Miami. The U. The orange and green. That silly pelican.
These images extract a nauseating reaction from Florida fans. Although currently in rebuilding mode, Miami’s place in history as one of the most successful college football programs is undeniable. Five national championships. Countless impact players that have gone on to successful, if not Hall of Fame careers in the NFL: Jim Kelly, Steve Walsh, Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp, Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, Ray Lewis, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Clinton Portis and of course, Frank Gore.
Gator fans have a particularly ill relationship with ‘Canes fans… for perennially, we’ve been on the receiving end of the whoopin’.
Years ago, Miami and Florida played each other annually, as UF does now with its other in-state rival, Florida State. The game traditionally took place at the beginning of the season. But when Florida got tired of starting each year with a loss, it adjusted its schedule and removed Miami from the slate entirely. As a result, Florida hasn’t beaten Miami since 1985. Kerwin Bell was still their quarterback.
In 2002-03, the schools decided to once again reunite for a home and away. The Gators were clobbered in that first contest in the Swamp by a score of 41-16. Ken Dorsey passed for four touchdowns and Willis McGahee rushed for over 200 yards. But the following year, the Gators were in perfect position to exorcise their demons and beat Miami, in the Orange Bowl no less.
I remember it like it was yesterday. The Don Calvino and I were watching the game at the Bellagio sportsbook in Las Vegas. With the Gators up by three scores, the game was well in hand. A young Chris Leak looked like he was the second coming, the quarterback who would finally push us over the edge and ensure that a generation of long-suffering Gator fans would no longer have to listen to the relentless taunts of the ‘Canes. Miami in turn had Brock Berlin under center. The same Brock Berlin who had been recruited by Steve Spurrier. The same Brock Berlin who later transferred because he couldn’t fit the scheme. The same Brock Berlin who reportedly scored the lowest of all NFL draftees on the Wonderlic test. And yes, the same Brock Berlin who led the Miami Hurricanes from down 33-10 in the third quarter to defeat the Gators, 38-33. Berlin played the game of his life that night, passing for 340 yards and having the last laugh. It also helped that he had Frank Gore rush for 127 yards on 25 carries. Not even the Bellagio’s finest bourbon could get that taste out of my mouth.
This weekend, the Florida Gators once again face their most hated, in-state rival. No offense to Seminole fans, but in the past four years, that game has somewhat lost its luster. While Gator Nation should never look past the Seminoles, we’ve at least beaten them. I came to Gainesville in 1987. We haven’t beaten Miami that entire time. We’ve beaten Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Florida State, Ohio State, Alabama, teams that have all won national championships in that time span. We have yet to beat the ‘Canes. It has been a LONG time comin’.
I say this not to jinx the higher-ranked Florida Gators going into this weekend’s match-up, but rather to remind Gator fans how important this non-conference game really is. Although Miami is unranked and Florida is a national title contender, Miami for decades has had our number in both the regular and post-season. I am here to say turnabout is fair play.
A victory against a less talented Miami club will do more than just add another win to Urban Meyer’s already impressive record. It will officially establish the University of Florida as the state’s premier program. It will remind the talented high school kids in South Florida that there’s a new sheriff in town. And his name is Urban Meyer. Until that victory, despite our recent success, we will remain in the shadow of the Hurricanes.
The Gators are three touchdown favorites against Miami on Saturday. I will once again be watching this highly anticipated football contest with the Don Calvino, but this time in the friendly confines of the Swamp. Bourbon will again be the beverage of choice.
We expect Florida to make us proud and continue their quest for a conference, and perhaps national title. Florida has the speed, talent and mystique Miami once had. We are the new state powerhouse. We just have to prove it on the field, once and for all.
Reverend Rhythm
This game'll predicate how the 'canes will do for the remainder of the season. Should they lose then they might as well count out the regular season. Randy Shannon has his work cut out for him this season.
I was somewhat surprised by the Bruins victory over the Vols. That was one of the worst college games I've ever seen. I streamed the game over my laptop and I can understand why in the end I thought it was a waste of time. There wasn't anything at al compelling about the game or either of the teams.
Reverend Rhythm
I'll be returning stateside on 8th September. As to the Gators' game against the Vols , I think that'll be straightforward. The Vols did nothing to convince me that they've got what it takes to be a presence in the SEC.
