I must bid you adieu for a short while, my friends.
That time has come; that three, sometimes four-time per year occurrence when my Gators take on your 'Cats.
I enjoy spending time with you and have made many good friendships here. The vast majority of you are kind, honorable, generous folk who can talk basketball with the best of them.
The rest of you (I guess that's BeatUL, pretty much), well, I'm sure you're glad to see me disappear.
I promise you that no matter how it goes on Saturday, we will remain friends. But I will be a lot friendlier if my Gators win.
I think we're looking at about a 50/50 chance of beating your Cats. Unlike Mississippi State, we don't have a shot blocker like Varnado and therefore won't have such a convenient answer to Patrick Patterson (who should have been a Gator, dammit!) If our frosh and sophs can score from the perimeter, I think we'll win. If our shots aren't falling, I think Kentucky takes it. In a defensive struggle, I think the Cats take it. In an uptempo scoring game with transition points, I think it's the Gators' game to lose.
I am seeing improvement from Kentucky and I believe Billy G. when he says his team will keep improving. Our kids are getting better, too, and will really want to keep the 'streak' alive (even though our b-ball streak over you is a lot shorter than the football version).
Good luck finding your way to the arena, but once you're inside, I wish you nothing but turnovers, Ramel Bradley ballhog possessions, dribbling off the foot, Billy G. technicals, and complete and total frustration.
If things proceed as desired (by Gator Nation), we can resume our friendship immediately following the game.
If we lose, I might need a day or two. No offense.
Farewell, my friends, and I will see you on the other side.
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12
comments
Comments
Should be ...
Looking forward to it. Be sure to stop by for the analysis, you might find something you can use.
by Truzenzuzex on Jan 16, 2008 11:17 AM EST 0 recs
Gators
So let's say I hope hope your team stays healthy through the game. A welled played, injury free game is all we can ask.
Look forward to reading you on the other side.
by Ken Howlett on Jan 16, 2008 12:48 PM EST 0 recs
Damn, I wish I could edit...
by Ken Howlett on
Jan 16, 2008 12:49 PM EST
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0 recs
CRUSH
Your going down GP...DOWN!!!!
Well, the Gators are going down.
So if you are going to drop by if you win I think it's only fair that you drop by when you lose so we can take our shots at you.
by davw83 on Jan 16, 2008 2:38 PM EST 0 recs
Can't feign friendly.....
That being said let me assure you it's nothing personal. Here's hoping everyone stays healthy and you and BeatUL find a way to kick back a few cold ones after the game. Ha, wouldn't that be a sight.
by wldcatsfreak on Jan 16, 2008 8:57 PM EST 0 recs
BeatUL...
by Gatorpilot on Jan 16, 2008 11:21 PM EST 0 recs
I've been away from ASOB for a few days
However, Vandy's Alex Gordon (a senior, so he's played at both places plenty) said: "Rupp Arena was the loudest crowd and had the most people that I have ever played in front of."
I think I'm gonna go with Gordon on this one. Now we UK fans can't deny that for the less glamorous games, say a middling Auburn team on a blustery Wednesday, the Rupp crowd is hardly raucous. Oh, sure we'll still have one of the biggest crowds in all of college basketball, but those 22000 can get sedate. I would guess our fan base is not as student-centered as theirs (it's more entire state-centered) and the full grown adults are less likely to be half drunk with their chests painted screaming their heads off. I have no idea what the O'Connell Center is like on a comparable game. Doubt it would be a sellout like ours always are, but hey, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and allow that it could be a louder environment in this scenario. But come on, GP himself can't possibly believe that if you were to compare each facility when each is at its best that there is any comparasion. AT ALL.
That's almost as crazy as saying that because UK fans discovered football this past year and people filled the stadium for the big games, and screamed like crazy and beat a few people, then Commonwealth is in the same category as the Swamp. Commonwealth is far smaller physically, it looms far smaller in the mind, the home fans filling it probably tend to be less knowledgable and passionate about the sport and their team and victory maybe means a little less to them. Same way with Rupp vs O'Connell. They're two just are not in the same league.
Well, not thaw I've insulted GP's hypothesis, Florida home game attendees and hardcore UK football fans, I guess my work here is done : )
Hopefully the game on Saturday will be an exciting one...the SEC could use that positive ESPN exposure. I seriously doubted we could possibly win over Vandy and that worked out great, so I am bringing this same negative attitude to this game, and hoping for another shock-to-me victory.
by blue kentucky girl on Jan 17, 2008 6:37 PM EST 0 recs
O'Connell Center...
BUT... I do believe it's louder. And generally, more intimidating to opponents.
The culture is different here. It's not a bunch of half-drunk students making the noise. We don't even sell alcohol in the arena and since students have to camp out for hours to get in well before tip, it's safe to say nobody in the entire building has a whiff of alcohol in them.
The difference in our culture is that winning in both sports is really important. Are we a football first school? I suppose we're guilty as charged. But we're not any less passionate about basketball. We win national championships in both, for crying out loud, and have been two three Final Fours (and three title games) in the last seven years. Staggering stat: if you've tuned in to watch a national championship game in this millenium, there's a 40% chance that Florida was playing in it.
So, yeah: there's no dropoff here from football to basketball. It's nothing like Kentucky basketball and the 'backup' sport, football. Nothing like that at all. We expect to win in both. Compete in both at the highest level. And we do.
When our team takes the home court, our crowd gives them an advantage, something I feel frequently doesn't happen at Rupp. I've lost track over the last few years how many times this subject has come up, whether it's from a student-athlete or a fan who's been to both, and it seems to be near-unanimous that playing Florida in Gainesville is one of the toughest stops in the SEC.
by Gatorpilot on Jan 17, 2008 8:00 PM EST 0 recs
No arena ...
At Kentucky, twice as many fans camp out for weeks before every game. They had to build an entirely separate area and are now thinking about putting up an 10,000 room Japanese-style capsule hotel in the Rupp arena parking lot to handle the overflow.
Sure, Winning at basketball is much more important at Florida than Kentucky -- to the 1,000 or so actual basketball fans in Florida. I've heard that there is a Gainesville judge who issues summons to random people off the streets on pain of contempt of court in order to get the additional 7500 "fans" you guys manage to "pack" the arena with. I've even heard that they have upgraded the facilities so that those "fans" can shower prior to taking their seat.
Your stat is staggering -- in an 7-year millenium? Hahahahaha! That's like claiming George Bush is a dictator because he has been in office this entire millenium. By the way, how many basketball national championships did the Gators participate in last millenium? Last generation? Last ... well, you get the idea.
I heard that the O-dome is loud largely because of the high methane content, which tends to amplify sound -- that and the sound of farting contests among the more distinguished Gator fans.
And as far as competing at the highest level, I would have agreed until I saw your football team get beat by the team that lost to Appalachian State. And who was it that beat the eventual BCS champs this year in the regular season? Was that Florida? No? Competing at the highest level. That's what Florida does, all right.
See you Saturday. Prepare for battle.
by Truzenzuzex on
Jan 18, 2008 7:25 AM EST
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0 recs
Dude......
by wldcatsfreak on Jan 17, 2008 8:47 PM EST 0 recs
And now...
I must depart. It is hard to leave, but it is best for all of us.
I will think fondly of you during our time apart.
Farewell! Farewell! Farewell!
<insert image of tiny figure waving frantically on the horizon until he disappears altogether>
by Gatorpilot on Jan 17, 2008 9:02 PM EST 0 recs








