old, my sister was four. We were moving to Jacksonville Florida from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. It was the Bicentennial, gas lines were long, Jimmy Carter was running against Gerald Ford for President, general political unrest was in the air. When we arrived in Florida my father, not letting any of those distractions get in the way, was very excited to begin searching for his new college football team. Dad bought my family tickets to the first game within driving distance of our new home, which happened to be UF vs Vanderbilt. It was a home game for Florida. We arrived on the Gainesville scene and there was orange and blue everywhere. Back then Albert was the “mean Albert” not the friendly one we have today. But that didn’t scare us! we jumped right in buying tee shirts, little googly “ears” with Albert’s face on them, pom-pom’s, Albert socks, you name it, we bought it! Donned with our recent purchases we made our way into the “Swamp” and the roar of the crowd was larger than life. As the cheerleaders got the crowd warmed up for the game my sister and I learned “Orange!!! Blue!!!” and the Gator Chomp. Then Albert made his way on the field and we were hooked! We’ve never looked back. Dad took us to an FSU game next, but lets face it! how BORING are they??? especially compared to the GATORS!! I mean, really! all they have is an Indian on a horse throwing a flaming arrow. Their colors aren’t even pretty! Dad ended up an FSU fan but my sister and I remain, to this day, die hard Gators. Dad passed away four years ago, but the Florida-Florida State game remains a favorite in our family. And we have since passed the Gator legacy on to our next generation.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
The minute I was accepted into UF I became a fan of UF. I didn’t become a Gator until I saw the Vols game in 2008. I had explained to my best friend that I was not a fan of football and didn’t really care. She told me that it was simply unacceptable and invited me to watch the game at her house. I went fully expecting to just sit there and talk or be bored. But there was a moment during the game where I became entranced. There was something almost magical about how the players moved and the energy they had on the field. That was the day I became a Gator.
November 9th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
My little sister was a true Gator from the first day she started college at UF and joined the UF Marching Band. In fact she loved UF and the Gators so much she went to school forever before completing her degree. I live abroad and was never much interested in college football. Trust me, no one in our family could escape her enthusiasm and she would ‘schlepp’ me along to a game whenever I was in the country to visit the family. Her dedication to the “The Gators”, the Alumni Association and everyone involved was the central most important factor in her life. I am certain her Gator friends – who have also become my friends through the years – would agree: Katie Zimmer was a tremendously loyal and dependable fan and supporter. We have even established a scholarship fund through the Pinellas County Gator Club in her name. Katie passed away this spring after a long battle with heart disease. No one would be more proud of the football team’s present success than she. Go Gators !!!
November 9th, 2009 at 11:41 am
My name is Marty Elvis Davidson. And ever since i was a litle boy i could sound just like Elvis Presley. But its not as if I am a HUGE Elvis fan, though -it’s just that I can sound just like Elvis and people will PAY ME for it. Well, what got me to start liking Tim Tebow in the first place was because of one touchdown run he made in particular. He was running for a touchdown, and when he got to about the 10 yard line, instead of just running on in for the touchdown, he did a FLIP!!!…IN MID AIR!!!…THEN ran it on in for the touchdown. And I was just so IMPRESSED by that. I mean I have just NEVER SEEN anybody DO something like that before. And I became a full fledging Gator fan when Florida beat the living heck out of Ohio State in that National Championship game. I mean Florida wasn’t really even expected to WIN that game. But they BEAT Ohio State so bad it was flat out embarrasing!!! And I grew up liking such quarterbacks as Roman Gabriel, Joe Namath, Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw…But theres NO OTHER quarterback who has EVER STOLEN my heart the way TIM TEBOW has!!!!
November 8th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I became a GATOR when I was in elementary school (70’s). I met Bull Gator Jim Williamson. He took my family to a GATOR game at the Swamp…. From then on I was hooked. My cousin is such a fan, he is called “Gator”. There is one phrase that will never die in our family ——GO GATORS!!!!
November 7th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I remember being a little girl and learning how to do the Gator Chomp while watching Gator Football in the living room of my parent’s home. I loved the Gators and I remember my Dad and his friends telling me how GREAT the Gators were and teaching me to love Orange and Blue. But I wanted to be a part of The Gator Nation the minute I set foot on the campus of the University of Florida as a high school senior. But the moment I truly became a lifelong Gator was when I walked out to the mail box to find my acceptence letter from The University of Florida. I guess the rest is history because I spent a fantastic four years at UF full of all the fun memories of a wonderful college experience. And the best part is the love of UF and the Gators stays with you for life as a part of The Gator Nation…no matter how close or how far I am to the campus in Gainesville I will forever be a GATOR!!! I am raising my daughter to love the Gators as well and I hope one day she to will be a part of The Gator Nation!!! GO GATORS!!!!
November 4th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I attended that other school up in the panhandle for a couple of semesters my freshman year in the late 1970s, then decided school was not for me. Fifteen years later, my husband transferred to UF as a junior from community college and remained throughout his Ph.D. But, I did not “convert” that easily.
A year or so later, I found a position within the athletic association. Over time, I came to root for the Gators, *except* for when they played that other school. Then came the Peter Warrick and Dillard’s shoplifting incident, where all Warrick got was a two game suspension from FSU’s coaches. Having seen emails regarding how seriously UF tries to stick within compliance guidelines with Jeremy Foley as AD, my respect for the department and coaches skyrocketed.
I no longer work at UF, but my respect remains just as strong. My husband is an alumnus and my son hopes to be accepted when he applies in a couple of years. The student-athletes are first rate, not only as athletes, but as students as well.
For me, no matter what the seasonal record is for any and all sports, the Gators will be the team to root for.
Go GATORS!!!
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I became a Gator when I wound up living in Gainesville as a kid under rather unusual circumstances. I was five years old, and my younger brother, who was only 9 months at the time, got sick with what we would later discover was Kawasaki Disease. We were living near Tampa, but the local doctors couldn’t diagnose it. We wound up moving to Gainesville to live with my aunt for about a year while he was correctly diagnosed and treated at Shands. Thirteen years later I was accepted to UF, and I was officially a Gator for life. I turned down a full scholarship and thousands in spending money at another Florida school, but for me, it was not an option to go anywhere else. It was the best decision of my life, as I met my husband while a sophomore living in Broward Hall. My two younger brothers are both current Gators, including the one whose life was saved by the doctors at Shands. We’ve since moved to Southern California, and we’ve been amazed at how many Gators are out here on the west coast. The Gator Nation truly is everywhere, and I am proud to be a part of it!
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:23 am
My family was split 50/50 between UF and UGA. I had never picked a side but as I had just turned 14, I found I had to. I was at Shands Hospital in Gainesville visiting on the day of the Florida-Georgia game in 1992. Though they were playing in Jacksonville, I could see The Swamp and decided to let the teams settle it. Whoever won that day would have my allegiance forever. UF won 26-24 and I’ve been a faithful Gator ever since!
Go Gators!
October 31st, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I became a Gator when I was accepted in 2000. I still remember going to games at the Swamp with 90,000+ fans screaming. I went on to graduate school at USC, but remain loyal to The Gator Nation. My younger brother is now an undergraduate student at UF so I know not only me, but the rest of my family is also part of the Gator Nation. I couldn’t be more proud to be part of The Gator Nation and even more proud I was able to get my brother to join too. GO GATORS!
October 31st, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I was born a Gator! I live in Jacksonville and when my mom was 37 weeks pregnant with me it was discovered that I had a diapharamtic herna. My best chance of survival was to go the the University of Florida……. The Gator Nation - as that is where the experts are!!! They literally saved my life. I was very tiny and was operated on when I was 28 hours old……….I made it! I am now 16 and healthy and LOVE the Gators!!!
October 31st, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I was raised to be a Gator by my alum dad, but I first realized that I was a true Gator my junior year of high school. My dad took me to my first football game ever, the 2007 Troy vs. UF football game at the Swamp. We were walking around together, surrounded by a humongous crowd of Orange & Blue and I knew that I wanted to be a part of this awesome spirit for the rest of my life.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Well, when I was born… My dad went to UF for undergrad and graduate school. Now I am “returning the favor” and following in his footsteps by going to UF to Get my MAdv, and will be starting this SPRING! I can not wait to go from a Gator Baby to a FULL- grown GATOR. I know it is the best place for me, and someday I will be as successful as my parents! GO GATORS… THE GATOR NATION IS EVERYWHERE! Love you Dad!
October 29th, 2009 at 10:38 am
When I was in high school quite a few years ago at Holmes County High, Bonifay, Florida, I became the extra point kicker for the Blue Devils. I wanted desperately to attend University of Florida AND maybe get a chance to be a Gator, but did not have the money to go and walk on. Anyway the Gators have been my team since then. Tim Tebow is probably the best to play the game. Hope he can have a lot of fun this next saturday. Thanks for this opportunity. Vernie Whittaker
October 26th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I was born into a Gator family, and a Rattler family. Gaotrs because that is our (the family’s) favorite team, and Rattler because my mother is an FAMU Alumni.
GO GATORS !!!!!!!!
October 24th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
GO GATORS
October 24th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I became a “Gator” after marrying my wife (formerly Denise Kelly) who used to baby sit Billy Donovan when he was kid in Rockville Centre, Long Island. I had to give up my status as a Maine Black Bear.
Dave Dix
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:23 am
I graduated in 2006 from UF, and what a memorable year that was for the Gators! But I realized I am and will always be a Gator when I moved far away from Gainesville. I really miss that place!
October 17th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
We were visting our son and his new bride who happened to be working on her PHd in chemistry, and we drove him from Maguire Village up to Levin for his first day of classes. Even as a CU Buffalo class of 78, I knew right then I was a life-long Gator. We are now the proud parents of a double Gator Doctor, home in Jacksonville. Our daughter in-law is teaching at UNF and is a visiting scientist at Mayo in JAX, and our son is a new member of the State Attorney’s office. Go Gators, no more close wins this year please.
October 17th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
My big brother was recruited out of Lakeland High to played UF football in the late 50’s. So I naturally always thought I was a Gator until 1985. I was on a plane flying out of Ft. Myers to Pittsburg on a short business trip. A rather large man sat next to me and it was quite uncomfortable in our coach seats. I settled down to read my Wall Street Journal when the robust man asked if I had a brother after seeing my name on the subscription label. Yes, I replied. He again inquired did your brother Bobby play ball for Florida? Obviously at this point I was quite curious who this gentleman was. He said, “I am Coach Bob Woodruff, I was the head football coach and recruited you brother to play for Florida”. He began to tell me how he went to our house and talked to our father about brother Bobby playing for UF. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. My brother passed away the same year as Coach Woodruff a few years ago and I am sure there is a great Gator team in heaven. My son graduated in 1999 from UF as it was a personal goal of mine. But that plane trip in 1985 was my welcome to a lifetime member of The Gator Nation.
October 16th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I became a Gator without knowing it playing college football games with my dad and always choosing the Gators cause they were “good”. Years later my cousin graduated from UF and I went to watch. I thought the Gator head was a cool symbol. I finally knew that I was a Gator was when I watched the Gators play South Carolina in 2005 and I watched Jarvis Moss block the field goal that would have won SC the game. Ever since that day i have bled “Orange and Blue”. Now I am hopeful of becoming a student at the University of Florida.
October 15th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
October 25th 1939 at 2:17 A.M. My midwife Grandmother smacked me and I yelled “GO GATORS”.
October 15th, 2009 at 9:11 am
My name is Kieran Kidder. I have been an avid/passionate Gator fan since 1994. I am hands down physically (I’m 350lbs)/mentally one of biggest fanatics of anything to do with my beloved Florida Gators. Unfortunately I’m not an alumni, but I bleed Orange and Blue to the core. Here’s my story on how I became a Gator for life!
I have a background in the sport of powerlifting. In 1993 I won a super heavyweight national championship. I was invited up to Gainesville by a sorority along with my friend who was a nationally ranked bodybuilder. These sorority girls who asked us to come were conducting a health/fitness week. We gave a seminar to a group of students about strength training/bodybuilding/nutrition. These girls showed us such an awesome time. They cooked my friend and I a fantastic dinner, took us to the hot spots, showed us around UF campus from top to bottom, and put us up in the school’s on-campus hotel. These sorority girls were all absolutely gorgeous, and such sweethearts too, the epitome of classy Lady Gators!
I remember looking around the UF campus in total amazement at all the beautiful historic buildings on streets lined with giant live oaks draped with spanish moss, with the legendary Swamp in the background. Saying to myself, “This the coolest place I have ever seen, and I want to be a part of it!”
When I went back home to New Symrna Beach, I started watching Gator Football with my neighbors, who were big Gator fans too. Watching the games on TV I could tell there was something extra special about Florida Gator football, but I didn’t quite know what it was. I was originally from New Hampshire, and I had only seen a dozen or so New England Patriots football games, but never a Division 1 college football game. Plus my neighbor had been to many Gator games as a child with his Dad, but he hadn’t been to the Swamp for many years. He told me going to the Swamp was an experience like nothing else! So I eagerly wanted to go to a Gator football game to be there in the flesh.
I had an address given to me from one of the girls of the sorority. So I sent them letter and asked if they could give me some advice on how to get some tickets. I was just expecting some information and was more than willing to pay for tickets, next thing I know I receive a letter from one of the girls at the sorority written on their sorority’s pink Gator letter heading with 2 tickets to the Florida/Georgia game. To my surprise this one sorority girl had invited me and my friend to go to the game with her. I was married to my 1st wife at the time. To add to the surprise when I got home from work that day, there was my wife holding this pink letter with 2 tickets clenched in her fist wanting to know who this young lady was inviting me to a Gator game? She said I was forbidden to go. Heartbroken I watched her take the letter, tickets, my sorority contact info, and throw it in the trash. She watched the trash can like a hawk all that night, but I wasn’t going to be denied! I got up early the next morning before my wife was awake and dug through the trash like a maniac. The pink letter/contact info was torn to shreds! But miraculously I found the tickets completely intact, except the corner of one the tickets got torn. It was a sign from the Gator Gods! The game was 2-3 weeks away. Keep in mind this was back in ‘94, but on game day I think I made up some excuse that I was going fishing to get out the house so I could head up to Gainesville. I didn’t even tell my neighbor until game day about the tickets so the cat wouldn’t get let out of the bag. I randomly pulled up to his house with the tickets in hand and said, “you wanna go to the FL/GA game!” He was so stoked!!
When we pulled into Gainesville I couldn’t even fathom the energy/excitement of all he thousands of Gator fans pulling into town. It was mind boggling!!! Then when we walked into the stadium I was completely blown away looking/listening to 90,000 plus screaming Gator fans. It was an indescribable feeling! Something that I was yearning for my whole life. I said to myself, ” How come nobody ever told me about this?” As I was standing in the opening of the tunnel on the way to our seats in awe just taking it all in, right then is when I fully realized what made Florida Gator football so special. Because out of nowhere I heard the Gator Marching band erupt into the Gator fight song, and all the Gator fans screamed in unison Go Gator’s!! Right then chills ran up my spine and my eyes filled with tears of joy. It was like an orange and blue epiphany! I looked at my neighbor who had a look on his face, a look like I told you there was nothing greater than being Gator! Right at that moment I unequivocally became a Gator for life!!
We were fortunate enough to watch the Gators whip Georgia’s butt in one of the only FLA/GA games played in the Swamp because the Gator Bowl stadium in Jax FL. was being renovated for the Jaguars. I still have the after-game victory poster they sell outside the stadium hanging in my office to this day. From that night forward I have devoted my whole life to being a Gator through thick and thin, raised my kids up diehard Gator fans too, and took them to as many games as possible. Because to me, Go Gators isn’t just a saying, but a way of life.
When my son and I went to the National Championship game in Miami it was like deja-vu all over again. Standing there just before kickoff as the band erupted into the our fight song and all of the Gator fans screamed Go Gator’s at the top of their lungs, those same tears of joy returned just like in 1994 at my first Gator game. I hugged my son as we got ready to watch one the greatest National Championships ever played, as we watched our fearless leader Tim Tebow lead us to victory.
Kieran Kidder, WPB FL. Go Gators!!
October 10th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
I became a GATOR by accident. I was surfing the web looking for a degree program that might interest my son when I came across the U of F distance learning program in Forensic Toxicology. Being born and raised in Washington State I was about as far as I could get from Florida and never looked at anything offered in the state. After contacting the forensic staff I signed up to take a couple distance courses … they turned out to be outstanding and so I applied to work on a Masters in Forensics. At the same time I thought since I was an enrolled student I should watch a Florida football game. I saw a freshman quarterback called Tebow that just blew my mind away. Not only was I getting a great education, but I was also represented by a great group of kids and staff on the sports field. Even though I have several other degrees I take pride in my Masters from the U of F and being a GATOR.