And their game against the Bruins show how woefully inept they are.
For Randy Shannon and Miami that's a work still in progress. I don't expect 'em to win more than 5 games at best . I'm sure that Silio'll be hyping 'em up like a pi*mp does his #1 h*o' and that's to be expected.
The other site that I'm now involved is up and running successfully. And Lana the proprietor of it is hoping to make it a commercial success.
Below I've provided you with a direct link to two of my most recent pieces. In each just click on the link(site) to view each piece in its entirety.
Old School New School Pick Your Poison ? site
Oscar's About The Money And Not Much Else Really Matters site
Hey Rev, how ya doing? The Gators scheduled two interesting games to start the season for a change. This should be the year they break the losing streak with Miami. Tennessee will be up for the game in Knoxville and I expect they will have improved somewhat by then. Good to hear from you and as always, GO GATORS!
Man, Balzac beat me to it. Clever blog title, but I expcet no less than clever, and hope for brilliant from The Reverend.
You can't spell 'scum' w/out UM translates well to these ears. However, I may have more distain for the Florida UM than the northern version, mainly because the Cane fans were so obnoxious leading up to the game in 2002. The "Greatest Team Ever" and they got sacked, literally, by a bunch of nobodies from Ohio. I'm sure you can relate from your experiences with the over confident contingent of OSU fans leading up to the 2006 championship game, however nobody is more annoying than Cane fans. Period. It was like Paris Hilton in hi-fi piped directly into my eardrum. Freddy Kruger and a chalkboard, or even Sarah Palin's acceptance speech...all horror shows for the hearing portion of the five senses.
Anyway, you know I don't pull for the gators often, and it has more to do with the anoying "SEC chants" than the beatdown they gave OSU, but I would rather hear "ess ay seee" one million times in a row, than have to listen to the disgusting sputter that would erupt all over blogdom and beyond, if the Canes pull the upset.
Keep them down in the sewer where they belong.
Last edited by pete_nice on September 4th at 6:09 AM.
One win against a rebuilding Miami team doesn't change who is who in this state .... the players all know Florida is the little sister .... get your licks in now, cause in another year you will be glad your AD took Miami off the schedule ... at least FSU has the balls to play us year in and year out ...
God I still remember that comeback game too...I was only in my second year as a student and my family was still coping with the fact that I was a Gator....After I called to taunt them throughout the first 3 quarters, THEY BLEW MY PHONE THE HELL UP! I got calls from half uncles and cousins I hadn't spoken to in years....I left my phone home and went out...came back to 24 missed calls...horrible.
Reverend Rhythm
I'll consult my girl Lana to see what she thinks. But clearly the 'canes'll be out of their depth this weekend. It'll come as a shock to me if they were to cover. Which I for one don't think that they will.
Ministry of Sound night club .............
And then courtesy of my boy Stefan here's where the action goes down 'til late into the night
Last night I hit one of top night spots in London ..... Ministry of Sound and I had a blast there. Nevertheless it wasn't exactly a night that went without some trouble. Too many young kids who think that they can lay waste and cop a feel of another guy's action. In terms of their female companion. It pis#sed off the girlfriend to no end. As she was expecting something a little less flamboyant.
Reverend Rhythm
Age ain't nothing but a number. What I can't take at the moment is every little pinhead kid who thinks that he front you whenever they choose to.
My girlfriend is considerably younger than I am by a number of years. And all I heard from here in the club was that some guy was groping her. Now don't get me wrong I'm off the opinion that you can look but don't touch.
So when I confronted this little cherry head when he did that. He wanted to get up in my face. I put him straight that I'd #### him up in the club if he didn't watch himself or we we could take it outside and just settle it once and for all.
He'd been warned as it is by one of the bouncers there to begin with. The bouncer himself was ex-military a former para trooper. It's no longer about being old but how one feels within themselves.
My girl Lana has the odds for Florida Miami at spread @ 21 1/2 and the over and under at 51.
I've provided you with a link to her lines. So just click the word site to view.
Do check out the picture profiles on her (Lana), Kimloan , Miriam and Melyssa. They're all damn fine and hot ! Check it out if you don't believe. I guarantee you that you won't be disappointed.
Reverend Rhythm
I'm not the one who's looking for trouble as Lana and her friends approached me. And besides Tracy my girlfriend is all for it.
