(1) To USF’s hard-cheering, respectful, good-spirited, and sportsman-like fans:

Congratulations on a great game and a gutsy showing. Your program is light years above what it was when this game originally went on our schedule. We respect your willingness to play anyone, anywhere, in any conference, including Florida as the state’s preeminent football program. As everyone knows full well, these kind of games grow your standing as a national program despite the inevitable losses in which they often result.

There’s hardly a Gator fan who didn’t worry, at least somewhat, about this game during the preceding week. This is because USF has shown the moxie to win in stadiums like Jordan-Hare and Doak Campbell. This is because B.J. Daniels is the kind of athlete who keeps defensive coaches up at night. This is because your players know that beating a team like Florida means national recognition and respect, and credibility you can’t buy on the recruiting trail.

When you followed our first three-and-out with a ten-minute, 96-yard touchdown drive (and an improbable 7-0 lead), plenty of Gator fans reached for their Rolaids. Even though turnovers, Jeff Demps, and Florida’s resurgent second half doomed your upset chances, you pushed a young Gator team far further than many might’ve expected. Given USF’s talent, coaching, and determination, we’re definitely better off having played you.

We hope you enjoyed the pageantry and tradition of college football in the Swamp. The Gator Nation wishes you all the very best in your remaining games and your contention for a Big East championship.

(2) To USF’s drunken, sophomoric, obnoxious, and cluelessly delusional fans:

Here’s an idea - before you stumble brazenly into one of college football’s most feared and respected home field environments, perhaps you should brush up on your history. You know, a little comparative analysis between Florida and USF in terms of total victories, bowl appearances, bowl victories, conference championships, national championships, Heisman trophies, top-10 finishes, etc. Let me sum up for you - Florida, a whole lot; USF, not so much.

Did you hear the P.A. announcement about today’s attendance? That’s right - over 90,000 fans for a non-conference victory that means very little to us in the “grand scheme.” Oh sure, we’ll savor the win, but just for tonight. Because, come tomorrow, our coaches, players, and fans will already have forgotten about USF in looking ahead to Tennessee and the SEC schedule. Meanwhile, had you pulled off the impossible (i.e., an upset in the Swamp), beating us would easily have been the DEFINING victory in USF football history.

I know you’re used to chugging $8 beers in that NFL stadium you borrow seven times a year but, in the Swamp, we actually care more about watching our team than fondling our dates and taunting opposing fans. As many of you found out in my section today, drunken, disorderly, and disrespectful behavior toward everyone wearing orange and blue will almost certainly buy you a visit from GPD security. And, for those who behaved enough to see the second half, it’s funny how scarce you all were once Florida came alive and started pulling away in the third quarter.

Here’s the verdict - I guess we can’t expect you to act like you’ve “been there before” because, let’s face it, you haven’t. And before you go coveting our place as THE elite football program in the Sunshine State, rest assured the Florida Gators aren’t going anywhere.