October 10th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
I became a Gator when I realized the faculty there truly cared about their students.
As potential graduate students in Chemistry, my husband and I found out about UF’s program very late in the recruiting year. We’d already been to other schools and had almost committed elsewhere before a professor encouraged us to come out for a visit. We were amazed at how well the graduate students were treated relative to the other schools we’d visited. The graduate coordinator arranged to meet with us at the end of the day. They’d already made all their offers for the following year when we came, so he spent the day calling all the potential students until he was sure he had enough room to admit us. By that time, we were hooked, so we were elated to get the offers.
Our time at Florida was great. Even though we’re originally from Texas, we never appreciated football until we came to Florida. Being there for the National Championship in 1996 was amazing!
October 10th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I became a Gator fan when I began dating my boyfriend Moe. We were both in our 40’s, and he lived in Fl. for 11 years. He attended middle, high school and college there, and became an avid fan of the Gators. There is no one who can watch them without catching Gator fever from him. He never gives up on them. Never says anything bad, only says the bad things that happen makes them grow. His positive attitude made me become a fan also. I now watch them play football, basketball, and occasionally in Vermont we can get a softball or baseball game. If they are on tv, we do not miss them.
Laurie
October 8th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I became a Gator right after I graduated from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach in 1968. The reason I became a Gator is because I graduated with a guy I idolized who was the best football player Mainland ever had and a truly nice guy. He went on to excel at running back at UF. He, along with our fine quarterback John Schnebly, signed that year to play at UF. He was a man among boys. I know because I played a couple of years and went up against him a few times and after I woke up from the hit, I was ok after a couple of days. After he graduated from Florida and played for a while in the World Football League, he came back to Daytona and was a very successful businessman and a did a lot for his community. A lot of you Gators’ already know who I’m talking about. He was in the same class at Florida with a few other great Gators; John Reaves, Carlos Alverez to name a couple. In 1969 when those I mentioned had a big year as sophomores, they called them “the super sophs”. He held a lot of records at Florida and is still among the top in some categories. One was for most touchdowns in a season which was fitting because his initials are “TD”. His name is Tommy Durrance. “Touchdown Tommy” some called him. Sadly, Tommy died a couple years ago, with many UF alumni and coaches attending and speaking at his service. But he left a lasting impression on me and many others. So, I thank Tommy for helping me to become a Gator for life.
October 6th, 2009 at 1:32 am
It’s really hard to say, but I’d guess about 50 years ago, My dad was always telling me “This is the year of the Gator” and in those days they didn’t do too well, but they sure as heck tried. I myself didn’t ever attend, but I have many relatives and friends that did, so I guess it just evolved over the years until now I too bleed “Orange and Blue”, My favorite teams now are the Gators, and whoever is playing the Noles, the Canes and the rest of the SEC teams. Seriously though, can anyone think of any conference tougher than the SEC in the past few years?
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I became a Gator the first time i saw them play!!! then I looked at the the website. I love the Gators and hopefully I will be a Gator because one day I will be….. its my destiny!!!!
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I became a Gator during Homecoming 1969. I was a senior in high school and came up to visit my brother who was in his second year @ U of F. I stayed with him at the Pi Kappa Phi house on frat row
went to the parade, Gator Growl and the Game (Did we play Maryland?)and of course there were a few parties that night. I returned home to Plantation, FL…applied to U of F and started in September 1970. I lived, went to school and worked in Gainesville until 1977. I have carried those memories and that spirit with me ever since (many states and cities). I just returned to Florida (Jax) in 2008. It’s Great To Be A Florida Gator !!!(I left 18 years in Gainesville, GA- 45 minutes from the Dawg House !!!)
September 30th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
All right, I became a Gator when my mom finally married the right guy who became my dad and my best friend. My father intoduced me to the Gator Nation pride that he had. He had attended the University of Florida and earned his masters in micro biology. He is an amazing man and even better father. Helping me become a Gator has opended my life completely and is one of, if not the greatest thing he could ever do for me. It pretty much set my goals and my dreams. I would not want anything else but to follow in his footsteps and become a Gator for real!! Not only would I absolutely love to attend, but to play fooball for them is my life long dream and goal. Percey Harvin is and will always be my idle. And to play under Urban Myer would be an absolute privlidge! I will continue to work hard in hopes that one day I can walk into Ben Hill Griffin stadium as a GATOR!
September 26th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I have an intersting story, it starts when I was born in Atlanta, GA, not your typical Gator birthplace, but I grew up listening to ‘Jackets and ‘Dawgs games on the radio with my best friend’s dad. I knew I was different. I tried to get into the games but something was missing. I always hated the FSU Crimanoles…but didn’t know why. I did the tomahawk chop in Fulton Co. Stadium (home of the Braves)and later across the street in Turner Field. I later moved to Richmond, VA and ran into a person that would become one of my lifelong best friends, and he introduced me to what I really am: A FLORIDA GATOR. That year I watched perhaps the best coach of the modern area, but we call him “the old ball coach” lead us to our first of many National Championships. I was hooked. I remember the day it was the the annual “Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” in 1995, I finally realized that from that day on I was a Gator. In 2006 when we took the NCAA and the BCS championships in the same year, I realized that truely nothing is greater than to be a Florida Gator. As much as I love football, basketball is my true passion. My good friend that helped me “out of the closet” to my true colors Orange and Blue was at the 2006 and 2008 BCS Championship games. I myself have never seen the Gators play live, but all my friends know whether it’s basketball season or football season if the Gators play that day I’m not to be bothered…unless of course you want to watch the game or make a friendly wager. I plan on going to my first Gator basketball game this fall at the St. Petersburg Times Forum and if I get the chance, a game at the Swamp and O’Dome will soon follow.
GO GATORS!!!
September 26th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I have been a Gator my whole life but became fully connected to The Gator Nation when my dad had a kidney transplant at Shands. The doctos, nurses, staff and people that helped my family with getting my dad a new kidney were the best in the world. From his transplant coordinator to the nurses that took care of him and my uncle after the surgery, they were more than my family could have asked for. We were able to see the full compassion of The Gator Nation during our time in Gainesville. By my dad receiving the kidney from my uncle and the care from the University of Florida, it extended his life by almost another 7 years. I AM FOREVER A MEMBER OF THE GATOR NATION!!!
September 26th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I was also born a Gator. My father played for the Gators from 1957 to 1962. I was born during that time and we all lived in the married housing on campus. I came back in 1978 to attend myself! I’ll always be a Gator! You know you’re a true fan if you were still a fan during and after the 1979 season….
September 26th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I will never forget the first football game at the University of Florida when I looked around the stadium and the sea of orange and blue and saw 90,000 fans all doing the Gator chomp in unison. I had always rooted for the Gators but it wasn’t until that moment that I realized what it meant to be a part of the Gator Nation. I remember calling my family from the game screaming “I bleed orange and blue!!!” and I have never looked back. I have recently graduated and moved out of Florida, but I can’t tell you the rush I get whenever I see a fellow Gator or a car with Gator stickers. I’ll never forget my four years there and how those years shaped me to be the person I am today. It’s truly GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR!!!!
September 19th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I became a “GATOR MOM” in 1998 when at the age of 5, my daugter Taylor KRISTEN told me she wanted to be a Veterinarian. I decided that UF was the place for her to be and I look forward to her acceptance following her graduation from Apopka High School in 2012. GO GATORS!!!!
September 18th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I became a gator in 1991. I love Florida Gator football. Every year I try and have a party for the UT Vols and Gator game. People get mad, but I know how to deal with Gator haters. I’m a Gator for life…
September 13th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I grew up in Florida but never really had a FAVORITE football team. When my son was diagnosed with leukemia back in 1990, that diagnosis sent us on our way to Gainesville. We spent a great deal of time at Shands for his treatments that lasted 3 years. While there, our family got interested in Gator football & we have stayed GATOR fans to this day & we also thank Shands for the wonderful care my son received! GO GATORS!!
September 12th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
My wife and I moved to Florida in 2006 and decided to support one of the local universities as we had done in our home state. As fate would have it, I needed to go to Shands Medical Center at UF. We toured the campus and fell in love with the place, its atmosphere and the school mascot: “Albert the Gator.” right there and then we agreed that this would be the school we would support for the rest of our lives. We have attended games and events and follow the university’s accomplishments closely. Go Gators!
September 11th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I became a Gator the day I started work at UF. I immediately became a proud employee and more importantly a VERY proud Gator fan.
September 9th, 2009 at 11:35 am
I was born a Gator, my parents both went to UF and I was born before my mother graduated - so I am truly a Gator. I am the biggest fan alive -especially football. To all the Gators out there - GO GATORS!
September 6th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I became a Gator my first time visiting the campus and going to a football game my sophomore year in high school. I was a first generation Floridian and my whole family was from up north, so I never had a favorite Florida team. I was also sure that I would go to school out of state. That all changed the day I went to that game. I fell in love with the school and the passion that people had for it. I think we actually lost the game that I went to and I can’t even remember who we played, but after that day, there was no question that I was going to UF for college. The actual college experience didn’t disappoint. UF became my hone away from home, and I look back on it fondly. Now that I live in Seattle, I feel even more pride in my school. Even though we are 3,000 miles away from Florida, the Gator Nation is still strong here!
September 5th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Since BIRTH
August 31st, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I became a Florida Gator the Fall of 2001 when I first walked into “The Swamp”. During a visit from Tallahassee where I intended to study, I walked into the Swamp with a fellow freshman who decided on the University of Florida. Walking into the Swamp I looked up and saw over 80,000 people screaming with a passion I’d never seen. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a Florida Gator! I transferred to the University of Florida the following Fall…
August 15th, 2009 at 3:17 am
I was born in the state of Ohio. LOL My mom moved us to Florida when I 5yrs old. Since I can remember my mom always watched football - college and the NFL. I was probably 8 when I started to watch and became a GATOR for life. I remember my mom’s friend showing up on Christmas Eve with gifts for me and my sister. They were ornaments for the tree: MINE A GATOR.
It was 1992, I believe I was 14 yrs old and watching the Sugar Bowl. I can still remember sitting in my room by myself because my mom was cheering on Notre Dame, as was my sister who loved the Noles. At the end of that heart-breaking game I was in tears we had lost. That day is still in my heart and for the past 22 years I have cried at every game we ever lost. The greatest moment in my Gator history was in 2007 when I was sitting with my mom and her boyfriend(a GATOR) at his house when in the first few moments of that game we showed them we came to play and when I stood up and yelled my mom not so kindly asked me to go home to watch the game ALONE yet again. EXCEPT THIS TIME I WASN’T CRYING AT THE END OF THE GAME.
I myself am now a mother. My 8yr old daughter knows nothing other than the colors orange and blue. From the time she could walk and talk it has always been the GATOR NATION for her - NO CHOICE, lol. I have pictures of her sitting in her bedroom last year in her recliner watching the game asking me to please quiet down - she couldnt hear what they were saying? Seriously a 7yr old wanting to hear the call on the field … what a proud moment for me. I have had a couple of chances to attend a game, however i have never been able to make them. Every time I think about it my eyes swell with tears to think I havent made it in 22 years.
We are currently stationed in Hawaii. My husband, ONE OF THE FEW THE PROUD, is serving in Afgan. We have 2 yrs left on island and we are coming back to the mainland. My wonderful Marine/husband has promised that we will make it to the biggest and best game the FLORIDA/GEORGIA game (as you see, Florida first, always and forever. GOOOO GATORS).
So as you can see my WHEN DID YOU BECOME A FLORIDA GATOR? ANSWER IS: WHEN MY EYES FIRST SAW THEM HIT THE FIELD I BECAME PART OF THE EVER GROWING GATOR NATION!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GATORS GO GATORS
August 7th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I realize I am a Gator for life whenever I reflect on my four years at U of F. I attended on full scholarship in the mid 60’s, roughly in the Spurrier era. Believe it or not, back then, students had to abide by a dress code and shorts were not allowed on campus during the day. Women had a curfew, and had to be back in their dorms at 10 or 10:30 during the week. Viet Nam was the specter hanging over all colleges in those years. One day my English professor announced we would not be having class because he was leaving to participate in an anti-war protest. The year 1970 was the year of my graduation. On May 1, 1970 Nixon announced the U.S. was invading Cambodia. May 4, 1970, four students were killed and nine injured during an anti-war protest at Kent State. Anti-war students organized at U of F, called a hunger strike, and pitched tents on the front lawn of Tigert Hall. The hunger strike went on about 14 days, supported also by some faculty members. Other than these Gator memories though, my strongest memories are of the sound education I received. U of F in those years operated under the University College concept, where each and every student was required to receive a liberal arts education in his or her first two years, regardless of future major. One of my professors actually knew Carl Orff, who composed Carmina Burana, and this professor succeeded in bringing the ballet to campus. When we studied music in humanities, one of my professors dimmed the lights of the large auditorium where we had class, and, as we entered. Wagner’s Tannhauser was playing at full volume. I had the privilege of taking Introductory Psychology with Sidney Jourard, author of The Transparent Self, although unfortunately he died an accidental death while working on his car a few years after I graduated. In American Institutions we read Michael Harrington’s The Other America and the now classic works of Max Lerner. One week my Institutions professor posed the question, “If you had a choice of bringing out from a burning building either the American flag or the Mona Lisa, which would you bring.” I can recall being the only one who would bring out the Mona Lisa, and being asked to explain my answer. Almost every Sunday in the University Auditorium classical musical presentations of some form or another would be held. I stayed in Gainesville a few years after I graduated and some of the dates blur, but U of F also brought Richard Nixon to campus, Ravi Shankar, Allen Ginsberg, and Aaron Copeland! I will also not forget learning about Batesian mimicry in biology class. My U of F education was solid and sound. When I attended, the ratio of males to females was about 4:1, so on home game days, there would not be a single female left in the dorm. In the dorm I also lived through an infamous “panty raid” and hung from the balconies as the KA’s, dressed in Confederate uniforms and riding horses, delivered invitations to one of their balls, for selected female dorm residents. I attended the formal inauguration of Stephen O’Connell, where almost every university professor showed up in full academic regalia, which was quite a sight. Not realizing that the student newspaper, the Alligator, printed a very convincing April 1 (Fool’s Day edition), many students went around all day saying, “Did you see that J. Edgar Hoover has resigned. When the 24 hour Krystal hamburger restaurant opened on the edge of campus, it was a real treat for students. They used real dinnerware, mugs and plates, and coffee, a waffle, and sausage was less than a dollar! In a show of bravado late one night, my dorm roommate and I sneaked out after curfew, crossed a totally deserted campus, and went for coffee. So, I am a Gator for life, at least mentally and nostalgically. I eventually went on to obtain a Master’s and a J.D., although (perhaps sadly) not from U of F. Recently I visited friends in Alabama and their neighbor’s young teenagers were avid Gator fans. When I told them I was in school at the same time as Steve Spurrier, I thought they were going to ask for MY autograph! My only regret from U of F was that I didn’t marry the boy/man who sat next to me in English class.
August 5th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I became a Florida Gator before I was even born. Both my parents graduated from the University of Florida, and the Christmas(Dec. ‘89) before I was born(Jan. ‘90) my mother gave my father a baby University of Florida sweatshirt. Ever since then orange and blue have been my favorite colors to wear. 19 years later I am in my second year here at the University of Florida, continuing the tradition of the family.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:19 pm
In May 1969 I arrived at Bitburg Air Base, Bitburg Germany for my three-year tour with the U.S. Air Force. My roommate was from Knoxville, Tennessee so all I heard during that football season was “how great the ut vols were”. It did not take long for me to hate the vols. As it turned out, Tennessee won the SEC that year, but did not play the Gators during the regular season. They played the GATORS in the Gator Bowl. The GATORS had a young QB by the name of John Reaves and a young receiver by the name of Carlos Alvarez and they of course tore the vols apart. The GATORS won 14-13. As a result of that win, it shut my roommate up and I became a GATOR fan. I remember the game well, because it was the first live broadcast of a college game to Europe over the Stars & Stripes radio. After finishing my four-year Air Force enlistment, I enrolled at Florida Technological University (UCF) and became a high school teacher. Although I graduated from UCF, my heart was always with the GATORS.
