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.
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!