I'll probably head out west to visit them later on this year when I visit the girlfriend's family.
Besides Troy who's the tech guy is I think hittin'(tappin') one of 'em. So it'd be presumptuous of me to think that I could go out there and nail one if not all of 'em. Even if I wanted to I'd have get off on Lucy(my other half) by dumping her first.
Great stuff as always Rev. Your reasons pinpointed why I believe that this is the Game of the Week. As good as your Gators are, they still have to climb that hill that is the 'U'. As big of a mismatch it looks like on paper, until you do it, it will always be in the back of your craw. Believe me, I know all about it.
I hope this finds you and yours safe this weekend as a real Hurricane is at hand.
You little girls know that this isn't a chat room right? If you want to talk about going to some #### club in London go to a chat room. This is a blog about college football. I don't give a #### about anything that happens in London. Your pictures make you look like F
A
G
S
Get the #### off this site.
Reverend
You should never be allowed to write another blog on foxSPORTS. why don't you 2 just exchange phone numbers, get together in a hotel room and take a trip down the hershey highway.
Please don't tell me you're a Buckeye. I was just beginning to like you guys. But your comments go to show why your school gets a bad rap.
Justanotherfan has probably forgotten more about sports than you'll ever know and has probably been with more beautiful women than you're kelbasa-eatin', midwestern self has only dreamed about being with, give or take another 200 pounds of friendly fun.
So if you don't like my posts, your best option would probably be to not read them. You're not the first and certainly won't be the last to share that opinion, which I'm actually impressed you came up with all by yourself.
osuchamps
The only reason I stated about being in London is because I'm there at present with my family.
As to you not wanting to hear or read anything about what happens elsewhere that's up to you. But it obviously shows your lack of maturity and intelligence. It'd appear that if you're indicative of what Buckeye fans are about then there's something to be said why some of 'em are viewed as as#holes.
Better yet go get a life or go su*ckle on your pacifier.
You may well be in need of it when the Trojans hand your guys their proverbial as#es.
Tebow sets a record with pass attempts AND the Gators got backs!!! Loved seeing the Hurricanes go down. Love the idea that Florida had tons of blue chippers there to watch. Keepin' the faith Rev... I like em' so far. BTW- my Beavers are officially rebuilding this year. LOL.
Rev-
How sweet the nectar of victory. I too recall the days of Kerwin Bell. From walk-on to folk hero. Recalling the Brock Berlin debacle still brings bile to throat.
As far as this game, I did see things that still have me concerned. Apparent confusion on the offensive line, and several missed assignments in the secondary. Also, with all those weapons, why is Tebow still running that draw so much? I cringe with each hit he takes. Is Moody available, or not? I saw enough of K. Moore in the backfield last year- please no more. It was good to see L. Murphy break out late. His pregame comments were unfortunate, I hope he understands his mistake.
Mixed feelings about the final scoring drive. I do respect Randy Shannon, and understand his reaction at the end. If Meyer truly wanted to make a statement by running up the score- going for six was the way to do it. That field goal kinda' doesn't sit right with me.
Always enjoy your posts.
Interesting that you bring that up. I do feel we got Miami's best game. And we weren't executing all that well on the offensive end, although Tebow's numbers don't reflect it.
My buddy and I got into it about that last field goal. He felt it was classless and I can see the point, since it did cover the point spread.
Reverend Rhythm
It was a great win for the Gators and finally this team has a running game that they can be proud of.
As to Miami they're in a building process that'll take some time.
And by the way tell how bad have the Seahawks and Rams become ? And unfortunately we've seen that the Bucs are basically one dimensional as a team. They really need to be less generic with the offense and look to be more creative. As to Garcia what the hell was he thinking with that interception thrown in the waning minutes of the game ?
Reverend Rhythm
The Bucs were exposed in that game and their offense at best isn't that creative. It'll all now come down to the defense if the team is to acquit itself well.
As for Bush in the right scheme he surely can look great. And that's what Payton had envisaged from the start using his strengths as a receiver and back all rolled into one.
I thought that the Panthers were also good against the Chargers. And even if the win came down to a phenomenal play in the dying seconds of the game. The Chargers' defense was woeful in their man to man marking and tackliing.
justan' aka tophatal ...........
Last edited by justanotherfan on September 8th at 11:03 AM.