I have relatives who live in Tennessee and they are big ut vols fans, which of course renewed my hatred for the ut vols. My son will be a freshman GATOR this August, and as I told my relatives earlier this year, “if you think that I was a die hard GATOR before—you have not seen anything yet”
July 28th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I became a Gator at my very first Gator game as a freshman in 1961 after moving from Michigan and expecting to be a Big Ten baseball player…I became excited at the crowd noise when the Gators came running out of the tunnel at the very first game…I knew I was a Gator for life when I realized after graduation that I could not live through football season without season tickets - which I have used for years…..I became an absolutely Crazy Gator the day after Steve Spurrier brought the “fun and gun” to the “Swamp” and we proceeded to dominate the SEC and all the record books in the decade of the 90’s….I became the absolute nut that I am now since Urban Meyer took over the helm and is now in a position to put the Gator Nation in the position of being not only the most dominant and successful football program, but the most exciting to watch in all of College Football…and being where all other programs have feared we would be one day… on top and having the others try to figure out how to stop this absolutely high flying program with no end in sight!!!….Think about it….with all of the pieces of the puzzle in place,with an offense and defense that now uses removable parts, recruiting that is second to none, An incredibly noisy and colorful Stadium “The Swamp” full of 92,800 crazies, The best coaching staff on the sidelines,what is going to stop us from staying in the top 5 for a very very long time????????
Even Erin Andrews is a Gator!!!!!!!!! Go Gators
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:57 am
I became a Gator during the Spurrier Era. I loved the old ball coach. I became a fan and loved the intensity the players had for the game. I’ve been bleeding Orange and Blue ever since. I’m getting my PHD from UF and hopefully my sons will follow mommy and become not only GATOR Fans but Gator Alumni.
GO GATORS
July 12th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Did anyone see the Tour de France on 7/12/09 and the kid on the side of the road (right after the bikers crossed the summit)waving a GATOR FLAG??? My hubby did not believe me but thanks to DVR he replayed and freezed the frame that showed this WORLD is a GATOR NATION!!!
Thanks for letting me share!
Amy Patterson
Queen of Everything!
June 28th, 2009 at 8:07 am
I am in the Military currently serving in Iraq. I have missed the last 4 seasons of Florida Football due to being stationed overseas or deployed to the Middle East. I should make it home for the first game this season, keeping my fingers crossed. I have spent the last 4 years scouring the internet for the latest and greatest information on the Gators. The only upside to all of this is during this past year that I have spent in Iraq I managed to get someone from the UF Athletic Department to mail me a copy of every game they played. It was great. Granted it would take a month to get here, none the less, I was able to watch. My wife and I are planning a little trip with the kids and I am afraid to say it, but it conflicts with both the Kentucky and Tennessee games. I think I am going to order one of those portable Sirius MP3 players that are like 300.00 just so I can at least listen to them while we are on the road. I know that is really expensive, especially for a soldier, but to me it will be worth it. Plus, this way I will be able to catch a broadcast of the game even if it is not going to be on TV in my area. Everybody please wish me luck in getting home safely and in enough time to at least listen to the first game of the season, since I know they are not going to be televising it in Colorado.
June 16th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I became a Gator when I was born. I grew up watching my father cheer for the Gators every Fall in our living room. Then my sister and cousin went to UF when I was in middle school, and both graduated in the Zooker years. I count myself blessed to be a student at UF under the Meyer era. I still get goosebumps finally walking the campus, knowing that now I’m an official student here.
June 15th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I was born and raised in a small city in Florida. I’m a true Florida native and a first generation college student. For me dreaming big was all I have ever done, and UF is considered the hardest public university in the nation to get into so I applied. Since the day I received my acceptance letter I have been estatic, touring my dorm, going to preview, and most of all getting my Gator One card have made me all the more excited.
June 12th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
In 1969 U of F was the only school in Florida that had a school of Physical Therapy. I was one of 28 students accepted for the class of 1974. I became a Gator Fan then and have been continually since.
June 12th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I became a Gator when I registered for my first semester ($65.00) for all the courses I could take, then complained when they raised the cost to $75.00 per semester and now the cost is more per semester hour. I guess I have been a GATOR for more than 50 years.
May 28th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I realized I was a Gator for life when my parents got divorced and my dad moved to Florida. I am the only person in the family that likes the Gators bc my family are all from Ohio…but I chose to honor my favorite football team. I’m a cheerleader, so I love the teams…but the Gators take it all the way with three championships in basketball and two in football… I LOVE THE GATORS!!!
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 am
I AM A GATOR AND HAVE BEEN EVER SINCE I VISITED THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHAT’S FUNNY, IS THAT EVERYONE IN MY HOUSE ARE GEORGIA BULLDOG FANS, BUT I REMAIN STRONG FOR THE ORANGE AND BLUE. IT’S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR!!!!!
May 12th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I’ve been a Gator ever since I was a baby. I was going to move down there. I AM A GAToR FOR LIFE even if I am only 13.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:24 am
I became a Gator fan in 1979 when my mother, sister and I moved there and went to my first game. The starting QB was named
Larry Ochabe. The word around G’ville was when the wind blew Larry fell down. We went 0-10-1 that year. “If you ain’t a Gator you’re
Gator Bait! I’ve been a Gator ever since, Even if I live in South Florida.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Ever since my father move us to Jacksonville, Florida from Seattle, Washington, he had us watching Gator ball. I loved it, and at the beginning of this year, as a high school freshman, i realized that I wanted to be a Gator forever. I am hoping and praying that I will get into UF when I graduate
April 29th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I became a Gator fan in the late 80’s. We sucked but I knew there was something about the Orange and Blue. I grew up in Jacksonville, FL and at that time there were a lot of Bulldog fans that lived close to me. I just kept the faith. Now look at us: three time National Champs! I’m now living in Cleveland, OH, but I still proudly wear my Gator attire. Even in the heart of buckeye country, I bleed ORANGE AND BLUE!
April 28th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
I lived in Hickory Hill trailer park in ‘68 & ‘69. I was just a kid but knew it was special living by the university.
We rode our bikes all over the campus and visited the Gator by the big church ———- it was so cool.
Many students called that trailer park home, it was a great time to be a kid.
April 28th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I became a fan of the Gators in 1992 when the old ball coach was football coach at Florida. When Billy D became BBall coach I started pulling for the Gators in BBall. Living in Kentucky, there are not too many Gator fans around. I go watch the Gators play football when they play Vandy in Nashville and also go watch them play Kentucky in Lexington. I will be 60 years old in May and hope to someday go to the Swamp and watch the Gators play. I am looking forward to this football season will be going to Lexington to watch the Gators beat up on the wildcats.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:26 am
I moved to Gainesville from China when I was 3 years old because my dad was getting his PhD from UF. I later moved to St. Louis at the age of 6 but grew up a huge Gators fan. I knew that I was a Gator for life a little more than a year ago when I got my acceptance letter and scholarship offer to be a student at my favorite university. It’s great to be a Florida Gator.
April 4th, 2009 at 10:41 am
In 1960 my father took my older brother, Ben and his friend and I to Gainesville to see the ranked Florida Gators play Auburn. We sat in the south end zone bleachers and the Gators were upset. I do not recall much about the game. I was 14 years old and had never seen a college game in person or on TV at that time. Needless to say I was hooked and have been a true blue (and orange) fan ever since. All my 4 brothers and one sister are Gator fans we we live from Florida to California. Today my sister and brother-in-law are coming over to watch the Florida Gators play Vanderbilt in baseball on TV. We currently reside in Young Harris, Georgia (north Georgia mountains) and get razzed a lot about our Gator connections. My stepdaughter just graduated from Florida 2 years ago. We also have our neice in Thomasville, Ga (which is Florida State/Georgia territory) and she is addicted as a Gator. She loves them! Go Gators!!
March 27th, 2009 at 7:38 am
My husband was a UF student when we married in 1947. We attended my very first football game that Fall and I was “hooked.” We went to Gator Growl also. Back then we weren’t winning very many games, but we kept going. He grdauated in 1949. We came back to UF in 1951 to attend graduate school, then went to Miami for one year. We moved back to Gainesville in 1953 with a son and daughter. We again began to go to most all the football and basketball games. I remember when Neal Walk played for the Gators. I still have my tickets, in what was then known as the “faculty section,” since 1962.
When the children were about eight and eleven, they told people they hated to see Mom come home from the game if we lost, because I was so mad and grouchy.
I can sitll remember all the games in Jax - some good, some bad - in the early years. I also memember when the legislature made Florida play FSU. We went to all the Florida and FSU games and I especially remember when we beat them in 1996 for the national championship - 52 to 20. They beat poor Danny up, but he just kept on going.
I remember all the Spurrier years, both as a player and a coach, and all the great players in the past. What great teams we’ve had the last few years with Coach Meyer and Tim Tebow. With two national championships almost back-to-back, I’m excited about next year.
I cannot attend the games any longer because of my health, but my son and daughter can. my son drives down from Macon to see the Gators play. he and his wife are both UF grads. I even get PPV to see my Gators play. GO Gators!!
March 26th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I became a Gator at the 1997 Florida-Florida State game. I was only 7 at the time, but I had been going to football games with my dad for a few years. We were trailing 29-25 in the 4th quarter. I was tearing up, because I didn’t think we’d pull it off. My dad looked at me and said “Miracles happen in the Swamp Ashley!” What seemed like seconds later, if my memory hasn’t failed me, Jacquez Green caught a pass that set up a Fred Taylor touchdown run. We won 32-29. I lost my dad to cancer just 3 years later. I have continued to go to just about every single home game with my mom, and I can really feel his presence each time I walk into the stadium. I am currently a freshman at the University of Florida, and I couldn’t be happier. It all started with that single scoring drive: the passion I developed for this University at the age of 7 was incredibly intense, and I’m proud to say I’ve only gotten more passionate over the years. GO GATORS!
March 25th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
The day I was born at Shands hospital, the Gators were playing the Seminoles. My grandmother is a Seminole and she predicted the Gators would lose, and they did. So when she found out my mom was at the hospital she came in a Seminole hoodie and people were looking at her like she was crazy because she was in Gainsville, and when she first saw me come out she got a call that the Gators lost. She said “you watch, this little girl will be a Gator and rival me, and I am a Gator and we have big arguments about the games, but I always win! now she’s saying, “you just wait - the Gators will lose to the Seminoles soon. Good thing I am not superstuious or scared, because I have faith in my team!!!
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Well… about 1885… my great grandfather homesteaded in Florida. My grandfather was a Gator, my father/mother are Gators (’51), I have several aunts that are Gators. I’m a Gator, (’81) my wife is a Gator, (we met there), my kids are Gators (’10) (that’s 4 generations so far)..,and ….
From alpha to omega…. Forever and Always… Gator.. Orange and Blue…thru and thru.
John 3:16
March 21st, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I believe I really became a Florida Gator at the moment Steve Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy. I was a mere freshman at the time. I went on to particularly enjoy my undergraduate years as a member of UF’s water ski team. When it got too cold to ski, I would get a part time job. Silly me. Ended up with a BS in Education in ‘69. In ‘79 I decided to go to law school — no skiing there — just hard work. JD in ‘82. I found a framed piece at the Oaks Mall called “Gator Country.” To me, it says it all:
“From the inside looking out
you cannot explain it.
“From the outside looking in
you cannot understand it.”
Go Gators!!
March 16th, 2009 at 11:11 am
I was born in Miami, Fl. so I guess I too was born a Gator. I was raised in Dominican Republic since my entire family is Dominican, but I recently came back to Miami to finish my high school, go to college, and make something out of my life. I came back in 2007 and in 2009 I recieved the magic letter, which is what I like to call it. CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA! Chyeah! My brother was with me when I recieved the letter and I slammed it against his head I don’t know how many times, out of excitement. He was super happy because he’s a huge Gator fan and he wanted me to go to that university. I was anxious while waiting for my letter because I didn’t feel like I was good enough, but I guess if you’re destined to be part of The Gator Nation there’s really nothing you can do about it. Your blood is always going to be orange and blue so I guess that’s what I have to bleed for the rest of my life. Oh God, I am saying it like it’s a bad thing. Hahaha. I BLEED ORANGE AND BLUE ALL THE WAY TO THE GRAVE!!!
Did that sound better? Haha. The Gator Nation, here I come!
GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 11th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I became a Gator fan Sept 15,1977 the day I was born. I was born into the world and raised with two clear values: one - love the Gators. Two - hate the Dawgs. I’ve bled orange and blue ever since.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:37 am
In the fall of 1971, my then stepfather, Patrick Canavan, was a big Florida Gator fan and invited me to watch the UF/FSU game on TV. My stepfather was one of the rare folks back then that was actually born and raised in Florida…like me. He taught me to have pride in my state and for the UF Gators. That UF/FSU game was the first football game I had ever watched from start to finish. The Gators prevailed that day, 17-15, in Gainesville. A few weeks to one month later, I watched as Georgia whipped the Gators, 49-7. I’ve been a rabid Gator fan ever since, and developed a strong hatred for the Georgia Bulldogs. I mean, I was only a 9-year old kid, but I remember how exciting it was to watch a team that I was cheering for from my home state. I’ve since matured and now have a distinct and extreme hatred for not only Georgia, but for the “Rocky Top Hucksters” from Tennessee, the “Yahoo’s” over at FSU, and of course the school that brags about graduating scholars that can’t even refer to their alma mater in a complete thorough abbreviation by calling it the ‘U’! And is it me, or does every team, college and pro, suddenly have a “Nation” attached to their nicknames??? Just remember this America, we started the “Nation” thing back in the early 90’s…get a grip! We bleed Orange & Blue, thru & thru! GO GATORS!
February 20th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I may not go to the University of Florida but I consider myself a Gator. I live in Mississippi, but the majority of my family live in Florida and attend the college. I’m 19 so about 11 years ago I went and watched my cousin play in the Swamp. I was hooked!!! I haven’t been able to attend a game in the stadium since then, but I haven’t missed a televised game in the period since. I got my Tebow jersey for Christmas last year and am hoping that I can get him to sign it one day. I say good luck to the Gators in the 2009-2010 football season, and to all other teams “Ur just GATOR BAIT” we are the National Champs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 19th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I became a Gator when I started dating the hottest Gator in Daytona Beach. I have 2 degrees from FSU, but now am a Gator by love connection.
February 16th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Our team graduated from UF and have been living in the state for more than 25 years. It’s great to see how much the University has grown, and how successful our football team is now. Gator Pride is stronger than ever, and this is a great addition to the Gator Nation.
February 16th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I became a Florida Gator in 2003 when I was accepted for college, and am still living here in town after I graduated.
Go Gators!
February 4th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I came to UF as Vice President for Student Affairs in August, 1973, after having worked at Miami University (Ohio), Michigan State University, and Iowa State University for a total of 12 years. I was only 34 years old in 1973 and never dreamed that I would stay in this same job at UF until 1999, and then become a full time professor here until I retired in 2004. I ‘became a Gator” because of my respect and affection for thousands of students who gave their hard work, time, and talents to improve the quality of campus life over all these years. UF has an incredible spirit among its students, and they have always been very active in doing countless numbers of positive things for others - this is the true “Gator Spirit” so far as I am concerned: students giving freely of their time and talents to improve the university and the community. It’s unmistakable and it’s the thing that impresses me most about this university. I will forever be thankful to the thousands of UF students who made it easy for me to become a Gator!
February 1st, 2009 at 5:17 am
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January 31st, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I have since 1960 been for the underdogs with one exception I cared much for University of Alabama. I also must add that Florida was one of my favorites. Back to the underdog support I was an FXX XX=the other State of Florida school ( One with an extremely bad attitude from most of their fans), well I supported these things for a while in somewhat of a shallow way until 1978 when I was present at a Ugly ole fella recruiting of a Sarasota High School Player. I have never met a more Rude and Obnoxious person in my life than the FSU Head Coach himself until this time. During all this Backsliden time my Family was and still is Gator Fans and some Alumni. Needless to say I Love the Gators and am with them to stay until I depart this World. I also think at this point in the Gators Football venture That we have the GREATEST Coaching Staff Bar none! Urban is Great and right beside him is the all time great Charlie Strong! Congrats to all!!! To the Fine Blessed Young man Tim Tebow I hope that your example and your convictions and your sportmanship and your loving nature becomes a standing Gator Nation of Goodness for this University not only in football has contributed much to the good of our Nation. I also am a fan of Baseball,Softball,and Basketball of the fighting Gators. Go Gators!!! God Bless the entire Gator Nation!
January 29th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
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January 29th, 2009 at 9:34 am
My family and I moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1962 where I immediately become a Gator fan. In 1965 I began my college experience at U of F and lived in the Murphree B dormitory. I became a rabid Gator fan after attending numerous “Gator Growl” events! I left Gatorville the year Steve Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy (’66) to become part of the military effort in Vietnam. I have been a Gator fan ever since 1962. “How ’bout dem Gators!!!
January 26th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Hello, my name is Billy Myers and I live in Jacksonville, Texas. While I am not a student at UF, I support the Gators. I moved from Stuart, Florida a few years ago, and I visit my family and friends 2 or 3 times a year when I travel back to Florida.
