It’s the final game for Lloyd Carr when the Wolverines meet defending national champion Florida in the Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl sponsored by Michelin and brought to you by Denny’s. Or whatever the fuck they’re calling the game this year. The teams have met only once before, in the 2003 Hall of Fame Outback Bowl sponsored by Tinactin and brought to you by Ace Hardware. Michigan won a thrilling game 38-31. Both teams will try to cap disappointing seasons with a win. But Florida’s disappointment stems from losing three tough conference games while Michigan has had its worst season in 23 years. So who has more motivation to win? Who the hell knows? But to know more about Florida, you’ll certainly want to read the final installment of the MZone's KNOW YOUR FOE.
History – The current University of Florida was established in 1853 as East Florida Seminary. The seminary was closed in 1866 due to the Civil War and then moved from Ocala to Gainesville. The school then merged with a number of smaller schools in 1905 and the combined school was called the University of the State of Florida. Finally, in 1909, the school took its current name.
UF, which is the third largest university in the country, was the first to offer athletic scholarships in 1928 as a reaction to under-the-table payments that were being made by other schools. Interestingly, UF didn’t have a problem with those under-the-table payments in the early 1980s. Amazingly, the University of Florida did not become co-ed until 1947, and didn’t allow African American students until 1958. However, it currently ranks second in the number of Bachelor Degrees awarded to African Americans, and third overall to Hispanics.
Location – Gainesville, Florida. Located at the base of
American’s Wang, Gainesville is a city that has its roots in war. It was named for General Edmund P. Gaines, commander of U.S. Army troops in Florida during the Second Seminole War. The town also saw some fighting during the Civil War. After the war, citrus growing was the main industry but that moved to Orlando following a couple of major freezes in the late 19th century. Now Gainesville’s population of about 100,000 is almost entirely dependent on the university in one way or another. Gainesville is sometimes referred to as “the Berkeley of the South” due to the liberal leanings of the populace. It’s long been known as being on the cutting edge of great music and is the hometown of Tom Petty and bands Less Than Jake and Against Me!
Nickname - Gators. This nickname goes back to 1911, the year of the ONLY undefeated Florida football team. It’s believed the moniker was a result of the nickname of team captain Neal "Bo Gator" Storter. Regardless of its origin, it certainly makes more sense than Michigan being called the Wolverines. It’s estimated that there are over a million alligators in the state and their habitats increasingly overlap with area populated by humans. It’s one of the best names in college athletics and sports in general. It’s unique (there are no other Division I or major sports teams with the name), it’s descriptive of the area, and let’s face it, alligators are bad asses. They’re absolutely ferocious, they can run like hell (no, this isn’t an SEC speed thing), and they look great as a belt or shoes. And they taste like chicken.
Mascot – Albert and Alberta. These are truly among the most iconic mascots in college athletics. Cosutmed green alligators, Albert wears an orange letterman sweater and Alberta dresses in an orange cheerleader outfit. The school used a live alligator mascot – also named Albert - starting in 1957. But in 1970 the costumed version that we know today was born, and he was joined by Alberta in 1986. They have quickly become the symbols of the university and they are immortalized with a statue on campus. Albert was ranked as the #1 college mascot by
SI Online this past year. And who’s to argue? That poll has as much credibility as any that decide the national football champion every year.
Colors – Orange and Blue. These are perfect colors for a southern school in warm climes, but the combination was just a happy coincidence. The selection of the colors took place in 1910 and were taken from two of the schools that merged to form the new UF. The University of Florida at Lake City had school colors of blue and white and East Florida Seminary in Gainesville used orange and black.
This will be the second blue and orange team the Wolverines will face this season. Illinois was the first, but the Illini's colors are orange and
navy blue, while Florida’s are orange and
royal blue. Surprisingly only
six schools use the blue and orange combo, and only Boise State’s shade of blue is similar to that used by the Gators. There’s no truth to the rumor that Florida is thinking of changing the turf at the Swamp to blue.
Logo/Helmet – The current Florida logo of a gator head inside an orange oval has been in use since 1998. It’s solid if unspectacular. The previous logo of a cartoon Albert which was used from 1992-1997, is one of the best in college sports.
