You're dead-on right about Spurrier and you're also right that the northern part of Florida is every bit the cracker life that any other part of the Deep South ever was. It's the part from Orlando down that I refer to as "outcast" and it is and has been way...way different than the rest of the state for a long time. When Duval county incorporated into the city of Jacksonville back in the 60s I used to say I now hailed from the "biggest redneck town" in America.....and I was right...can you say Lynyrd Skynyrd? In any event I have also been watching Florida football since 1964 and my Dad has passed on to me his own hatred of the way in which Florida was always treated unfairly by the rest of the SEC and I have witnessed examples many times over like when Auburn stole one from UF at Auburn in 1981 when Pell was the Florida coach. How long have you been watching SEC football Corey?
L-effing-O-effing-L <t>The Bush family has been doing politics a whole lot longer than you, yet you feel it within your grasp to criticize...<br/> <br/> You can play the 'family/kin, down he-ya' card.... How very....'southern' of you...in fact, its just one more log in the pile to show you how 'not different' you are.<br/> <br/> How long you been following the Irish?<br/> <br/> Is time served now the qualifier to judge one's football team/program?<br/> <br/> Gainesville sure as hell isn't 'glamour'... nothing wrong with it.. there are some fine areas, and Orlando is an odd situation, but G'ville isn't Orlando... not by any stretch and even the developments in Orlando being so seperate are waaaay more recent... (looking in the bigger picture)<br/> <br/> Being a non-partisan here in the Deep South...does give me an interesting perspective and its one that most Southerners don't want to hear. I was discussing this my girlfriend's cousin (my age and played for Miami*yes the U*)...Anyway, its about how Southern football fans all think of their own situations unique, but if you close your eyes and censor out the names of buildings or traditions....its the same story.<br/> <br/> There seems to be this paranoid, 'they are out to get us' bunker mentality from most all southern fans....with the exception of Miami....and the irony there is..THEY ARE ALL OUT TO GET MIAMI because they are so hated and classless...(even he thought that's funny).<br/> <br/> Point being... you all think they are out to get you...you aren't that different...</t>
Been spending time in Gainesville since the mid-60s and it has never...not even been close to being redneck...cracker....etc... Now maybe other SEC college communities have been the exact same as Gainesville but somehow I suspect Auburn, Ala. and Tuscaloosa and Starkville, Ms. may be closer to a Gainesville type setting these days but the differences in the 50s, 60s and even the 70s were huge. Check out the 1970 U.S. census by population: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census,_1970 Georgia...with the fast growing city of Atlanta is still over 2 million people behind Florida in 1970. The point is that Florida was and is still today a state of vast cultural and economic diversity in comparison to the rest of the Deep South. As Tom has said that gap is closing somewhat but 25-30 years ago and beyond the differences were significant.
LOL <t>You are explaining cultural diversity to a Southern Californian...<br/> <br/> Look, either you Floridians embrace Miami....or you disown it, but you gotta stop claiming it when it suits your purposes.<br/> <br/> Im just laughin, still, at your 'glamour' point of view when all I see are player profiles of kids from Florida talking about how college football is their way out of one of two things:<br/> <br/> -Thug life of the inner city <br/> or<br/> -The mind numbing disparity of country poverty.</t>
MCG, ok I read the whole thread. Let me say that I have had some feelings about SEC referees and the Gators. However I also think it might be more what the one poster said about underdogs etc. A couple of things, comments from a Gator board is not evidence, period. Also after reading your rants about the refs during the last few years has actually pushed me the other direction as you are way to paranoid about the whole referees and how they are always sticking it to us. Let me ask you this question, what calls do you think most affected the game yesterday? I think it was the two procedure calls against Ole Miss their last drive that left them with 4th and 11 instead of 4th and one! I would bet that if you go to some Mississippi sites you will hear them crying the same. By the way answer Terry's question.
Terry, From my point of view, BS (Before Spurrier) I didn't even think about Florida much. They were right up there with Vandy, Miss State and Kentucky when it came to football. So. Carolina wasn't in the SEC at that time and Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU and sometimes Ole Miss were enough to worry about. Florida would come up and beat one of the top teams every once in a while but they very seldom figured in the SEC title race BS (1984 is the only exception, I believe). Obviously all of that changed AS. Like Corey said, I didn't care for Spurrier's style, but I didn't mind having another SEC team rise to the top, and they were in the SEC East so we don't get to play them alot, except in the SECCG.