When I go to Florida and to the local mall, I buy Gator merchandise. I always hear about ”The Gator Nation” when I watch football games. I may not be a student there at UF, but is it possible for fans like me to be a part of Gator Nation?
Even though I live in Texas, I will always support my team from my beloved sunshine state.
you can reply to my question at icemansfhs@yahoo.com
Thank You,
Billy Myers
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Like many others listed here I was born a Gator. One of my fondest memories as a small child was my grandmother teaching me a Florida Cheer. ” I’m Florida Born and Florida Bred and when I Die I will be Florida Dead, Rah Rah for Florida, Rah Rah for Florida, Rah Rah for Florida”! My Grandfather was Erving Max Goldstein. Known to alumni and part of the walk of Fame at UF as “Goldy Goldstein” 1923 Football All Southern. I am proud to be part of the Gator Nation with three generations of Gator Grads.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I never became a Gator, I was born a Gator, I bleed orange and blue! All of this is due to my extreme Gator alum family!! I feel so at home on my visits to Gainsville every football season, and I am usually one of the only people at my high school that walks in covered in Gator gear every game day!!! In sickness and in health, for worse or for poor, win or lose, I will always be there for my team!!!!
( I hope that all of my exclamation points get my feelings across
)
And I have never wanted anything in my life more than to get accepted into the University of Florida, which I will find out about in three weeks (THE ANTICIPATION IS KILLING ME!!!!!)
U U FFFFFFFF
U U F
U U F
U U FFFF
U U F
U U U F Go Gators
January 14th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
We were 0-10-1 in Gator football and I was still a die-hard Gator in my freshman year at UF. I was crazy enough to actually wear a “banana” costume to two of our football games when I was a student. My wife and I are UF alumni, my son just graduated from UF, my oldest daughter is a sophomore at UF, and my youngest daughters are freshmen (and UF cheerleaders). I grew up in a dysfunctional family, as my older brother and sister both went to FSU, and my Dad played football for Cornell College. There is nothing like being a UF alumnus - it’s great to be a Florida Gator!!!!!
January 14th, 2009 at 8:57 am
As an infant 62 yrs ago when my parents almost forgot the child sleeping in their laps as they stood to cheer a play on the football field! Since then UF is the only school I applied to for my 3 degrees.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:26 am
I recently celebrated two very important anniversaries: being cancer free for 11 years and working as a television news reporter in Miami for 30 years. The University of Florida helped me reach both of those milestones.
I graduated from UF in December 1978, with a job in hand. My classes and work experience at WUFT and WRUF in Gainesville prepared me well.
I wasn’t prepared to learn I had cancer 20 years later. The liposarcoma in my leg was relatively rare, and my doctor here recommended I see a specialist at the University of Florida. I moved back to Gainesville for 6 weeks while undergoing radiation treatment twice a day then surgery at Shands Hospital My 2 young daughters were with me that first week, as I reassured them mommy was in great hands. It felt like I was home again.
Now I return once a year for a check-up. During my annual trip to Gainesville in November, I was given a tour of Shand’s Cancer Hospital, now under construction and due to open later this year. My daughter Gillian came with me. She took most of the photos posted. I also had the opportunity to meet the new Dean of the School of Journalism and Communications, John Wright. Speaking to students in 2 TV news reporting classes was somewhat surreal. It was hard to believe it had been 30 years since I was in their shoes. Then we took a tour of the WUFT newsroom and studios. It felt like I was home again.
So this week my daughters and I will be cheering for my Florida Gators, our orange and blue hearts bursting with pride and gratitude.
January 10th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I attended a district competition for glee club(chorus) when I was in 10th grade(1956)on U. of F.
campus and being from a small town nearby (Lake City) I was in awe of the campus. Four years later I would meet and marry a U.F. student in his last year at U.F. We lived in Gainesville where there were only about 11,000 students and followed the Gators wherever we were. We were lucky enough to live in Ormond Beach, Fl. and have season tickets. We ate, slept and loved our Gators. He lived to see our 1996 Championship but passed at Shands in 2000 from cancer. There is and always will be a special place in my heart for U.F. as it is a big part of my life in every way. I did remarry (a
Seminole) who is a complete “Gator” in every way. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES AND GOOOOOOOOOOOO GATORS
January 9th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Raised and educated in the great city of Gainesville, I have carried the Gator Nation with me on my
military tours in Alaska, Texas, and back to Florida. I graduated from GHS in 1983 and I currently live in Arkansas, working for Dept. of Veterans Affairs as a Data Quality Analyst. I fly my Gator flag and proudly display my alumni sticker on my car. My dogs have Gator sweaters and my office is adorned with Orange and Blue. This was the best year I can remember since I have been hounded by Sooner fans for the past 2 seasons….I just love going to work now!! Go Gators!
January 9th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I became a Gator the first time I had a bottle of the wonder athletic beverage that rehydrates your body called Gatorade. I love it, it’s good for you and tastes good. but it especially helps athletes. I own both a Gators cap and blue wallet I use everyday. Florida Gators 2008 National Champions!!! I look up to Tim Tebow - he is a good man and an exceptional christian leader for young people like myself today. Although I live down here in Texas, part of me will always be a Gator.
January 9th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I HAVE BEEN A GATOR SINCE BIRTH. IN MY FAMILY IT IS A TRIDITION TO CHEER ON THE GATOR NATION IN EVERY SPORT. IF IT IS A GATOR THAN IT IS FOR ME. MY FAMILY LIVES IN THE GAINESVILLE AREA WHILE I LIVE IN OHIO. SO YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE FUN I HAD WHEN WE BEAT UP ON THE BUCKEYES IN 06′. AND NOW WE HAVE TAKEN ANOTHER IN JUST THREE YEARS. ONE MORE YEAR TEBOW! PLEASE! ONE MORE YEAR!
January 9th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Hello,
I became a Gator for life when I heard about Tim Tebow. What a courageous individual. What a man. Besides his amazing accomplishments on the field he is just as accomplished off the field as a compassionate man. I was stationed in the Philippines while in the Navy and whem I heard Tim was born there (and there was also a situation during the pregnancy of Tim’s mother while Tim was in the womb), there was an immediate attraction and just a feeling of a connection with Tim. Like the commentator said during the end of the game last night, Tim at 21 has done much more than the rest of us. At 21, that’s where I was in the Philippines but I wasn’t with any of my family, I was there for the Navy and my country. Tim shows his leadership by being a consistent motivator. He is someone to admire and look up to. He, as per the commentator last night, has worked in places in the Philippines that most “successful” people would never step foot in. He also does many speaking engagements by requests in places that once again, most people would never bother. What a hero at such a young age, maybe he will run for president one day.
Shouldn’t it be fitting that Tim should be the most outstranding player of the game with 340 total yards, absolutely amazing. I truly think they should revote on the Heisman!!! Maybe the Heisman Tropy award should happen after the BCS Bowl Game.
Congratulations Tim and the rest of the Gators on an incredible season, especially the moment after the Ole Miss loss and Tim had his press conference and made his promise to the public. Absolutely incredible that Tim and the Gators would move up the ranks and win the National Championship.
Go Gators and God Bless Tim Tebow and the rest of the Gator Nation.
Thanks Tim.
Respectfully and sincerely,
John H Roth
January 9th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I totally am a Gator fan. I cant’t help but be a Gator fan growing up in a family of 5 with only 5 people in my home. But the big hint was that they are all GATOR FANS!!!! Here I am now I’m 15 years old and I’ve been a true Gator fan all of my life. For my birthday I want a 2008 Gator T- shirt Hint Hint I’m talking to you Gator nation. I Bleed Orange and Blue for You!!!!!!!
January 8th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I grew up in Jacksonville. I was listening to the Georgia-Florida game on the radio. Ga was ahead, 16-10, I believe. Richard Trapp caught a pass over the middle and went in for a touchdown. I think he ran into every Ga player on the field and got caught at the one yard line. He fell into the end zone and Fla won 17-16. 1966, I think. Well, I was 15 years old at the time and a new Gator for life. I was still a diehard Gator in 1979, too. I am one today, January 8, 2009 no matter who wins tonite!
January 8th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
My older sister graduated from FSU and I graduated from a small college in NW Alabama. Later, when I finally decided it was time to go to graduate school, I got up the nerve to pick up a UF graduate catalog and was hooked. I didn’t start attending football games until I graduated in 84′ but have been a season ticket holder since the North end zone expansion. Seated on the very top row in the cold at the Fiesta Bowl playing Nebraska, I realized that win or loose, it was great to be a Florida Gator. The sinking feeling at that game was replaced with total exhilaration at the Sugar Bowl playing FSU.
January 5th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I knew I was a Gator for life when, well, its hard to explain: it was early September in 2006 on a Saturday and I was flippin’ through the channels and I came upon a Florida Gator game and back then I didn’t have a fave college so I decided they were my team. So now my whole room is decked out with Gator stuff and know i have a Tim Tebow jersey and a 2006 national champions shirt and 2 Gator hats and for the rest of my life I’m going to love the Gators no matter what college I go to. Btw - GGGGGOOOOO GATORS!
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:43 am
Back in 1995, sittin’ with my buddies watchin’ some football on a Saturday afternoon. Living in Ohio, I’m sure you can guess who was on the TV. I never hated Ohio State, but I knew I would never find myself rooting for them. So, I decided then and there to root for a team none of my buddies liked. The first team I could think of was Florida. I loved the colors, the Swamp, the mascot,and always loved the state of Florida. Ever since, I’ve bled Florida Orange and Blue, through the good times and bad. Here I am 35 years old now and 13 years a Gator fan. I’ve been noticing more and more Gator fans here in Ohio. Maybe they’re all going through the same thing I did back in ‘95. I even have a huge Gator tatoo on my back- hurt like a mother, but totally worth it. Thanks for the time. Go Gators from fridgid Ohio, I’ll be watching on Thursday, watchin’ the Gators win the third National Championship since I’ve been a Gator. It’s great to be a Florida Gator!
December 30th, 2008 at 7:31 am
I have vague images sitting in the top row of Florida Gym during my aunt’s graduation in 1971 (I was 4 years old). I thought this place is cool. I truly became a Gator during my first football game in the fall of 1979; against Auburn I believe. During my high school years, my older brother attended UF and I visited each Friday/Saturday weekend, home and away games. Wow! What an experience. I graduated UF in 1989 and moved to Michigan. I have lived here ever since and have a family but I still try to get to a game in either Lexington or Nashville when I can. My two boys (ages 10 and 7) walk around in Tim Tebow jerseys every Saturday…I am a proud dad!
I will always be a Gator and remember the great education and life experiences I had there. So much so, that I have been asked and have accepted a role on the Board of Advisors for Center for Supply Chain Management in the Warrington College of Business Administration. I see it as my way of giving back to the University that gave me so much.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:08 am
The day I was born. Both of my parents attended the University of Florida, so there was never any doubt.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Two simple, yet powerful words.
On the surface, it denotes a rallying cry on any given Saturday in October.
On a deeper level, it evokes a memory of sweet days gone by… Saturdays in October when the entire town is awashed in a sea of orange and blue…Days spent wishing for the holidays to arrive to rush back home and days spent at home anxious to get back,followed by days in the Spring when the dogwood trees and the azaleas are in full, glorious bloom.
Twenty five years later, as my son is preparing to move into Rawlings in the Summer of 2008, my life had come full circle. Little does Jeremy know, what awaits him is a time of self-discovery and fullfillment, the best 4 years of his life in the best possible place to be.It’s great to be!
The memories are enduring, the connection is profound, the depth of feelings, immeasurable.
Two simple, yet powerful words.
GO GATORS!
December 21st, 2008 at 6:56 pm
My path towards becoming a Gator started many years ago. Having worked on campus in the past, as well as currently serving as a pilot of the orange and blue ShandsCair helicopter (N911UF) for Shands at UF, I knew that someday I would be able to call myself a UF alum.
Growing up I had two choices: go to work or go to school. I chose to do both, but in the end, it was my college career that suffered. Now, 14 years and 4 applications later, I have finally recieved admission as a transfer student into UF.
Life takes you down many paths. Faith, focus and determination will always guide you in the right direction. Whether I am climbing into the ShandsCair helicopter or attending class, I know that I will always be a Gator.
December 21st, 2008 at 12:06 pm
In 1972, my sister, who is 17 years older than me, was attending UF. My family, natives of Tampa, and I, the lone Missouri-born, were living in Kansas City. We had returned to Florida for a family event and we visited my sister in Gainesville. At The Hub (Campus Shop & Bookstore), my sister bought me a Albert stuffed toy (a big, funny-looking blue gator with a blue “F” emblazoned on his orange chest). I’ve never forgotten how vibrant and exciting the campus seemed to me, with all the students milling around, and how I was amazed by the beauty of the brick buildings and gothic architecture. Even though while I was growing up, I gave lip service to possibly attending other schools, it was never in doubt that I was going to follow my sister’s footsteps at the University of Florida. It was that moment in 1972 that I became a Gator, and I was thrilled when it became official in 1984, when I began my Freshman year. (And yes, the funny-looking Gator returned to Gainesville with me. I still have it to this day.)
December 21st, 2008 at 11:15 am
I became a Gator in 1962 at 12 years old. At the time, I had a Tampa Times afternoon paper route, and they were running a new subscriber contest for the paper boys. The winner received a trip to Gainesville with a chaperon for a football game. I won and my branch manager accompanied me on the trip. The exact second I stepped out of the shadows and into the stadium, I was so overcome with the moment, the crowd, and the experience, I became a lifelong Gator. I am now the administrator of the oldest (since 1989) and largest (over 750 members) online Gator club in existence - GatorNet.
December 21st, 2008 at 11:14 am
I BECAME A GATOR FAN ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO. WHEN CHRIS LEAK BECAME THE STARTING QUARTERBACK FOR THE GATORS. THEY TOOK CONTROL OF THE SEC EAST AND THEY NEVER LOOKED BACK. MY MOM WAS GOING TO BE A GATOR, BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM GOING ON WHEN SHE WAS GONNA GO. THE FLORIDA GATORS ARE THE BEST TEAM IN ALL AMERICA AND THE SEC CHAMPIONS AND ARE GOING TO BE THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!
December 21st, 2008 at 10:34 am
I became a Gator for life when I attended homecoming in 1961 with my new wife, who was raised in Gainesville. I had always loved college football, but being raised in New York I was, believe it or not, a Syracuse fan. I was sent to Florida when I was in the U.S.Navy, met and married my true love in 1961 while she was attending Pensacola Jr. college. I began college at night in Pensacola and several of our friends were Florida grads so I could feel the spirit in them. We saw LSU beat Florida that year but I knew then that the Gators were my team forever. When I got out of the Navy I enrolled at Florida in the fall of 1962 and graduated in the spring of 1965.We lived in Flavet’s and thoroughly enjoyed our time in Gainesville, back when the only place to buy liquor was at Ruby’s on the Marion County line. There were an amazing number of students back then,13,000, and tuition was $113 per trimester…those were the days!
December 16th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
My whole family bleeds Orange and Blue! I’m 37 and my first game was when I was 6 months old. We have had the same four seats in Section 12 and same four seats in Section 19 for longer than I’ve been alive. As our family grew, my dad added seats in the South End Zone when it was completed. I’ve been to almost every home game since I was a baby and don’t plan on giving that up. I am a UF Alumnus and finally a new dad at 37. My wife isn’t quite the fan that I am but thank the Lord she understands…we have our second baby on the way and I will continue our family tradition of being die hard Gators and bring my kids to the game and hope they enjoy it as much as I have. My father was very involved with the football program throughout the 80’s and great friends with Charlie Pell and Joe Kines (who we are still good friends with). I am lucky, I had the opportunity to meet many many Gator Football players such as Wilbur Marshall, Roy Harris, Tim Newton, and many others. When I was a student I was friends with a lot of players, Dean Golden, Erict Rhett, Kevin Freeman, Huey Richardson, and the list goes on. These guys will always hold a special place in my heart just as being a Gator does and will as long as I am alive. I can’t imagine life without UF and Gator Football!
December 11th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I became a Gators fan when I was 4 years old. At first when i was that young I just liked the colors, but now I’m 15 and the Gators are the best team out there! GATORS ROCK!
December 10th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Right now I’m in middle school. But I plan on going to UF to play football or basketball. I’m 6′4, 190 pounds, and I run a 4′7 40 - but I’m getting faster. I have 4 more years until college. I started being a Gator fan when I was 11 or 12 when the Gators won the national championship in 2006. I started looking into getting my education at the college and I loved it. How I became a fan isn’t a big story, but during the SEC championship game my dad was rooting for Alabama because he grew up in Mobile. I was shoving it in his face that the Gators were wining and that John Parker Wilson couldn’t do anything against the Gator defense. But that’s my story, so GO GATORS!!! and (TIM TEBOW 08 HEISMAN!!!)
