I posted this on another board, but thought some here might like it as well: I've followed Gator football since 1979, and recruiting since 1980 I remember tying Georgia Tech 7-7 and thinking the season had promise. I remember praying that Scot Brantley would be OK. I remember a left handed QB/DB named Eric Riley getting paid $200 to go to UF's camp, but instead he ended up at FSU's camp because they paid him more. I remember Jack Hairston's blue chip and red chip lists. I remember Neal Anderson listed as a 6'0" 197 4.3 forty RB from Graceville, and hoping that he would end up at UF. I remember being disappointed when Jesse Hester committed to FSU. I remember having to be told what it meant when Charlie Pell said we HAD to have a player. I remember Wilbur Marshall dismantling my brother's high school basketball team on their way to state, watching him dunk left-handed on a fast break. I was giddy when he signed with the Gators, and not surprised when he rose to dominance. And I'll never forget UF-beating USC, the draw to James Jones with the clock running down in the first half, and Pell's victory lap around the field after the game. I remember when Mickey Andrews bought players and coached UF defensive backs, and we set a record for late hits. Tony Lilly was one tough white boy. I remember thinking Pat Miller was awfully fast for an OLB. I was at the Orange Bowl when Danny Miller's 55 yard field goal brushed the left upright on its way through to beat the Gators 21-20. It might as well have been a home game for the Gators, there were so many of us there. I was there when James Jones made "The Catch" to beat the Canes 17-14. And I was there when we routed the eventual national champion Canes 28-3 in the 1983 home opener. I was in Tampa in 1984 when the Canes beat us in the final seconds. I remember the disappointment when LSU tied us in Gainesville. And I remember the ecstasy of beating Georgia 27-0 in Jax, ending the losing streak. And I remember the Great Wall trampling FSU in the rain in Tally. I remember Lorenzo Hampton had one of the nicest trucks I'd ever seen. I remember Deion Sanders heading off to Tally because Prime Time had to play on TV, and the Gators weren't allowed. A brand new white 280ZX didn't hurt either. I remember "Over the Top" and "Go Bananas", and having the time of my life at Gator football games. And I remember wondering why Louis Oliver would walk-on at UF, and then remembering who ran the show in Belle Glade. I remember when Max Emfinger called Emmitt Smith a lugger. And I suspect Emmitt's mom might still be working for a certain law firm in Pensacola that was friendly to the Gators. I was there when Kerwin scored two to beat Auburn 18-17. And I remember Kerwin to Nattiel to beat FSU in the rain, our last win in Tally. I remember the dark years of probation, and getting shut out 16-0 by Auburn at homecoming. Emmitt couldn't even get back to the line of scrimmage that day. But we cheered the Gators and never booed. And I'll never forget watching UF LB Greg Baldwin dancing with a hot UF cheerleader and thinking what a lucky guy he was, not knowing that girl would someday be my wife. I remember the opening drive against OK State in 1990, and how these Gators looked like something very different. I was in Tuscaloosa when we beat the Tide, and shattered the dark cloud that hung over UF football. And I'll never forget how classy and nice the Bama fans were that day. I remember trouncing Georgia in Jax, and sitting with my Auburn cousin as we crushed them 48-7 in the Swamp. I thought Fee Bartley had killed their QB that night. But I was in Tally when Will White bit on Lawrence Dawsey's out and up on the first play, and a great Gator team went down to defeat despite a gutsy rally. Even so, those Gators were winners, and their rings say #1 in the SEC. I was there when we beat Bama 35-0, and the walls of the Swamp shook. But I was at Syracuse when Kirby Dar Dar took the reverse all the way on the opening kickoff, and the Gators never could rally. I watched Larry Kennedy seal the victory against a great Vol team, and I bit my nails as the Gators survived a great rally by Pookie Jones and the Kentucky Wildcats to win our first ever recognized SEC title. And I couldn't speak the day after we beat Casey Weldon to a pulp to send the Noles home losers, 14-9. I've supervised and employed UF players, and I'll never forget the one who told me about how he grew up a Nole fan, but was turned off by watching Marvin Jones smoke crack while he was up on his official visit. I remember the payoffs and the secret deals of the bad old days. I've always known how dirty Bobby Bowden and FSU were, and I always laughed when people were mystified and awed by his recruiting prowess. It was no mystery to me, and it had little to do with his good 'ol boy charm. He didn't out-recruit us when Charlie Pell was here, that's for sure. But we couldn't always outbid Georgia and Auburn, and Miami paid well too. It all changed under Steve Spurrier. The old ways died and the real winning started. And the most amazing thing of all was he did it cleanly and with integrity, despite what his rivals and the other successful teams were still doing. Look at who UF lost to under Spurrier, and you'll see a pattern. A pattern of NCAA investigations and cheating. But the groundwork was laid long before he came back, and we did what we had to do. Which was no less than what every other successful program was doing. An interesting lesson in recent Gator history... Maybe you'll share some of your favorite Gator memories too. - Southwest Florida Gator