The Year Of The Gator
The SportDork has ushered in 2008 with a severe head cold, so an essay regarding the wisdom (or lack thereof) of riding around London on the second story of an open air bus in slightly above-freezing temperatures all day yesterday will have to wait. Instead, I will cut right to the chase.
2007. How about a quick review?
January - The Gator football team wins the BCS Trophy. I still don't really know what that means, but a lot of people seem to think they give it to the best team in the country, so in this case, I won't argue with them. Go Gators.
April - The Gator basketball team wins the National Championship. This is impressive because a) unlike football, NCAA basketball actually has a legitimate system for determining its champion and b) it's the second time in a row that the Gators have won it. Go Gators.
May to November - I wallow in the fact that The Gators' victories in January and March mark the first time in the history of Division I athletics that a school has won the football and basketball championships in the same year. (No 'Go Gators' necessary here. This one speaks for itself.)
Early December - Tim Tebow wins the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first sophomore in history to win the award. Tebowmania sweeps the nation. Mrs. SportDork and I argue over my desire to name our first born son Tebow. Go Gators.
Late December - Having falsely assumed that the Gator Nation has achieved everything it possibly could in 2007, I am both shocked and elated when, while watching the World Darts Championship (which are being held in London and televised on Sky Sports), I catch a glimpse of this guy during player introductions:
Here's a closer look . . . . 
A guy from the University of Florida Darts Team, at the World Darts Championship in London, wearing an orange He15man t-shirt? There is no escape from the Gator Nation.
Up next? World Domination.
Go Gators!!!
I would have prefered a "Gone Fish'in" sign over that effort. When you emerge from your head cold you will agree. Go Noles!
Reply to this
Based solely on your complete Northeastern butchering of the phrase "Gone Fish'n", you are this week's Comment Of The Week Winner. Even with a head cold, I got a kick out of that one. Congratulations.
Reply to this
Greetings from the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando! Yes, the Jealous Workaholic actually is taking time off of work to spend time with his family. I did not attend the game, thankfully. Apparently, 2008 is not the year of the Gators.
You may ask why I decided to spend the big bucks on an Orlando vacation consisting of Sea World, The Magic Kingdom and countless crappy $60 meals? I heard that damn Cats in the Cradle song too many times. I always thought it was a Cat Stevens songs. This link provides otherwise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat's_in_the_Cradle
After 10 hours in the Magic Kingdom, 5 hours of which were spent with one of my 2 kids on my shoulders walking around and 3.5 hours of which were spent in line and 1 hour of which was spent eating (yes, just .5 hours of rides/shows) I told Mrs. Too Much Free Time to Cheat on Me and the kids that Daddy had to head to the bar to get some sleeping juice (double kettle on the rocks). At the bar I struck up a conversation with a guy who attended the UF UM game as a guest of a UF assistant coach. Did you know the receiver coaches pull in $220,000 a year? Not too shabby.
Well, I will end this comment and head to bed as the day starts at 7 tomorrow so that we can hit the Magic Kingdom by 9. Go Gators!
Reply to this
Believe it or not, the fact that we were playing our bowl game on the first day of 2008 was not lost on me when I put together the "Year Of The Gator" entry. I felt some bad mojo, on New Year's Eve, and I knew it was either that I was coming down with a vicious cold, or that the Gators were going to lose to Michigan. Or both.
I had no idea that there was any such thing as the Nickelodeon Hotel. Just thinking about it scares me.
It sounds like you had quite the time at Disney. Two questions: First, how much did that double kettle on the rocks run you? I'm guessing about $14.50. In my experience, they really have their way with you down there, if you know what I mean. Second, what's up with you chatting up guys at the bar in the Nickelodeon hotel?
Other than that, I will allow your comment stand on its own.
Reply to this
Just wanted to stop by and be the first to taunt you, er, I mean, offer my condolences on the shocking loss to a team with lead cleats and a lame duck coach. Looks like the world domination tour got sidetracked for an oil change.
Now I have to pull for the buckeyes to win so that we can all sit around and argue till September 2008.
Reply to this
If you were shocked, you didn't watch enough Gator games this year. But seriously, the Gators were out working on world domination - we didn't have time to focus on the Wolverines and their senile coach.
So much for your pipe dream of a Buckeyes victory. The upside of them getting pummeled (again) is that now when you guys (USC) beat them 48 - 0 next September, everybody will recognize it for what it is - a victory against an weak team in an weak conference instead of a referendum on the greatness of USC.
I think it's about time that the PAC-10 started to distance itself from the Big 10. You guys are all attached at the hip with the Rose Bowl, and all those Big 10 jokers are doing is bringing you guys down. They don't have a single team that should be on the same field as USC, and that probably holds true for a few other PAC-10 teams as well. You know Carroll would be up for a playoff. The PAC-10 needs to tell the Rose Bowl to bite them if they don't want to get on board. Let the Big 10 send OSU and Michigan down there every year and they can have their own little party. I doubt anybody would miss them.
Reply to this
One word for this week's entry - awesome. Hope you feel better soon!
Go Gators.
Reply to this
I agree. I felt it attained a high level of awesomeness, or an elevated level of awesome-atude, as they say. Some other readers did not agree (see other comments), but I think we both know how strong Gator-envy can be.
Go Gators.
Reply to this