December 8th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Although I came from a generation where all my older male relatives had gone to UF, and the women to FSCW, I became a Florida Gator when I stepped into Norman Hall for the first time. I was on my way to an interview with the man who would become my directing professor in the College of Education - Dr. Robert Wright. Following the interview, I knew there was no option for me - I had to go to UF!
December 7th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
1985, I became a Gator fan. I am from Ohio, my cousins live in Gainesville, I received a Gator jersey for christmas. I wore that jersey until the numbers came off! I met my wife to be that same year. Ironically my mother in law is from Florida and used to work at UF. My first trip to the SWAMP was 1989 and I was hooked ever since. We come down to Florida two to three times a year and attend many Gator games. Go Gators!!!!!
December 7th, 2008 at 11:07 am
I was 12 years old and my 18 year old brother(Lewis Givens) was accepted to the University of Florida (the first in our family to go to college). He was a married student and he and his wife had their first child while he was a student. I went to visit him and his newborn daughter Kimberly,(Also a UF Graduate)at Hickory Hills Trailer Park on Archer Road. It was the first of many visits. I remember his daughter Kim teething on his UF Class ring. I also remember what a great town Gainesville was and how much I loved going there. My brother rose to the top of the Duval County School System becoming their Finance Director before his untimely death. He was the ultimate Gator Fan and while I graduated from Jax Univ. and the University of North Florida, he instilled a love for the Gators in our hearts. When our son Chris was born, Gatorism was instilled in him. My husband would say, “Son you can go to any college you choose, but we are paying for the University of Florida!” At one time my job required a great deal of travel and I would always travel in “The Colors-Orange and Blue” and like the commercial says, “There are Gators everywhere!” My husband and I are Football Season ticket holders and attend every game possible with a great group of tailgators. My husband and I have been to all of UF National Championship Games and I think of how proud my brother would be of his beloved Gators. Go Gators!
December 7th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I became a gator at 3 years old. My brother Jayson at age 9 would watch every game, and scream go Gators. So naturally my first collegiate words were “GO GATORS”. I grew up in the heart of Georgia a lonely Gator Fan. Not until my first Gator game, and Gator Booster meet in Tallahassee where I met Steve Spurrier did I realize there was a whole Gator Nation.. I moved to Florida in 1999, and the rest is history. I became a part of The Gator Nation Family in 2008 with my degree from the Warrington College of Business. During college I learned one valuable lesson. If your not a Gator then you are Gator Bait……. GO GATORS 2008 SEC CHAMPIONS
December 7th, 2008 at 9:35 am
I saw the ad for this website last night while watching the AWESOME GATORS win the SEC Championship against Alabama. I knew I was a GATOR in utero! My dad would tell the story that I was conceived after a Gator football game….! He graduated from UF in 1950 and my uncle graduated in 1957. They both bled orange and blue and instilled it in the rest of us from birth on. I ALWAYS KNEW I would attend the University of Florida! NOTHING ELSE WAS AN OPTION and I am SO VERY PROUD OF MY GATORS RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
We grew up watching Dad and Mom attend all the home games. It took 2 1/2 hours to get to Gainesville and they had to get there at least 2-3 hours before kick-off to get the RIGHT parking spot to tailgate with family and other fans. My brother went to UF in 1972 and I finally got to experience a game in person during a weekend visit to campus. I was AMAZED at how far the quarterback threw the ball! Until then I had only seen small town high school football; what a difference!
I began at UF in 1974 and became part of the Parker Family ritual before all home games! It was great sharing the bond with all the family members and new friends that were Gator Fanatics! I met my husband at UF and we lived in Gainesville until 1984. After moving to Orlando we would travel back for all the home games and great comraderie! I became pregnant in 1986 and wanted to tell my husband in a special way…I got a blood test early to confirm my suspicions. I scheduled a plane to fly a banner around the stadium at the Florida/Auburn game. It read “CONGRATS BILL KEMP; BABY GATOR DUE 6/87!” I was sooooooooooo excited for the game! I took my good camera with the zoom lense to get great pictures! My whole family would see the news at the same time: my dad and stepmom, uncle and aunt, brother, cousin and her husband as well as many other friends. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate that day. The plane could not fly due to low hanging clouds
…. I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED. When no planes had flown by half-time I realized it wasn’t going to happen. My husband was pretty upset because the Gators were behind at that time so I told him our great news that the legacy was going to continue…! The Gators turned the score around and went on to beat Auburn!!! I’m not sure which he was happier about…! We shared the news with the rest of the family back at the continued tailgate party; what a celebration we had!!! This was the first grandchild on the way! Thankfully the baby was due in June so the birth would not interfere with a Gator game and I would be sure my husband would be there!
As our kids have grown up they have always been Gator fans. We had to move to Oklahoma in 1996 but all our friends here KNOW we are GATORS. I always remind the kids that they OWE THEIR LIFE to the University of Florida because that is where their parents met!!! I have a custom tag that says GTR4EVR and a Gator plate on the front of my car as well! Our son began at OU in 2005 to save out-of-state tuition fees. He is a senior now and what a game we will experience in Miami in January ‘09! I STILL REMIND HIM THAT HE OWES HIS LIFE TO UF!!! He IS hoping to attend Law School (which my cousin graduated from in ‘91) at UF in the future! Our daughter attends UCO now but is a die-hard GATOR with 2 other Okie GATOR fans! They are going to decorate their apartment balcony with orange and blue Christmas lights! Last night after our victory she said “I wish I was a Gator…” I reminded her that she IS A GATOR AND ALWAYS WILL BE - IT IS IN HER BLOOD!!!!!!
I am so very proud to call the University of Florida my alma mater. Tebow and Wuerffel before him have been amazing examples of AWESOME Christian athletes. Listening to the commentators discuss what incredible lives they lead on national TV is wonderful. There are so many other great athletes on the team as well. The 100% graduation rate of seniors is truly impressive in a number of sports.
It will be an interesting month at the Kemp house in Oklahoma before the National Championship game. Thankfully we get to spend Christmas in Florida at my mom’s with all our GATOR family and are hoping to make it to the game January 8th!! IT’S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR and always will be!!!!!!!!GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 6th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I entered the UFL WPPD program in 2005 to complete my PharmD. I never really followed the team, because the program has kept me busy. This past year, however, my brother and uncles have been sending me e-mails about how the University of Alabama was going to trounce Florida this year, so naturally I began backing my team.
Today I sent out several e-mails to those chosen few that went something like this:
What does a Florida Gator leave behind when he’s through eating…..Crimson Tide!!
I am a Gator fan for life!! SEC Champs!!
December 6th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
My wife and I picked up and moved from Virginia to Alachua, Florida in 1992. We ‘hand picked’ The Univeristy of Florida for it’s academic reputation. We both attended The University of Florida ~ and still proudly bear the colors of orange and blue! We are TRULY Gators at heart! We love the University, Gainesville, the people and the instant comradery we were welcomed in by as “Gators”! Our children are also proud GATORS … who will carry on the love and dedication we have for UF for many generations to come! Not only are the Gators AWESOME in sports ~~~ but UF is also one of the most competitive universities in the nation! We are and always will be 100% for the Orange and Blue! The Gators are God’s favorite team as well, after all, He made the sun Orange and the sky Blue! Way to goooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! It truly is a privilege to have our Foundation proudly laid in the Gator Nation! (Icing on the cake again … SEC CHAMPS again!!!! 12-6-2008)
December 6th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Upon my marriage to my Ohio born Husband I was required to become a Buckeye Fan. Living in Ohio I breathed Buckeyes until that fateful year for the collegiate football Championship the Gators came to play OSU. That day at school all teachers were required to wear their Buckeye gear. I just couldn’t. I wore my Gator gear in all its glory. Students shunned me and called me a traitor. They relented as fellow teachers told them I went to Florida. It was okay. I was given a bye. As the evening and game progressed my family members slowly went to bed. I was the only one left up watching every minute of that game and rejoicing their win with them. I went to school the next day with as much humility as I could muster. And to my surprise students had to tell me the Gators won. From that day I tell every Buckeye I meet I am a Gator and they know what that means.
Proud in Ohio!!!
December 6th, 2008 at 7:38 am
So, I remember back in the ’80s going to GA vs. FLA games. Everybody was a Bulldog. There was one guy who was a Gator. I thought he was really cute, so I hollered for the Gators. Many years. Didn’t know a quarterback from a silver quarter tails up. Going to GSU, 17-year’s-old.
My cousin, there’s always a brilliant one, even from the depressed, oppressed, unpressed, re-pressed Gary, Indiana area. Boy got Inland Steel scholarships. Graduated from Notre Dame.
On a bunny trail here, my fabulously brilliant, rich cousin (all UF), was a Notre Dame undergrad when ND played UGA (2 years???) in New a’lins. He says, “I never met such obnoxious, rude, redneck, drunk, stupid, useless people in my life.” GO KELLY!!!!
So, he gets in at UF for his master’s… Me, I’ve always been scared of him, I’m not the first born male grandchild of the Harry S. Truman (president) family that needs to keep up the legacy. I am, however, working for MTV. Oh, yeah. I’m cool
So I tell Kelly, on his trip down to G’ville to meet his ‘mentor’ professors (those dudes that treat you like crap, have tenure, and steal all of your ideas, ‘et al’). He picks me up in Atlanta. We go to G’ville. Never have I been on a college campus. Texas hold ‘em has nothing on my ALL IN.
Several years later, I moved down there, (while Kelly was making babies and trying to get his PhD). I got a job with WRUF FM/AM, made 65K per year (in a town with an $8K median income), and didn’t leave until 2006. Guys that made fun of me (greeks) when I was in my ’20s started calling me ‘ma’am’. Horrors. I did manage to snag three degrees from UF.
I’ve only been in Atlanta for two years, after 20 years of Gainesburger. Never married, no kids. So, my passion is the Gators, Nascar and The Rolling Stones (yeah, I’ll go see them when I’m in a wheelchair).
I have Atlanta Gators all around me. They have lost focus by having careers with commutes, marriages, divorces, kids, etc., etc., ME? ALL GATOR ALL THE TIME. I’ve got them straightened out. Duh. You be a Gator, fool. Your kid should NOT be wearing red and black. You should NOT let your ex-wife take that boy to Bulldog games. You ain’t got a Gator lawyer? Give the bitch another $200 a month to ensure she puts orange and blue into the kid’s DNA.
IT’S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR!!!!!
December 5th, 2008 at 7:51 am
I moved from Buffalo, NY to Alachua, FL. As an only child it was tough to move and I was mad at the world. When I moved, I soon realized that everyone in the area was a Gator fan. I tried to rebel by being a Seminole fan. It was a good time to be a Seminole.. Charlie Ward, Terrell Buckley… I ended up going to UF for college to not be far away from my parents. I remember my first week.. mad at all the Gator fans and still trying to wear my garnet and gold on campus. It wasn’t until my senior yr at UF and finally going to a football game.. I became a Gator for life! It was the most exciting and exhilarating experience! It was then that I decided to bleed orange and blue! I became a Gator a million times over since then and never looked back! Go Gators!
December 5th, 2008 at 5:54 am
There’s not one defining moment when I became a Florida Gator…there’s a series of them. It was when we dropped off my oldest brother, Chip, for his first semester at UF back in the early 80’s, when I was awestruck by the beautiful, sprawling campus for the first time. It was when I went to my first thrilling UF football game when the fraternity for my other brother, Kelly, hosted a family weekend. It was when my best friends from high school decided to go to UM and FSU and I let them know my home was at UF, even without them. It was when my high school love decided to give up his college and follow me to UF because he knew that was the only college for me. It was every Saturday on campus when the city was flooded with other Gators who knew their hearts were happiest in Hogtown. It was when I made it into the journalism school and got to help “work” the games, interviewing the athletes we came to adore, and even reporting on the press conference when Spurrier was hired. It was when I knew I needed one more semester before I graduated so I could enjoy one more football season the year Spurrier started. It was when the student murders happened and we all came together to look out for each other, to remember the students who were killed and to make sure we made the most of our lives because they couldn’t. It was when I walked across the stage at graduation in tears, not just because I was proud, but because I knew I was leaving a very special time and place in my life. It was when my son, Payne, was two and I signed him up for a prepaid college plan, knowing he would never want to miss out on the great Gator experience. It was when I got to sit in on the national championship game in New Orleans in ‘96, surrounded by Seminoles who were left speechless by the second half. It was when I had to move to Knoxville for work, and even though I ran a newsroom for “Volunteer TV”, many of the staff were Gators who stood tall and proud every time UF came to town. It was when I then moved on to Atlanta, again for work, and ended up living across the street from a GA fan who despises my Florida flag flying in victory on game days, when his has to come down because the bulldogs aren’t as fortunate. It’s when my toddler learned the chomp and “Go Gators” before she learned to walk. It’s every time I pass another orange and blue clad member of The Gator Nation–no matter where I am in the world–and exclaim “Go Gators”, only to hear those two sweet words in return each and every time, “Go Gators”! I’ve always been a Gator, and wouldn’t want it any other way.
December 4th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I became a Gator when I was 11 years old and I played for a soccer team in Clarksville, TN that was named Gators because my coach was a huge fan. Somehow with my family being in the military we ended up in Tampa and I was accepted to the University of Florida. This is my last semester and I will do my best to recruit more gators. Go Gators!
December 4th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I was attending a parochial college in Nashville TN when my boyfriend decided we were going to elope. He left the UF after a Wednesday night mid-term exam and drove to TN to get me. After getting married Mon AM in Valdosta GA, we rushed back to Gainesville so he could attend his 11:00 AM class at UF. We spent six years in Gainesville, where our first of three daughters was born, and we’ve been Gators ever since. We have wonderful memories of living in Flavet III, attending football games, Homecoming and Gator Growl, and life in general on the UF campus and Gainesville. GO GATORS!!!
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Growing up as an athlete I preferred playing - not watching - sports. In 1986 I was offered a Baseball Scholarship to Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. A friend of mine said “Roll Tide”. I asked what that meant, (again I did not watch sports), his reply was, “living in Alabama you have to be a Roll Tide or War Eagle Fan”. I replied “I love Florida so I will be a Florida Fan”. It began then some 22 years ago and although living in Alabama for 12 years and then in Tennessee my love of UF and the Gators grows more and more each time I hear that rocky top song! GO GATORS!!!
November 30th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I have been a Gator for as long as I can remember. I started attending football games in the 50’s. Two of my uncles played football for the Gators from 1926-1931. One, Lou Bono, was on the famous 1928 team and played guard at 193 pounds. I graduated from the U of F as did my brother and had attended every game for years until moving to Houston, Texas. Now I watch all the games on TV. Back then, the University had 13,000 students and Gainsville was not much bigger. Gainesville was a dry county and I remember Ruby’s across the county line as the watering hole. Back then we had the Kit Kat Club and the Primrose for special dinners. If you ate at the University cafeteria, you were fortunate because the Infirmiry was just next door. Horrible food!! Gainesville was a great experience. I still wear a Gator cap on Saturdays and am proud to be a Gator…Go Gators!!
November 30th, 2008 at 4:36 am
I graduated in 1975 from the College of Journalism and Communications. I am a Gator totally and will never be anything else. Win or lose I think The Gator Nation is the best. No other college can be more elequent than the University of Florida. One thing is above reproach: the educational quality received at the university. GO GATORS.
November 20th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Interesting question, when did I become a Gator?. I guess you could say on December 27, 1952. I was born to a Gator who attended the university in the late 1930’s. My uncles and aunts were Gators, first and second cousins as well as sisters and brothers have been Gators. My father-in-law was Buford Long, a well-known Gator who still holds the record for lettering in all three sports. But when did I really become a Gator? I believe it was on August 28, 1989 when my first daughter was born. To use a cliche, I was again born a Gator on February 11, 1991 when my other daughter was born. Since each of those days we as a family have never missed a homecoming game and it is this past year our oldest became a Gator and we look forward to our other daughter going there next year as well. No Matter where you go when you see a Gator it’s like seeing a good friend. I believe the univertity creates an opportunity for friends and families of Gators to experience true camaraderie for life. Thankful to be a part of the Gator Nation.