Regardless, if either one were to be used on the Florida helmet, it would make the Gators’ headwear immensely better than,
as the MZone mentioned before, the Sunkist soda logo they now sport. Despite having a top football program, and a magnificent mascot, the Florida helmets just aren’t big league. The colors aren’t the problem, it’s the lame use of a wordmark that makes the Gator helmets so horrible. They join Ole Miss in the SEC and Illinois in the Big Ten with the use of a wordmark on the helmet. Florida football belongs nowhere near the Rebels and Illini, even if we’re just talking about helmet design. The problem is that there’s no way Florida can change. Since the Gators moved to their current helmet in 1979 they’ve had the best success they’ve ever had on the field. They’ve won two national championships and have become one of the top programs in the nation. So unless the Gators go into a ten year run of losing, which is not going to happen, the Sunkist bottle helmets are here to stay, much to Know Your Foe’s deep regret.
As always, all images of the helmets are from the incredible
Helmet Project site, and the logos are from the equally wonderful
SportsLogos.net.
Fight Song – The Orange and the Blue. Again, this fight song does not meet Florida’s standard on the field. The title is unimaginative,
the tune is average at best, and
the lyrics are laughable:
So give a cheer for the orange and blue
Waving Forever
Forever Pride of old Florida
May She droop never
We'll sing a song for the flag today
Cheer for the team at play
On to the goal we'll fight our way
For Florida.
Any fight song that invokes the words “waving” and “droop” is not worthy of the teams the Florida puts on the field every year. Hell, these lyrics aren’t even worthy of a bullshit team like Michigan State.
Most of the MZone’s readers are probably not familiar with
The Orange and the Blue. But a football fan can’t watch a Gator football game and not come away humming
Gimme A G, Go Gators. Listen to the last part of that song. Can’t you just hear Verne Lundquist announcing another Gator victory? And what a catchy tune. It might even make up for the lame fight song.
Academics – According to the most recent
U. S. News' ranking of America's Best Colleges, Florida is 49th, one slot behind Penn State. This places UF second among SEC schools, trailing only Vanderbilt and in the top ten among southern schools. The ranking would put Florida fifth if they were in the Big Ten. The school has become a very hot commodity among high school applicants. It's no mystery why - nice weather, solid academics, great sports teams. It's a great time to be a UF student.
Athletics – Let’s see. They are the current national champions in football and the two-time defending champion in basketball, the only school to be the reigning champions in both of the major college sports. They, along with Sparty (!), are the only school to win multiple national championships in both sports. So, yeah, Florida athletics is as good as any school in the country. Overall, the Florida has won 27 national championships (10 men’s and 17 women’s) including ten women’s tennis titles.
Amazingly, the Gators have only won seven conference titles in the 75 years of the SEC but they’ve all come since 1991 (the 1984 title was stripped by the conference for NCAA sanctions). The school has now produced three Heisman Trophy winners (all QBs) and pack in over 90,000 fans into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium which is widely considered one of the loudest and best college venues in the country.
Famous alums – As would be expected of a school the size of the University of Florida, the
list of distinguished alumni is long. But it’s not that impressive (though, hilariously it includes a section for “Pageant Winners”). It certainly pales in comparison to a few of Michigan's opponents such as
Northwestern and
Illinois. Where are the big names? Faye Dunaway? Mel Tillis? This isn’t 1975. UF can claim the second most famous flannel shirt wearer Bob Vila, and comedian Darrell Hammond. The only categories where UF has excelled are athletes (duh) and sports announcers, as both Red Smith and Erin Andrews are former Gators. They claim three astronauts – in total not on one mission.
Space, bitches, space. Oh, and no
U.S. Presidents.
The Game – It takes place in the new year, but the game will mean a lot of goodbyes on the Michigan sideline. The school’s all-time leading rusher will be playing his last game The head coach will be coaching his last game. And based on the hiring of Rich Rodriguez, this will really be the last Michigan football game that will have the imprint of Bo Schembechler after having influence over the program for almost 40 years. It’s too bad all that happens in a game the Wolverines lose. FLORIDA 45, MICHIGAN 37.
"Michigan's place in the top 25 was tenuous at best following the graduation of its starting backfield and offensive tackle Jake Long. Since then, wide receivers Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington entered the draft and Chad Henne's heir apparent at quarterback, Ryan Mallett, transferred to Arkansas. New personnel and a new scheme could mean growing pains for new coach Rich Rodriguez.
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