Reverend Rhythm We all know why Reggie is tappin' Kim Kardashian and it ain't because of her intelligence. If nothing else with that a#s of hers and tha ampled rack. Any guy would be a fool to say no !
Click on the text to see more of Kim. However the pics are PC
Reverend Rhythm
The problem with Gruden is that he's trying to run all these little pattern plays. Truth be known the players that he's got aren't up to the task or that creative.
These guys are merely role players and not much else. And it's indicative of what's wrong with your team when your two best players are as old as Methuselah.
Hell I'm half expecting Noah and his three sons to put on some cleats and play for the Bucs. 'cause as we all know Gruden isn't or nor has been enamored with young players.
He'll give you the proverbial sound byte about Cadillac, Davin Joseph and Gaines Adams as if they were his kids. But in reality he'll never really think that highly of 'em !
I wonder what those talking heads on WDAE are now saying about the loss ? You can bet your bottom dollar that they'll be looking for any excuse that they can fathom out of this.
Nice game..missed most of it since I was in T-town at the Bama game, but saw the end at a fine establishment on McFarland Blvd. Tebow is quickly making them my 2nd team...I just love him on and off the field.
Rev, it doesn't have anything to do with that, silly...that's Favre, remember? LOL
Seriously, I love the way he goes at the game...somewhat reminds me of Favre...where he's not scared of anything. I also appreciate all that he does off the field and taking a stand for his beliefs and he's a true family guy which is impressive these days and times.
Rev'
The proverbial taking heads on WDAE are already making excuses. Having arrived in on a red eye flight from London this morning. The first thing I did was to turn 620 am on the dial. And low and behold here was Silio imparting his wisdom as to why the team lost. Granted what he alleges he knows about the game though valid in no way insisnuates that he knows of the inner workings as to Gruden's mind.
..............
Southern Cheesehead
I see that the Packer fans were regaling Rodgers on that emphatic win over the Vikings ? Have they already forgotten about Brett ? Or will they be lambasting Rodgers, McCarthy and Ted Thompson at the first sign of adversity ?
............
Rev'
It's good to be back stateside now all I've got to wait on is the Visa bill to see how much this whole thing has cost me. The girlfriend did her things as usual buying presents for everyone. And considering how expensive London now is . I just can't see how a postcard and a few small trinkets wouldn't have a difference altogether.
fan...our fans are very unforgiving so rest assured that they will jump on the bandwagon at the first sign. Trust me, there were some fans that wanted Favre to move on, but no one has forgotten him. I'm sure there were as many Packers fans watching him Sunday as there were Jets fans. The majority of us want to see him succeed, but will still pull for the Pack at the end of the day if they were to play each other. We were all a little nervous going into last night's game after seeing how well Favre did Sunday and were ready for the pounce if Rodgers hadn't delivered! Thank God he did!
Southern Cheesehead
He more than delivered and if anything he was about as secure as Fedex or UPS parcel. Right on time and he made it to his destination with nothing being damaged.
Cheese, Tebow not Wrangler enough for ya'? j/k. We're very fortunate to have him here. Kid's an ideal citizen and oh yeah, he can play a little bit of football.
Reverend Rhythm
A Jets Packers' Superbowl would be a broadcaster's dream. But I don't think that it's likely to happen. But then again who knows ?
What's telling however is that a couple of stars within the league have gone down injured and have been lost for the season. Can you imagine how moribund the league'd be should Peyton and Brett go down next and be lost for the season ? It'd be a nightmare for the league altogether.
Southern Cheesehead
If Rodgers can deliver that to the Packers' fans . Then I think that they'll be happy once and for all. It was a great win for them against their divisional rivals.
See my most recent post within this forum and let me know what you think as to its merits ? I'll look forward to reading your comments. Just click on the text to view the piece in its entirety.
Turn-ons: Gator national championships ; Sushi; NBA Playoffs; A Tribe Called Quest; Women; Jack Daniels; Women who drink Jack Daniels; Women who drink Jack Daniels while eating sushi; Women who dream of more Gator national championships while eating sushi and drinking Jack Daniels during basketball season, The Red Zone Report
Turn-offs: Waking up early; The inevitable media coverage Bobby Bowden will get when he finally retires; Drama; Prejudice; Chicken liver; Work of any sort