November 16th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I was born in May and went to my first Gator game that fall. My grandfather was the dean of Arts and Sciences, and I saw my first Homecoming parade from his office window. My sisters and I grew up on Gator football. You sat VERY quietly in Daddy’s study on Saturday afternoon, listening to the games. I’ve never even considered anything else. I actually turned down a scholarship from FSU. I’ve been there through thick and thin and will continue to be there. My dad, my son and I all graduated, my second daughter is waiting to hear about her acceptance, my husband recently returned to the College of Engineering. My youngest daughter is planning to enter the College of Nursing after she graduates from high school in May. We’re even working on the fourth generation: My 2-year-old granddaughter loves to do the chomp and say “GOOOOO GADORS!!!!!!!!”
November 16th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I am sitting here after a 56-6 victory over the Gamecocks and I am thinking back to 1995 when I first moved to Gainesville. I knew I was going to go to school and that it would take a while because I had to work full-time. I was grateful for the work when I was hired at UF in the Music Department (at the time). But I didn’t seem to care about football and the 1996 season was nothing more than a nuisance with everyone in town on the weekends. I was more interested in the arts and was very adamant about my dislike for football (glorified war!). But, my friend, George, took me and my husband to one game and we have absolutely loved GATOR football ever since. We lived in Gainesville until 2003 when we moved back to the Orlando area to be near our family. But before leaving, I made lifetime friends, amassed an extensive amount of GATOR regalia, graduated with an Art History degree (proudly and with a lot of work with Highest Honors) and my husband and I had our lovely Gator girl, Lilianna, at Shands (the best health care in the state). Even after going on for my Masters degree at another school in Central Florida, there is no other school that I will ever feel as strongly tied to as UF, and I don’t want to. I wore my GATOR pride at that school all the time! It makes me sentimental, but my heart will never leave Gainesville. It is where I became an adult, became a college graduate, became a wife, became a mother, became…A GATOR!
November 15th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
I became a Gator for life my first day on campus in January 2006. I had transferred from Saint Petersburg Community College with my A.A. I was heading to the Florida Gym after having breakfast in Gator Dining and stopped to survey the Swamp. I didn’t know yet what being a college sports fan was, and I didn’t know anything about the SEC, but I could feel the passion just looking at the stadium. Looking up at the school seal, which has since been switched out, I was overwhelmed and had to sit down. I sat there for 15 minutes staring at the Swamp and weeping with joy. Here I was at the best school in Florida running down my education, working towards a goal that neither of my parents reached. I could feel the years of history and pride that surround the Swamp, and I felt it mixing with my personal and my family’s pride in my achievement. Although it is only concrete and brick, the Swamp inspired in me awe, confidence and filled me with Gator fever. There, in that moment, I knew I was in the greatest place in the world, the true heart of the Gator Nation. I didn’t know then that the stadium I was staring at and the O’Dome across the street would be full of historic celebration only a few months later. I only knew it would be an awesome ride that was appropriately finished with a triumphant walk across the stage in December 2007. The history, the pride and the spirit hooked me that morning looking at that iconic building. That’s when I became a Gator for Life. It’s great to be a Florida Gator!
November 12th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Way up here in Canada this pony-tailed cat is waving the Gator flag loud and proud. He’s always sporting the mighty orange and blue. Go Gators!
November 11th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I was a 9-year old boy when I first became a Florida Gator. I would go to my Grandmother’s house with my Dad on Saturday’s to help mow her lawn and pick up palm fronds from her yard. We would listen intently to the play-by-play radio call of Otis Boggs during the games. Once my chores were done, I would take my football and make passes to myself being both John Reaves and Carlos Alvarez. In 1994 I was in my 16th year of Naval service when I was transferred to the Navy Recruiting District in Jacksonville. When told I was going to be the Recruiter-In-Charge at the station in Thomasville, Ga, I stepped up and asked if a position was available in Gainesville due to my love for the Gators. Thankfully, the position was going to be opening up within the year, so I jumped at the opportunity. It was only then that I attended my first Gator game in person. The day was fantastic, because it was also my Dad’s first chance to see a game at the Swamp. I had almost as much fun watching him enjoy the game as I did watching the Gators dismantle LSU 42-18. After my tour in Gainesville was complete, I was stationed in San Diego, Ca where I became a member of the San DieGO GATORS club. I, along with the first of my numerous enlistees (a Gator student) would go to a local bar with about 50-75 other Gator Alumni and fans to watch our beloved Gators via satellite. Another wonderful memory was watching Alex Brown single-handedly destroy Tee Martin and the Tennessee offensive line by sacking Martin 5 times and making an interception from a barracks room in Yokosuka, Japan. My neighbors must’ve thought I had lost my mind I was yelling so loudly! In all types of weather Gators, lets ALL stick together! God Bless!
November 10th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Both my son and my daughter left our home in NY and went to the University of Florida. I didn’t get it. Well over their 6 years combined as Florida Gators… I got it: Education, spirit and fun. But when I really knew I became a Florida Gator is when I became a sports fan, or more accurately, a Florida Gator football and basketball fanatic. I, who never watched a sporting event, have become glued to the Gator games. I scream, I yell, I kick in the TV. No Mets, no Yankees, just the Florida Gators. I am a Florida Gator.
November 9th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I was a 10-year-old boy in 1966 when my Dad retired to Orlando after a career in the Air Force and my brother was Sports Editor for the Alligator newspaper and gave my Dad and I tickets to the Miami-Florida game. We at at Jerry’s Restaruant before the game and had seats about the 10 yard line on the northeast side of the stadium. Although we lost that day 21-16, I became a full-fledged Gator that day. I had the opportunity to meet Coach Ray Graves after the game and that was the beginning of many Saturday afternoons as a child listening to “and this is Otis Boggs and The Gator Football Network.” Since then, I have attended many games and my favorite was the National Championship in New Orleans in 1996. Steve Spurrier was the quarterback that first game and I have been a die-hard Gator ever since. To this day my friends know not to call me during a Gator game because I will not answer and most games I watch by myself in the garage so it can be just me and my Gators! “Go Gators” Alan Willard, Orlando
November 8th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I was a Gator before I was a thought in anyone’s mind, and I was a Gator when I was born. I grew up in Gainesville, wearing Emmitt Smith and Shane Matthews jerseys and teasing the one kid at my elementary school who was a Florida State Fan. I was raised on the Ole Ball Coach, and it broke my heart when he left. So, yes, I came to UF for the football, and I’m considering taking a 9th semester… for the football. My mother graduated from UF, my brother graduated from UF, I will graduate from UF (eventually), and I hope that if I have children they will graduate from UF. The thing about Florida fans that differ from others is that wherever you are, if you see another gator you’ll hear or say “Go Gators.” No matter where I go in life, I will never cheer for any other team but F-L-O-R-I-D-A (and any team playing FSU). In all kinds of weather, I have always and will always be a Gator.
November 8th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I attended my first Gator game (against the Canes) at Florida Field as a teenager in the fall of 1986, and knew I wanted to be a Gator. Eventually, I earned my business degree from UF and enjoyed several years living in Gainesville and attending all football home and many away games, as well as whatever other athletic events I could make. I bleed orange and blue!
But I am writing on behalf of my son, Tyler. He became a Gator five years ago tomorrow as we had Breakfast With the Gators on Sunshine Network on TV in the delivery room during his birth (homecoming vs. Vanderbilt)! He attended his first football game in the Swamp in 2007 and first Basketball game at the O’Dome in 2008. On January 8, 2007 he stayed up through the post game and was spreading cheer and high-fives at a big neighborhood Gator party during the national championship against OSU. Tonight, we are playing Vandy again on the eve of his birth, and he is cheering loudly. He is quickly becoming one of the biggest Gators I know, and that is saying something!
November 8th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
A Cuban Gator Story
It was the summer of ’69 and my family had just relocated to Gainesville so that my father could complete his residency at the University of Florida Medical School. As Cuban-Americans recently relocated from Chicago, within weeks, I had adopted the Gators as “my team” as a result of following a Cuban-born sophomore wide receiver Carlos Alvarez, nicknamed “El Gato”. Alvarez, who visited my St Patrick’s third grade classroom during a community outreach player visit, and I instantly hit it off during his time with the class. I knew it that day. I went out and bought the #45 jersey. I was officially part of what would later become what is now the Gator Nation. Nearly 40 years later, the University of Florida has provided many fulfilling experiences throughout my academic and professional life.
While pursuing my broadcast degree at UF, I worked three years in the athletic department, getting paid (although a small stipend) to attend athletic events and work stat crews, and support the visiting media via the UF Sports Information Department. I spent an entire summer in the library researching microfiche (you know that’s along time ago) on Gator football records. That foundation laid the groundwork for many of my professional experiences in the world of sports administration. Today, as Sports Marketing Director for Disney Sports Attraction, a week doesn’t go by that someone from my own Gator Nation doesn’t connect with me. That’s the great story of our University as per our alma mater –“Through all kinds of weather we’ll all stick together”.
Nearly 25 years after graduation, I served a 6-year stint as an at-large member of the University of Florida Alumni Association Board of Directors. It was a wonderful educational journey learning how the alumni group attempts to keep in contact with its over 200,000 alumni as a result of the support of the Florida Foundation.
Each board member brought their own personal passions, experiences and diverse perspectives in order to improve the organization and ultimately the University. The group is a wonderful melting pot of legacy Gators, first generation Gators, active donors, Gators who had worked their way up through their local Gator Clubs, highly UF decorated professors and more. All had one thing that bonded us all – Love of the Gator Nation. I was lucky to be active on the board as the Alumni Association continued to grow as a result of the momentum created by the opening of the beautiful Emerson Hall which we all now should enjoy and visit while coming through our beautiful campus.
If your firm needs great job applicants, the UF Alumni job posting boards can help. If you want to learn more about UF, attend a legacy seminar hosted in key locations across the state. Volunteer for International Gator Day. Participate with our student alumni group in a speed networking function. Invite one of our distinguished professors to address your next local Gator Club function. Come back for one of the special event programming weekends hosted by the alumni group. Host a group of new graduated Gators that come to your area and are looking to make some business connections. If you’re already a annual UF alumni member, upgrade your membership to a Life Member status. Buy a brick. Come back and host a seminar in a class room. The list goes on and on. It doesn’t matter how, where, and to what level you can participate. Everyone in the Gator Nation, can stay connected.
I promise you, staying connected will not only make the University a better place for future Gators, but those connections will give back to you as well. I know it has done it for me since that third grade classroom visit nearly 40 years ago. Today, my Cuban-Gator Story continues with my kids Alexie and Marina as they join me in their own Gator Nation journey.
__________________________________________________
Alex Vergara, BSBR, 1984
UF Alumni Association Board of Directors – 2000-2007
UF Alumni Association Life Member
Chair, UF Alumni Board, Marketing and Membership Committee – 2004-2007
November 8th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I’m a Gator Dad. I became a Gator the day my oldest son, Christopher, was accepted at Florida. Following his academic career from his BS to his MS, it was impossible not to get swept up by the proud “Orange and Blue”.
Now long after my son’s graduation he still lives in Gainesville and works for the University. He found his wife on campus and together they live as proud members of the Gator Nation.
I myself am a proud alumni of the University of Maine. I’m a Black Bear through and through, but I also proudly proclaim that I am a Gator.
A Gator Dad, but a Gator nonetheless.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I graduated from Georgia Southern and obtain my Masters at Georgia State. Usually, I just cheered for whatever my boyfriends cheered for. My most recent love of my life for the past 3+ years is a huge Gator fan. Every year I get more and more caught up in it and I can now say that I think the Gators are amazing and will be the team I go for as long as the Gator love pumps through my veins!!!
November 7th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
One of my best friends, even to this day, moved to Atlanta from Jacksonville in the 8th grade (1995). We hit it off immediately. One Saturday afternoon in the fall, I went over to his house to find him and his entire family gathered around the TV watching a GATOR game. I sat down with them to watch and the only thing I saw was a sea of blue every time the other team ran, threw or fumbled the ball. It was a blow out and the most amazing and exciting game I had ever seen. From then on, I was a Gator. That made my family VERY upset as they are all UGA alumni; Mom, Dad and my two older sisters. I was never able to attend UF when it came time for college because my parents were not paying for it. However, I will always be a Gator and always bleed BLUE AND ORANGE!!! Thank you TIM MURPHY! GO Gators ‘08 SEC and National Champs!
November 5th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
In 1958 my cousin played football at UF, and my father bought tickets so we could see him play. He never knew but he was a “super hero” in a young boys eyes. Growing up in Keystone Heights, UF was just known as “The University.” As a Boy Scout, I got to usher until I was a senior in high school. I went to a small college first because I’d been advised not to go a big university and get lost (my senior class was 32). I sat in the student union at that small school the day Reaves to Alvarez had that special game to start the 1969 season. The rest of that fall, I kept wishing I’d gone to UF. When I applied for transfer for summer 1970 and got the admission, I was ecstatic. The Gator life has only become better. We’ll take that to a new level when my daughter graduates (and becomes UF grad #5 in the family since) and maybe she’ll feel like Dad did when Pressident York said, you can flip your tassels over because now your are an alumni….you’ll get a call soon from the alumni association!!!
November 5th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Hello Gator fans. I’m from Piitsburgh, Pa., and there is a section of Pittsburgh called Garfield. I became a Gator fan 15 years ago and counting. A few friends of mind were sitting down thinking about starting a midget football team and couldn’t come up with a name. One of my friends said Garfield Gators, and the other one started running around chomping his hands together like the Gator chomp. So after that had happened, they started the Garfield Gators which is a replica of the Florida Gators. We had the same colors, same uniforms, everything is Gator. So it would be hard not to love the Florida Gators! We just won the national championship 2007 in Cleveland, Ohio and we are on our way to claim the title again this year. Please look us up if your in the Pittsburgh area. Gators For Life!
November 5th, 2008 at 11:01 am
I graduated from UF (73), taught in the advertising program as an adjunct, and am now on staff at the university, so I’ve been a Gator forever, but I had an experience recently that confirmed that The Gator Nation is everywhere.
I had hiked to the top of Mt. LeConte in Smoky Mountains National Park one morning, and as I was descending from the summit I met a couple on their way up. I was wearing an “F” hat and they immediately said “Go Gators!” when they saw me. We chatted for a few minutes and I was impressed that I had run into two other Gators on a mountaintop in Tennessee.
Not more than a hundred yards down the trail, I met another couple – and sure enough, they saw my hat and said “Go Gators!” I assumed they were with the first couple, but they were not. So that made five Gators on that mountain the same morning and we had all apparently left the trailhead five miles and 3,000-feet below within a few minutes of each other!
November 4th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Hello,
I became a Gator when I was a teacher in Miami Dade schools. They always impressed me by their performance. I also prefer college ball since they love the sport, don’t receive millions for signing their name and play to win. It involves more sport than business for me.
Now that I live in Boston, I’m still a Gator. I’m probably one of five in Boston. The fact I live in BC area makes it more interesting when I wear my Gator’s hat. Go Gators!
Jim
November 4th, 2008 at 11:42 am
I became a Gator when I was born. My parents were both students at UF when I was born at Alachua General. My dad was in law school and my mother was in undergrad getting her degree in psychology. The first place I lived was on-campus family housing. I lived in Gainesville for 2 years before my parents moved to Miami.
I later went to the University of Florida and received my Bachelor’s in English. The greatest years of my life were in Gainesville. I go to every Gator football game I can make it to and keep in touch with most, if not all, of my friends from college. The University of Florida is the most special place on Earth and I’m honored, proud, and happy to be a part of it.
Go Gators.
November 2nd, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I went to my first Gator game at the age of 10; that was 43 years ago. I attend as many games as I can get tickets for. IT’S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR!!!!!!
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
All and all I am a die hard Ohio State Buckeye fan! Only because I am from there. But now that I am engaged to a die hard Gator fan, I have become a Gator fan. I do wear a pink Gator hat all the time at work, only because I don’t want to mess up my Ohio State Buckeye hat…Ok, you got me, I am a Gator fan. They have to be my second team though. Never give up on your home team…GO GATORS!!!!
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:05 am
Please don’t publish my email.
I am a Florida Gator in my heart, my head and my spirit.
My son graduated in 2001. He was killed in a motorcycle accident just one month prior to graduating. His main goal in life was to be a Gotor and upon reflection on his short life, I would have to say that one of the highlights of his life was to achieve that goal….and complete the requirements to graduate in December of 2001. He called me the morning of his death and he talked to me for two and a half hours…..a conversation that will forever be etched in my heart.
He was talking about the invitations to graduation and the party plans we were making. He reflected upon the journey he traveled to achieve this goal. He was a Marine who flew on the aircrew of a C-130 during Desert Storm. He was proud to be a Marine and was comtemplating joining the reserves when the Sept. 11th attacks happened just two months earlier. He knew he needed to finish his educational goals at UF first.