"By the way answer Terry's question.".....Bill....you don't think I answered the question? KP.....without going into an exhaustive data presentation....(for at least the second time) your statement shows you don't know much at all about Florida before Spurrier. My last two years in school in '75 and '76 and in '66 all Florida had to do to win the SEC was beat Georgia in Nov. and the Gators could just not get past Vince Dooley. In '65 UF played in the Sugar Bowl and in '66 it was the Orange Bowl. Played in the Sugar in '75 also as well as a slew of other bowls from 1950 to 1990. ( B/S) My first Gator game was the 1964 Gator Bowl vs. PennSt. back when there weren't an abundance of bowls as there now are. UF was no Alabama before Spurrier but they were not MSU, Vandy and Kentucky either. About the same deal as Alabama has been no Florida since 1990. 8) :wink:
Bill.. the procedure calls on Miss were easily seen in replay as the center moved the ball twice. The Gator chomp unsportsmanlike is inexplicable and the "helmet-to-helmet" which did help Miss was clearly not to the helmet in replay. The non-called helmet spear to Tebow was clear also but not called. As I stated I have been watching UF football since the mid 60s. How long have you been the true fan that you have become? 1988? 1985? Before that? It makes a difference because I agree that since the Spurrier success of the 90s there may be other reasons to hate Florida but I think those just tie in nicely to the older, more established reasons I gave.
or <t>you could have been paranoid all that time and the fact that you follow the Gators is just a happy coincidence?<br/> <br/> <br/> Using your logic here of 'time served' you are now discounting the opinions of other (ferociously) loyal Gator fans...<br/> <br/> BTW, how long have those reporters you love to quote been following any team?</t>
If I didn't understand the history of Notre Dame then I wouldn't think much of them after the futility of the last 12 years or so would I? I think I understand the history of Notre Dame better than you might understand the history of Florida. But that's something in ND's favor.
While ND is bad this year <t>They've gone to back to back BCS bowls in the previous two years.<br/> <br/> Your history of Florida is as jaded as your knowledge of ND</t>
As far as what ND has or has not accomplished in the last 12 years...overall record....final ranking and bowl wins I don't think any other explanation is necessary. That said...I certainly acknowledge wholeheartedly what the Irish have accomplished in the past. Great tradition...# of wins....# of NCs... bowl wins over Florida....the whole gamut. In this day and age of more parity and less scholarships I wonder if any one program can do it consistently anymore but then you look at what PC has been doing out in LA with the Trogs and you say that it is possible.
LMAO ...... at how this discussion of UF football before and after Spurrier underscores the fact of how much more Florida has changed - relative to this Deep South Dixie in which most of the SEC is situated - from the 70s to today. Florida, the state and the University, are not part of "the deep south dixie" and have never really been embraced by the good ol' dixie boys who ran the conference, especially that mindless redneck Bobby Gaston. The Pell era was the beginning of the transformation of the UF program, which was delayed ~4~ seasons by NCAA penalties. SOS came along and completed it. Meyer (and Zook to lesser degree) are simply continuing that which began in the early-mid '80s.
Gaterz, You and I sound about the same age and I believe you grew up in Florida the same as I did and yet others here who don't share that background seem to have more insight into Florida's longtime relationship with the rest of Dixie and the SEC than we do. :shock: I suppose we are both the resident experts on California, Ohio, etc. then... what do ya think? 8) :wink: Good reference to Gaston. There are a few others I can think of including one ref from the late 60s/ early 70s I think who was referred to as "Pistol Pete" (and not Maravich from LSU). A good ole boy Florida hatin' redneck if there ever was one. If you listen to these Skyboxers Dixie never existed...and redneck "good ole boy" is just a comedic term completely made up by Jeff Foxworthy. :lol:
Hey ... I respect someone's right to embrace the perception that Florida is just like Alabama or Mississippi or Tennessee, etc .... both schools and states. That's fine and dandy ....we all have life experiences which lead us to a variety of conclusions. But there's nothing that I've seen in many, many years that would or could convince me to agree with that perseption.
How many times and ways do I have to say, I, my family, my friends, do not hate Florida. We don't hate the state, the people, the university. You can cite records, bowls, championships whatever. I can work up a hate for Auburn, Tennessee, and LSU (more respect than hatred really) but not Florida. Sorry.
You are what you are KP. No amount of Florida SEC and National Titles will change your mind. That and the 4-7 record Alabama sports against Florida going back to 1990 just doesn't do anything for ya. Oh well....just keep disrespecting us..... :lol: :shock:
interesting <t>I've just gone with the assumption that 'I cannot and possibly do not understand anything about Florida or its history in relation to other SEC fans, and furthermore, Florida fans can and do know all about Notre Dame.'<br/> <br/> Give the aforementioned assumption, I've been asking SEC fans from 'other die hard Dixie' schools that some of you Gators speak of with such distain with one caveat... They can't be younger than 35.<br/> <br/> <br/> So far I've solicited 43 opinions of the perceived 'hatred' of Florida and what does it stem from.<br/> <br/> The fans I've spoken to pull or graduated from:<br/> <br/> Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia, one guy who went to Vandy but also pulls for Ole Miss, and of course, Alabama.<br/> <br/> To a person, they can't stand Florida...<br/> <br/> They don't randomly hate that progressive bastion of cultural diversity that is Florida. They didn't much care about that. I mean, they have New York and California to hate for that... but that doesn't figure in it at all.<br/> <br/> All of them, to a person, said they began their hatred of Florida with Steve Spurrier and his 'Hey! Its not my fault you suck' approach.<br/> <br/> For the record, I've grown to respect and appreciate SOS so this isn't a slam on him. I will keep you up to date and the responses roll in. With me being laid up for 2 weeks, its limited my contact with some people. Like I said, I will keep you updated..<br/> <br/> But so far, your 'culture envy' scenario isn't panning out very well.</t>