board and elsewhere who never were graduated from, or even attended, UF. Everybody has different opportunities and circumstances in their lives, and not all have the chance to go to the University of Florida. But they may have very strong ties to the University, or any of the various sports teams, or any of a whole bunch of other connections. Gator-ness runs deep. It may be in the family, or in where you live, or merely in what type of university or athletic program you choose to root for and find yourself drawn to. And as far as i'm concerned, they're all welcome to root for the orange and blue. To paraphrase the greatest coach in our football program's history, if they want to be Gators, we'll take em. I see your point, but one of the many differences between UM/its football program and UF/its football program is exactly what you mentioned: they are a recent power, located in a sexy city, and apart from their baseball team, have very little whatsoever to offer as a university or athletic department, especially in comparison to the UF. So, "fans" of their recently-successful football team appear out of the woodwork, but if you didn't go to school there (and possibly even if you did)after that what have you got? UF is no flavor of the month fad, and there are multitudes of great reasons for being a GATOR. Some of us went to school there, and yes, our passion runs deep, but i've also known some TRUE orange and blue folks who never took a single class in Gainesville.

question. You asked why was I asking. I have an awful bias about fans that never actually attended the school that they root for. JMHO (I know many will disagree) but if you went to the school you have more of a vested emotional interest compared to a guy that is just a "fan". Many, many UM fans couldn't find the Coral Gables campus with a map.