He loved UF and all of the wonderful friends he made. At his funeral, many of his friends from UF attended (even though it was a school day and a few hours from Gainesville). His friends spoke at his memorial and they loved him so much. UF left an indelible mark by flowers sent by the president of UF and the phone calls from his college of environmental science. They wanted to be sure that Ray received his degree. He worked so hard to complete the courses. The wonderful people from his college arranged to have a private ceremony for our family to receive his degree! I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that this school with so many students would show such respect for this student and his family.
My son had called his father in August of 2001 and asked his dad to a football game. His dad chose the Tennessee game. As you know, that game was post-poned due to the attackes on our country. They never made that game. It was with sad, sad hearts that I attended that game with my husband in December of 2001. We both cried through that game and held each other as we watched what would be Steve Spurrier’s last time as coach. However, we were also emotional for the pride and memory of our dear son. We were surrounded by Gator Nation. We felt such a feeling of belonging and pride. It’s easy to see the bond within the Gator Nation is one that lasts forever!
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:49 am
I became a Gator back in grade school because up here in the panhandle of Florida, everyone’s a Nole. YUCK…So to shake up things, I started LOVING the Gators, just to be different from everyone else. That was 25 years ago. So I’ve stuck with UF through the GOOD times as well as the bad times, like the 80’s. After high school, I almost went to UF but I opted to join the United States Marine Corps, a move which I now regret. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the U.S.M.C. and all the places I went but I have always yearned to go back to college. But now with a family and a business, it’s just a dream. I LOVE THE GATORS and never miss a game from football to basketball or whatever. GO GATORS!!!! THE BEST SCHOOL IN AMERICA.
November 1st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I attended Gator Growl my senior year of high school with my best friend. This was 1987 and Fraternity Drive went right in front of the houses, not like it does now, and the row was jam packed with frat boys. As we drove along Fraternity Drive, this Florida girl became a Gator girl. I started classes the summer of 1988 because I just couldn’t even wait until Fall. Of course, I met my own fraternity boy my first week that summer. We’ve now been married 15 years and have two little Gator girls of our own.
November 1st, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Though I’d lived in Gainesville since 1967, I didn’t really become a “Florida Gator” til I started working in the Psychology Department at UF in 1984. I retired in 2001 and moved back to my hometown of Broussard, Louisiana. I don’t think friends and family here take it too well when I cheer for the Gators (esp when we beat LSU), but its ingrained in me now. I pair orange and blue flowers in my yard whenever possible. I’ll always be a Florida Gator!
October 29th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I first moved to Gainesville with my wife (Rebecca Hoover) and 2 dogs , Jessup and Buffy (now deceased), in August 1978. I started attending the University of Florida in 1980 after a year at Santa Fe Community College. I didn’t know I was a Gator until many years later because I was so caught up in making a living. Until one day I had a Doppler test on my heart, and the colors were orange and blue!!!! It wasn’t until then that I knew.
Roger
October 28th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I grew up a Gator Fan and even remember watching the UF vs. FSU game in 5th grade, laying on the couch with the Flu. I even kid around that “I bleed orange & blue” and have since birth. Even though I grew up a Gator, I didn’t get that true feeling that I was a gator until my first football game, during my first semester as a student at UF, in the Swamp. I literally get chills and there are simply no words to describe the feeling that I get when I’m in the stands right before the team comes out on the field…it is simply one of the best natural highs in the world and makes me even more proud to able to call myself a GATOR!
October 27th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I’ve been a Gator Fan since birth. Our family comes together every Saturday during football season to watch our beloved team. The first word out of any of the babies in our families mouth is Gators. Being a Gator in our family isn’t a choice, it’s a way of life. We know all of the cheers, the songs, every Gator tradition there is. Everyone from my grandmother down wears their Gator gear. Being a Gator is like nothing else, the pride that you feel for this team fills your heart to overflowing. You cheer for them, cry for them and stand behind them NO MATTER WHAT!! I couldn’t imagine being anything else. It’s great to be a Florida Gator!
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I first saw Shane Matthews playing as an 8 year old. I saw the team colors and have been hooked for the last 23 years. Gators for life! Goooo Gators!
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I think I was about 8 or 9 and I HATED football with a passion. (KEEP READING PLEASE!) One day my mother sat me down and asked me why I hated football. I said it was boring and that I didn’t understand a thing that concerned it. My mother is a “Die Hard… then come back to cheer on” Gator, so she asked me to watch one game with her… I HAD to accept. She explained to me the game, and by the next Saturday my face was painted Orange and Blue! I am 13 so that make’s it 6 happy years! I am home schooled and in LOVE with Tebow… next it is Harven… then James….. I love them all!!! (but Tebow I love the most)
Oh, and one more thing:
I am home schooled and my mom said I could do a report on TEBOW!!!!!
GO GATORS!!!
October 17th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
My aunt was a Gator fan. I never really understood why she was so into it.
Then one day I was at her house, and Tim Tebow had his jersey off before the game. Ever since that day, I have been 100 percent dedicated. I annoy my Georgia loving mom as much as I can. Enough to where everything I get for Christmas and my birthday is Gator. I plan on attending UF in the fall of 2011.
GO GATORS!!
October 17th, 2008 at 7:27 am
I became a Gator in my mom’s belly! I absorbed the Gator gene while still in my mother’s womb. I hope to pass it on to my children as well!!!
October 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I started grad school at UF in August 1990 on a DOE Applied Health Physics Scholarship after getting my BS at Purdue. As part of the scholarship, I had to attend a practicum in Oak Ridge, TN. While there, I had a stroke and nearly died (age 24 at the time). My friend was also in Oak Ridge that summer and lived directly above me. He and his wife found me unconscious and called the ambulance. I took off that semester for rehab but returned and received my Master of Science degree in Health Physics in December 1992. I met my wife at UF, we had our son at UF, my wife was born at Gainesville, I received my MS at UF and almost died trying to get my MS. We are Gators today and forever will be.
October 14th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
In 1974, I saw my first Gator football game and was hooked. This was confirmed in 1984. I had just left Germany, and I found out that one of my buddies sister went to UF. We went to visit her. Turns out she was going out with a soccer player. These guys all were hard partying but always very polite and well mannered to everyone they met. They treated me like an honorary Gator.
Later on during Desert Storm, I received a care package from the Dunlap family, one of whom worked at the University. It had all sorts of Gator gear in it and I absolutely loved it and still have most of it to this day. My only regret was losing their address but I was in the Air Force at the time and what the heck was E-mail?
My truck has Gator stickers and magnets. I have jerseys, t-shirts, enough hats for every member of the football team, cups, mugs, koozies, golf equipment, posters, flags, buttons….well you get the idea. Heck, even my license plate is personalized with a Gator. I live in Texas in the middle of Texas A & M and Longhorn country. It ain’t always easy being a Gator but I’m loving every minute of it!
Go Gators!!!
October 14th, 2008 at 11:15 am
As a young man I spent my youth surfing in Atlantic Beach, FL, and noticed some architectural renderings on the wall at my friend Dylan’s one afternoon while his mom made us some sandwiches and milk. I admired the drawings and found my friend’s dad was an architect who attended UF, William Morgan AIA. I resolved I would become a Gator and attend architecture school. That was 1972. I attempted to get in after high school in 1976. I was denied. I WOULD NOT BE DISCOURAGED. Taking night classes for an Associate degree, I put seven years of time in on the drawing board and got accepted in 1983. I NEVER QUIT. I did not graduate in 1987. Two-thirds of my class were failed by our professors in the landscape architecture department. I went to work, interned and passed my board exams in 1990 on the first attempt. Then I went to work on starting my own design business while I waited for new opportunities until 1995 when I returned and retook a class to complete my journey to graduation in 1996. The rugby team threw me a 500-man, 19-keg toga party that lasted ’till dawn. NEVER SURRENDER! NEVER GIVE UP! Today, I am still a productive owner of three landscape companies after all these years and very fulfilled. I am director of the Mayport Waterfronts Partnership, a teacher of design through the Community Education program in Duval County, a member of Kiwanis Club, the Moose lodge, The Jacksonville Rugby Club, Gator Old Boys and The Axemen Rugby League. Without my education, none of this would be possible. ABSOLUTELY GO GATORS.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I started teaching junior high 7th and 9th grade general science in Pinellas County in 1949 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin. I met a cute blonde kindergarten ‘new teacher’ that Fall, and we were married in August 1950. I decided to remain teaching in Clearwater while Nin Ruth taught in Largo Elementary. I started the Master of Educational Administration in Summer 1950, attending each Summer and completed my M.Ed. in Summer 1954. I became Assistant Principal at Safety Harbor Jr. High in 1957, obtained a Pinellas County Sabbatical and a Kellogg Foundation Scholarship and started the EdD in Community College Administration in Summer 1961. I moved my family to Gainesville that Fall and completed all courses but one by August 1962. I completed the last course in Educational Finance under my Doctoral Chairman, Dr. Roe Lyell Johns, in Summer 1963, also working as Director of the newly formed Florida Community/Junior College Institutional Research Association, formed under the leadership of Dr. James L. Wattenbarger. While attending the Univ. of Florida in 1961-62, I attended every UF football game in 1962, one game of which UF was tied by the upstart FSU Seminoles by a score of 3 to 3. FSU students tore down the goalposts at the ‘Swamp’, they were so carried away.
So I have been a ‘Gator’ from 1950 to this time, while retaining the right to also be a Wisconsin Badger. Most of the time, both of my ‘alma maters’ have been football and basketball “outstanders.” Wisconsin has also excelled at wrestling, swimming and boxing and I may say the Gator Basketball, Swimming and Golf teams have been winners quite a lot.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I became a Gator when I was 4 years old. My daddy had taken me to my first football game and ever since then I always loved the University of Florida. I plan to attend college there. My two favorite players are Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin. I loved how we beat LSU Saturday. GOOOOOOO GATORS
October 13th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I was born to be a Gator. My two grandfathers went to UF (law school) in the 1930’s and my father attended in the 1950’s. He graduated with a degree in economics. He also went through ROTC and was commissioned in the Army. My parents helped support me and my twin brother through college, and we both graduated (BCN ‘82). We were also both commissioned into the Army Corps of Engineers. Therefore, we are 3rd-generation Gators. I hope to see my son, who is now 10 years old, become a 4th-generation Gator. He’s already a Gator at heart.
Go Gators
October 13th, 2008 at 9:53 am
As I prepare to attend our 50th high school reunion, I recall a spring 1958 visit to the campus taken by at least four other classmates. Even though we nearly lost one on a downhill bike ride (the one from the police station to Shands), I was hooked. About six of us started that fall. Three for sure finished four years later. One became an agricultural engineer, one a veterinarian (had to go be a war eagle back then) and I came back for law school later after keeping you all safe from the Russians. One had to be die hard to suffer our football performance back then. My most vivid memories are: counting how many effigies of Bob Woodruff were hung from Murphree Hall, taking bets on how many plays it would take for Vic Miranda’s shirt tail to come out and Jimmy Dunn’s crazy passes. The guys had to wear a tie and get a mum corsage for the girls. The highlight of the first four years was actually a basketball win over Kentucky (the first anyone could remember) in old Florida Gym. I have no idea what engineering marvel kept the roof on that night. Too many people for that space. Go Gators! Howard Holtzendorf, BS ‘62, JD ‘71
October 13th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I became a Gator in August 1985 when I started law school at the advanced age of 34 at the Unversity of Florida’s College of Law. I also started lifting weights for exercise when I wasn’t in the law school library, studying or going to classes. To facilitate my weight lifting activity, I joined a gym, “Let’s Get Physical” on 34th Street in Gainesville in September 1985. After graduating from law school in May 1988, I stayed an extra year for the LL.M. in Taxation program. In the Fall of 1988, while working out at the gym, I met my future wife, Barbara (Morris) who was in her 3rd year of UF’s dental school. We became weight lifting partners and then became husband and wife in December 1989 after I had completed the College of Law’s graduate tax program. She graduated from UF’s College of Dentistry in 1990. Since we met, we’ve been lifting weights and having fun together ever since. A Gator higher education (and weightlifting) can change your life!
October 13th, 2008 at 6:28 am
I became a Gator the first time I set foot on campus. I fell in love with the institution, and I fell in love with everything Gators. The years I spent at the University I count toward the best years of my life, and I feel great pride every time I read anything about THE University of Florida.
“Go Gators” is more than a rallying call, it’s a sense of pride, brotherhood and a deep respect for the greatest university on the planet.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I became a Gator fan a long time ago when I was a little boy before I knew what football was, mostly because of the colors. Now that I’m older I still bleed blue and orange. I have followed the Gators ever since. I grew up in Arkansas but have never been an Arkansas fan. I don’t get down to Gainesville to watch them play as much as I would like. I plan to carry this on with my daughters, and with any hope, they will get to go to UF. GO GATORS!!!
October 12th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I became a Gator in 1986. Being from northwest Florida and only 55 miles from Emmitt Smith’s hometown, I was sold when he announced he was headed to Gainesville. I first got to see him as a junior in high school when our high school played his team in Pensacola. I was really glad he chose to be a Gator. I also was very impressed with Danny Wuerffel, who is from the same county I live in. Go Gators.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I have been a Gator ever since I was introduced to college football. I am only 12 years old, but I’ve been a gator for 3 years. I love the way the Gators play the game with the excitement and trick plays. Tim Tebow is the best quarterback I’ve seen since Joe Montana. I love the Gators and hope to be playing on that same field as number 88.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
My husband and I became official Gators in 1978 and 1979 when we attended UF. However, having lots of family graduate from UF prior to us, we had ALWAYS been Gators at heart. After graduation, we married and a few years later started a family. Needless to say we soon had baby Gators who dressed in Gator onesies and football/cheerleaders for Halloween. When our first of 4 children was ready for college the choice was obvious - UF! So off he went.Then 3 years later our daughter did the same. The very next year our twin girls knew the ONLY place for them was UF. So we are now a proud family of 6 Gators (actually 7…our Lab is named Gator!!) Our oldest son will graduate in December 2008 and our 3 girls will enjoy being there for several more years being active in many events such as Greek society (Alpha Delta Pi), Gator Growl Assistant Director of tickets and cheerleading (the twins) so we definitely have had and ALWAYS WILL have orange and blue in our Gator family!! GOOOOO Gators!!
October 12th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I have been going to Gator Games (all sports) for over 35 years. I have a son that is 31 years old, and he and I have not missed a home Gator Football game together since he was 4 years old. I know there are people that have been going to games longer than we have, but I do not know of a father and son together that have not missed a game for 27 years.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I am a first year student, and a political science major. Like most, preview was one of those moments in my life that I couldn’t believe - I was about to be attending the amazing University of Florida!! This was when I first realized that I was a Florida Gator, but what really got me to believe that I was a Gator for LIFE was after a trip I had made to China a few months back. As I was standing among Americans and Chinese alike wearing my SAA shirt with the HUGE print of UF on it, I hear a man say, “Go Gators!” As I turn to reply, I realize he is Chinese and is wearing a beautiful orange and blue plaid polo. We immediately struck up a conversation, and he asked if I attended UF, and I told him that about a week after I got home from China I would be starting my first semester. He told me that he had attended UF as well, as an international student. It was amazing to see that the Gator Nation was on the other side of the world as well as being all over the US!! It’s an experience I’ll never forget: when I first realized that I am a Florida Gator for the rest of my life, destined to pass on the phrase, “Go Gators!!”
October 12th, 2008 at 10:27 am
My story was published in the 2008 Fall edition of UF Today. I am currently working on the sequel - A Girl Gator in 1946.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I CAN’T REMEMBER A DAY WHEN I HAVEN’T BEEN A GATOR. BORN IN GAINESVILLE, I BLEED BLUE AND SPIT ORANGE. MY UNCLE, LUTHER (EDDIE) HUGHES JR., WAS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST FAN OF THE GATORS THAT I HAVE EVER KNOWN. WHEN HE DIED IN FEB. OF 2007, HE WAS BURIED IN A GATOR OUTFIT AND WITH A FLAG THAT WAS SIGNED BY SOME GATOR PLAYERS. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED FOOTBALL TEAMS AND COACHING STAFF THAT HAVE EVER GRACED A FOOTBALL FIELD. LIVING ONLY ONE HOUR FROM COLUMBUS, OHIO, IT HAS BEEN MY PLEASURE TO TEASE ALL BUCKEYE FANS CONTINUOUSLY. ONCE A GATOR, ALWAYS A GATOR. TO ALL THE PLAYERS AND COACHING STAFF, THANKS FOR THE HARD FOUGHT GAMES AND THE BUTT STOMPING YOU GAVE LSU (51-21). “IF YOU AIN’T A GATOR, YOU’RE JUST GATOR BAIT!”
