At the beginning of the year, she said this would be a fun team to watch. In the past I always took that to mean we're going to be good. There were times this year when I had my doubts. But damn if they aren't fun to watch! Last night (this morning) we had a horrible shooting night, yet still found a way to put points on the board. And nobody better question our defense. I stayed up to watch the entire game, even though last night was more of an extened nap rather than a night's sleep. And I know I'm going to pay for it today. But watching this team last night was a lot of fun!

What makes a team "fun to watch" to me is more than just being good.  It's a team that plays with enthusiasm and a team that seems cohesive--as though they genuinely like each other and are enjoying themselves when they're playing. It's a team that feeds off the energy of the crowd and, in turn, lets the crowd feed off their energy.

That's what made the 04s fun to watch, even before they were good.  I remember the first few games I watched Joakim Noah and fell in love with him.  People here mocked me when I started posting "I LOVE JOAKIM NOAH!!"  He didn't play much that year, and when he did play, he sometimes looked more like a gangly, clumsy great dane puppy than like the polished player he became.  Still, what was less evident to those watching at home was what an impact he had on the game, even when he was sitting on the bench.  First, he was rarely sitting.  He was jumping up and down, yelling and encouraging his teammates.  When they returned to the bench after doing something good, he greeted them with a chest bump and a high five.  It wasn't the cursory greeting you see on most teams.  It was an in-your-face, deep-down and sincere joy.  His enthusiasm and Gator pride was infectious, and it made the team begin to gel.  By his second year, even as he became a major contributor, his enthusiasm was still there and had been thoroughly instilled in the rest of the team.

This year, from the very beginning, I saw things from this team that made me think of that group.  Actually, it started last year with Patric Young.  Just as he began emerging as a player, he did something that made me realize he really loved UF.  On the day that UF sent out acceptance announcements to incoming freshmen, many of those kids headed straight to UF's facebook page to make a post sharing their excitement about being newly accepted Gators.  Patric Young responded to dozens of those posts, one by one, saying things like "You'll love it here!" and "UF is such an awesome school!" I was struck by this gesture, and it immediately endeared him to me.  I had an inkling then that he would be more than just a good basketball player for us.

When this season started, I saw an enthusiasm on our bench that I had not seen since the days of Noah, Horford, and Brewer.  Young, Beal, and Rosario were the culprits at first, but it caught on, and before long, you would see the whole bench go nuts whenever anything good happened.  The bench erupts on all teams to some level, but the level of intensity of this group was different and special.  You can't manufacture that kind of enjoyment and enthusiasm.  It has to be real, and this team showed that it was.  They've had some rough patches, but it was clear from the beginning that this team would be fun to watch, and they haven't let me down.

Go Gators!!