October 11th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I became a Gator for life when I went to my first football game ever in 2006. My husband is from Florida and has been a huge Gator fan since he was a kid. He was coming home from his second deployment to Iraq and I wanted to get him an awesome gift. What better than tickets to see the Gators? They were playing TN only 4 hours from us, so it was perfect. After two days of being home, I surprised him with tickets to the game. It was such a great time and of course we won! I’ve been hooked since! We are going to the UF vs Vandy game on Nov. 8 - happy birthday to me and welcome home babe!!! By the way, our daughter is a future Gator cheerleader
October 11th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I was raised in Tennessee and even spent several MISERABLE years living in Knoxville, TN - the center of “vol nation”. I became a Gator after I was admitted to UF’s doctoral program despite low GRE scores. They looked at the whole person and not JUST some standardized test score. Now, I JUST LOVE torturing vol fans during the annual beatings they receive at the hands of the mighty Gators. GOOOOOOOOO GATORS!
October 11th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I’d always been a lukewarm Gator fan until I was transferred to Tallahassee. There I met some great ‘Nole fans, but the overall “Noledom” was just too much to take for me. It took me only one season of living in Tallahasee for me to realize that I was a Gator fan (though I’m a USF graduate) for life, and I haven’t looked back since. Having lived in Nova Scotia for five years taught me it’s a Gator International World. Go Gators!
October 11th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I married a Gator Alum. It’s Great to be a Florida Gator!
October 11th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I haven’t lived in Florida nor gone to University of Florida. I’m 24 now, but back in 1998 I was watching the McDonald’s All-American game, and I saw this guy named Bret Nelson. He was an amazing point guard and was killing in that game. I watched just to hear where he was going to go, as I was leaving to play basketball myself. When I heard he was going to Florida, I said I would follow him and see how he does. Well it’s now 2008, and I never had a college football team before Brett Nelson so I went with the Gators on that too. THE BEST MOVE I COULD HAVE MADE!!!! I’m now a Gator for life and hope to pass on the love to the family I have one day. Go Gators!!!
October 11th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I became a Gator fan out of a mix of parents. My mom who I lived with is a FSU Seminoles fan, and my Dad is mixed. He is a Golden Gophers fan and an USF Bulls alum and played baseball there. I realized I was a Gator at the first football game I ever watched on TV while I was at my Mom’s best friend’s house at age 6. Both her and her husband are Gator alumnae and fans. I agreed with them during the UF vs. FSU game - the Gators won.
October 11th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I wasn’t very much into football through high school but because I lived near Tallahassee, I was partial to FSU. I got accepted to UF and moved to Gainesville this 2008 academic year. The transition from Seminole to Gator began - and it didn’t take long!
When did I know for sure that I was a Gator for life? When Tim Tebow threw the pass to Percy Harvin for the 70-yard passing touchdown for the first seven points against LSU tonight!!!!
October 11th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
When did I become a “Gator”? The unofficial answer would be when I was born in 1973 by right of family! No one had officially made it to the college but it was in our family fabric! I became an official Gator last year when I was accepted into the Early Childhood Education program at the age of 34, married with 2 children! It was a lifelong dream of mine and I am PROUD to tell the Gator Nation and all the future Gators I will have the honor to teach, no matter your age or restrictions, if you believe it, Gator dreams really do come true! I am proud to be parenting the next generation of the Gator Nation in my very own home! What else can I say but go build a fortune 500 company, go write the next great American novel, GO TEACH…and GO GATORS!!!
October 11th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I became a Gator when my older brother went to college at UF in Fall 1971. My family would tailgate to many of the UF home football games. I remember one particular game against LSU. It was a beautiful Fall day and fairly cool, so I was wearing corduroy pants and a sweater. About half way through the game it began to rain “cats and dogs,” and we got soaked and began to freeze. We stayed throughout the game and won. After the game, my family went to meet my brother, the student, for dinner. He came to the restaurant bone dry while we were all cold and wet. He left when it started to drizzle and went back to his apartment until it was time to meet us for dinner. I attended UF in the summer of 1980 as a Junior and loved every minute of my two years there. I remember attending the UGA game at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. On the way to the game, a group of friends and I were decked out in our Gator gear when a very drunk UGA male student came over to us, bent down, started to bark like a dog and tried to bite my leg through my blue jeans. I took off my good ole’ UF orange cowboy hat and began to swat him on the head until he let go and fell to the ground. Oh yeah, UF beat the tar out of UGA on the field that day.
All I can say is…It’s great to be a Florida GATOR!!!!!
October 11th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I became a Gator when I enrolled at the University of Florida in 1988. I graduated in 1992 with my degree in Elementary Education. Two weeks prior to graduation, I met my future husband! We celebrated our 10-year anniversary last November. We have season tickets and attended almost all, if not all, of the home games. We are absolute die-hard Gator fans. Whats best is we have two beautiful daughters who have been raised loving the Gators as well! They both plan on attending UF in our legacy
October 11th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Here’s a confession: I was a nerd. Graduated in ’66, first in the family to go to college, not a sports fan, didn’t even go see my classmate, Steve Spurrier, play - and tickets were free to students back then!
The point of this post is that despite my degree, I didn’t really “become a Gator” until the “’04’s” basketball team got going. After 30 years in corporate America, trying to figure out the mystery of great teamwork, these guys and Coach Donovan were pure inspiration. We shall not see their like again. Horford, Brewer, Noah, Green, Humphrey and Richard - please accept personal thanks, from an old Gator, for the wild ride. Best of life and luck in the NBA!
October 11th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I officially became a Gator this year, as I am a freshman now. I think being a part of the Gator Nation started for me years ago when I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian. UF is where I needed to be for that. Not only does it have a highly reputed vet school, (and the only one in Florida) but the academics here are superior, the tradition is rich and the atmosphere is unsurpassed. I remember coming here for a tour one summer, and as I was walking around the campus, I could just feel this energy around me, even though it was summer. It was then that I knew I HAD to come here. Plus, the campus is absolutely breathtaking. The feeling didn’t stop there. On the first home game day, I actually teared up a bit while walking to the stadium because the energy on campus was overwhelming, and it made me think of how happy and proud I was to be here. GATORS FOR LIFE!!!!!
October 11th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I first became a Gator in the summer of 2004 when I received my acceptance letter in the mail. Through the years, my skin became hard and scaly like a gator from going to Gator football games, and any other Gator activities. I became a Gator for life when my tuition money was paying for new bricks on the sidewalks, when we won championships back-to-back and when I went Gator Stomping. I became a life long Gator when I walked across the stage May 2008. I will forever bleed orange and blue.
October 10th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I moved to Gainesville when I was 9 years old. Having lived in upstate New York, where basketball was king, I had no idea what football was about. My mother met a guy who worked at the University, and he took me to the Florida vs. Miami game. I had never been to a college game before, and at the tender age of 10, I was amazed at the passion and excitement that Florida Field held. It was unreal how we fought and came back time after time against a team with a future hall-of-fame quarterback, Jim Kelly. Sitting in the corner of the North endzone with just under 3 minutes left in the game, James Jones reached up with one hand and snatched a Wayne Peace pass out of the sky, and I thought a bomb had exploded! The guy my mom met, later became my Dad and that moment became something I shared with my son when he was 10. I was hooked right then and there. From that moment on, I have rooted for that uniform no matter who wore it, how we played or who we played. Being a Gator is not something you can decide to be, it is being lucky enough to have in your blood. The Gator Nation is beyond passion, it is beyond pride, it is a brotherhood stronger than any other I have seen. If we are crazy, if we are over the top, it is because we are not like other fans choosing a team, we are lucky enough to be ordained to root for the greatest teams in the nation. GO GATORS!
October 8th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
My family has always been full of devoted Gators. All of my grandparents and both parents went to UF. I knew I was a Gator at age 10 when I went to a football game, just like the previous years, but felt a new feeling. I got an adrenaline rush when the video clip of the alligator came on and the Gators rushed the field. I felt my stomach tighten. It was truly indescribable. I know I’ll always be a Gator.
It’s great to be a Florida Gator!
October 7th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I became a Florida Gator when I was at Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C. Chris Leak was one of my classmates, and when he became a Florida Gator, I decided to become a fan and a member of the Gator Nation. Now, I’m involved with the local Gator Club here in Charlotte, and I continue to support the Gators to this very day and as the old saying goes, “It’s great to be a Florida Gator!”
October 5th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I became a Gator Mom for life when my boys, now a junior and a sophomore, became Gators. We traveled to many schools but there was always something missing. We took the tour of the stadium, and I asked, “What if my kids aren’t interested in sports? Will they be left out of campus life?” The tour guide replied that once you were here, you’re hooked, whether or not you understand football. He was right.
Strangers tell me about their Gator experiences when I wear my Gator Mom shirt. UF has opened many doors to the future for my children. Go Gators!
October 4th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I have been a Florida Gator since the 1970’s and feel right at home on the UF campus in Gainesville, Florida.
October 4th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
My husband, Marshall Watkins, has been a University of Florida Gator football fan since 1984. I, Laura Watkins, became a true University of Florida Gator football fan when I went to my first game at “The Swamp” in Gainesville, Florida. It was in 1993 while my husband and I were dating and engaged to be married. The 1996 and 2006 National Championships were awesome to see! The quarterbacks for those games were/are some of the best in the world! Tim Tebow’s nickname of Superman is accurate. He truly deserved to be the Heisman Trophy winner last year! We are so proud of him and all of the University of Florida football team members!
October 4th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I became a huge Gator fan about 4 or 5 years back. Before, I had never even paid attention to football. One of my friends dragged me to a football game and it just so happened to be a Gator game (oh yeah). After watching the Gator team play the game like I had never seen it played, I was hooked for life. A lot of my friends say I have an obsession. I have an entire room dedicated to the Gators and Coach Urban Meyer. The inside of my car is all Gators. The ringtone on my phone, a lot of my clothes, my homepage, the background on my phone and laptop, DVD’s I own and a lot more are all Gators. Last week, I was at Six Flags in Atlanta. I had just won a Bugs Bunny Gator doll and a Gator basketball. I was walking when this guy out of nowhere says, “Go Gators!” It was totally awesome. I will be a Gator fan for as long as I live whether we win or lose. GOOOOOO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
When haven’t I been a Florida Gator? I have a father who listened to his first Florida football game in 1926, and saw his first game in 1930. So I have lived with the ups and downs of Florida football. Especially when Florida played Georgia. If Florida won, things were ok, but if they lost, you didn’t speak to him about that loss. When I was a student at UF, I got student tickets, and either he or I would go to every game.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I made up my mind to be a Gator when I was in the latter half of my junior year of high school. After sending out applications to several other schools, the first acceptance letter I received was from UF. That day I went to Countryside Mall and bought my first Gator hat. The rest is history.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I formally became a Gator in 1980 when I arrived on campus as a freshman. I have an older sister who was a junior at UF when I first visited the campus as a prospective student. I was so impressed with the size of the campus and all that it had to offer that UF was the only college I applied to. It’s hard to believe that was 28 years ago. It was such a privilege to be a student at this great school and now, as an alumnus, I can’t even begin to describe the pride that I have in this university. I have two young sons who are so in love with this school that they both want to be students there. I prefer the “student/athlete” role, hoping that while they are both very smart boys, they are also terrific athletes. I see one as an All-SEC Defensive Lineman and the other a possible heir to the storied Quarterback position.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
While snowmobiling in Yellowstone several years ago, my friend and I stopped at a warming hut to warm up. While we were there a park ranger arrived to stoke the stove, and in the ensuing conversation he asked where we were from. When we answered “Gainesville, Florida,” he responded, “me, too!” Turns out he was also a Gator alum.
Naturally we thought that was quite a coincidence, but the story goes on “A couple of years later, my son and I were camped in Capital Reef National Park in Utah. Late in the evening we heard footsteps on the trail and a park ranger emerged from the dark. “Is that your Jeep parked at the trailhead?” he inquired. I indicated that it was, to which he asked, “are you from Gainesville?” Realizing he had seen my Alachua County tag, I answered that we were. “Me, too,” He said. And yes, he was also a Florida grad.
Recalling the earlier meeting in Yellowstone, I told him the story, all the while marveling at the odds of encountering two Gator park rangers under such unlikely circumstances. “No big surprise,” he assured me. “UF has the best forestry school in the country. Lots of people who want to become park rangers go through that program.” Considering he had hiked quite a way, mostly in the dark, just to seek out another Gator, it was clear he felt a great deal of pride in his alma mater, and it made me realize just how strong a bond there is among Gators everywhere.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I am 25 years old now. When I was 12, I passed by the UF campus on vacation. I really liked the Gator symbol. I started watching the Gators when my vacation was over and have been a Gator ever since. GO GATORS!!!!!!!
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
When I step on the UF campus, I feel right at home. I have been going to the beach in Florida for over 30 years.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I became a Gator when I was a kid watching Emmitt Smith play for the Cowboys. When I moved to Florida, I had several big schools to choose from. Already being a fan of Emmitt Smith, my choice was easy. I graduated from Daytona Beach Community College and transferred to the University of Florida in 2003. The education was a good one, and it was definitely a challenge (maybe too tough). I now work at one of the world’s biggest investment banks in NYC. I am proud of the Gator’s program and I am proud to be a Gator.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
When I was 5 years old, I went to a gator game. I was screaming, and it was so cool. I am 15 now, and I’m still a Gator fan. GOOO GATORS! They rock this world!
September 30th, 2008 at 9:10 am
GO GATORS
September 30th, 2008 at 9:10 am
The Gators are awesome. They play good. GO GATORS!
September 30th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I became a Florida Gator when I was just a baby. I could barely even talk. Whenever there was a Gator game, I would sit on my dad’s stomach with a Gator hat on. When the Gators made a touchdown, I would throw my hands in the air and scream, “Touchdown!” I have always been and will always be a Gator fan. =)
September 29th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I went to my first Gator game when I was 10 years old. I just turned 35 on Sunday. There is nothing better than being in The Swamp on a Saturday afternoon. When the Pride of The Sunshine comes on the field, the Gator Nation gets fired up. Looking at the big screen, just before the Gators come out, gives me chills no matter how many times I have seen it. Myself, along with about five others, go to one away game a year. It’s just a blast. LETS GIVE A CHEER FOR THE ORANGE AND BLUE!!
IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER WE ALL STICK TOGETHER FOR F-L-O-R-I-D-A!!!
September 27th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I was born in Jacksonville and moved to Tennessee when I was 8. I never quite fit in with all the other kids in my class; maybe because I was a Florida Gator and not a Tennessee Volunteer. I never let them get to me. Now, I’m raising my three daughters the right way - to be die hard Florida Gators Girls!!!
Win or lose, this house will always be a “Gator House.” And if I have my way, my three girls will be going to the University of Florida!!! GO GATORS!!!
September 27th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
My best friend in college was a HUGE Gator fan and got me hooked. I am a Gator fan for life, good games and bad. GO GATORS!!!!
September 24th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Like many kids in SEC country, I grew up in a “mixed marriage.” My mom and her family were all UGA Bulldogs, while my dad was a lone Gator. My allegiance was developed early though - I was a Gator in the making. The foundation was laid when we would drive through Gainesville, on our way to see family in south Florida, from our home in Atlanta (deep in Bulldog country). Dad would always detour through campus, and it left a big impression. The red brick, the live oaks and the palm trees - it was all magical in my eyes. Each time, he would point out his first dorm room in Thomas Hall, where he worked as part of the Florida Alligator staff, and where his fraternity house used to be (before moving to frat row). Watching my first game at “The Swamp” sealed the deal. A Thanksgiving weekend victory over FSU in 1991, where we sat in the student section, with tickets dad had bought for way too much. Officially, I didn’t become a Gator until January 1994 when I got my acceptance letter from the Admissions Office. My dream had finally come true. I too would be able to return years later and point out my first dorm room in Beaty Towers, etc. Although I had to leave UF before graduating, I will always be a Gator. It’s in my blood and in my heart. Go Gators!
September 21st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
My daughter was born at Shands on UF campus in Dec. 2004. She was 2 1/2 months early and weighed only 2 lbs 8 oz. The NICU staff took such good care of her that it left an everlasting impression on me. I became a fan instantly, and I would like to thank everyone there for their commitment and dedication.
September 20th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Even though I do not go to the University of Florida, I am a Gator at heart. I live in Missouri while half of my family live in Florida. I knew I was a Gator for life when I first watched a Florida Game when I was a little kid with my uncle. Ever since, I have been a HUGE fan. I let everyone know what I am every time I wear my Gator jersey here in Kansas City. Goooooo Gators!