How do the student citizens of Hogtown, FL celebrate their 3rd NCAA national championship? Without class, of course.
Hmm, it looks like the UM Canes have moved north.
This is the second year in a row where the “Berkeley of the South” (erroneously attributed to UF by some Gator yahoo who is too stoopid to realize that that moniker belongs to <<groan>> Florida State) has rioted in response to victory.
Though the majority of UF students, grads, and fans (many of whom I call friend) are very good people, there is a growing arrogance of infallibility in Gator Nation. Heck, they nickname their Head Football Coach Urban Meyer “The Pope”. This lack of humility is only bested by UMiami fans, most of whom never graduated from a degree-granting institution.
Proof? Making the rounds on the Net this week was a post titled “Florida President unsure of what to do with Ohio State” attributed to Vern Jackson of the Gainesville Sun. I cannot track down the original post nor verify the author so I suspect it’s either a fraud committed by some Gitter homer or the Sun has taken it down in shame. A post over on the “Mud Lizard” message board has also mysteriously disappeared into the Web ether but thanks to Google cache we get a glimpse. I have only found the post on other message boards. Maybe one of my more honorable Gator friends can step up to clarify this.
The gist of the post is that UF now owns Ohio State University and that UF President Bernie Machen is having trouble deciding what to do with the acquired school. One of the suggestions is that displaced Katrina victims could relocate there.
Classless.
But we’re getting used to this Gator Nation behavior. Several weeks ago UF’s Faculty Senate voted down the motion to bestow an honorary degree to former Governor Jeb Bush. Apparently Bush “diluted those resources and hurt the University of Florida in each instance” (Gainesville Sun, March 23, 2007) by approving the opening of three medical schools elsewhere in Florida. Apparently UF’s Shands Medical Center should be the only medical teaching facility in the state as the population of Florida grows and gets older?
Arrogance.
Luckily, the Gator’s mens basketball team are champions in every sense of the word. A Tallahassee minister put it best this morning…
But for one shining moment, we should celebrate the fact that at least five student-athletes at the University of Florida understood that they were not “islands to themselves” but chose to be a part of something greater than themselves, regardless of the sacrifice.
Hopefully the rest of Hayseed Nation will wake up this Easter morning and resurrect this noble attitude and restore a greater sense of dignity to the University of Florida.
UPDATE: Wow, I don’t know if Gator Nation can ever restore its dignity after watching this…
Hat tip Loser With Socks
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April 8, 2007 at 7:11 pm
cbd
It’s silly to indict a university because of the bad behavior of a tiny minority of its fans, many of whom are neither students nor alumni. Note that the drunk who killed the policeman was not a student. This applies to Columbus, Lexington, Lincoln, or Macomb as much as it does Gainesville.
But it’s even sillier to say calling Meyer “the pope” is evidence of Gator arrogance, since he was named after a pope, and has carried (and I bet hated) that nickname since his Bowling Green days.
As far as Jeb! not getting an honorary degree from UF, that’s clearly far more about faculty dislike for his politics than anything having to do with Shands. Universities call this sort of infighting “lobbying for resources,” and it ain’t unique to Gainesville. Go read about the FAMU law school…
April 8, 2007 at 7:19 pm
cbd
Also, wanna fight?
April 8, 2007 at 8:27 pm
fnerd
i thought I was pretty careful in not indicting UF students but I will not give the university and “Gator Nation” a pass on this one. Last year’s mayhem should have been a wakeup call to UF and Hogtown yet neither responded with any proactive measures such as hosting a safe venue for post-game celebrations. The end result turned out to be much more dramatic and pock marks go to all involved. If UF wants to become the prestigious college of the South, they need to do a little more to preserve a positive reputation.
If Gator Nation finds the term “the pope” to be simply a nickname then they should stop using it on message boards and other exchanges throughout the Net. The arrogance is implicit. As a student and professor of rhetoric, I shouldn’t have to clarify this point to you.
Finally, to boil down the Jeb snub to a simple act of faculty political incivility to gain a monetary response from those who govern is a straw man argument. The roots are much broader, misguided, and sophistic. This is a vicarious punishment for an unpopular president who happens to be blood-related to the nominee.
The same honor has been bestowed to the five previous governors of the State of Florida who kept this state’s higher academia and the very professionals who serve it in the dark, bottom listings of this nation. During Jeb’s tenure, all state universities and colleges have seen remarkable gains while remaining affordable for most students.
But the UF faculty overlooked this fact. Their direct citing is the expansion of the number of medical schools in the state and the apparent besetment to UF. Last time I checked, the UF medical school still has open doors and outstanding performance. Either the UF Faculty Senate is threatened or arrogant. It’s that simple.
There’s nothing to fight about except maybe the difference between pride and pridefulness. We can settle it over a barley whine [sic].
April 9, 2007 at 4:24 am
cbd
I talked to folks in Gainesville that night, and they said the police were out in force though things were pretty calm. If you know something about widespread “rioting,” please share. The accounts I’ve heard were different. UF opened the O-Dome and invited students to watch the game there. Twice as many showed up as last year. University Avenue was closed off, and folks were channeled in that direction from the O-Dome. The policeman was killed when most folks had already cleared out. It’s terrible but I don’t see how you can blame the university and the so-called Gator nation (a parlance I can’t stand) unless you expect martial law to be declared every time there’s a football game. Then I guess you’d be complaining about Florida’s “classless” violation of civil rights.
As we raise a glass of barley wine, I’ll tell you a few things about faculty politics, Florida and otherwise, a subject about which you clearly know too little.
April 9, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Why is Gainesville also called "Hogtown"? « Loser with Socks
[...] [Video from Hayseed Nation] [...]
April 10, 2007 at 9:56 pm
fnerd
Glad you hate the Gator Nation parlance, too. So does the rest of the world.
If faculty politics is anything like dealing with DMV and DDL bureau chiefs, I should be able to keep up with you. The fact that my wife is a teacher and FSU DOE survivalist might even allow me to inject some real good points, too.
April 10, 2007 at 10:47 pm
colonelguaranty
John Travolta called, he wants his mojo back.
April 10, 2007 at 10:54 pm
cbd
Yes, I’m sure there’s some overlap. As you just noted, though it’s hard to imagine folks more capable of pettiness and spite than university faculty, the Florida legislature seems to be rising to the challenge. I submit that august body is the true Hayseed Nation.
April 10, 2007 at 11:10 pm
fnerd
I couldn’t agree more! Stoopid politicos.
April 11, 2007 at 11:25 am
cbd
So it will be the Bush School of Education? Heh. Some would say it is already…
April 11, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Who Cares What My Name Is?
Florida has won 3 NATIONAL TITLES in 366 days. I think one little bonfire is acceptable. The University of Florida is by far one of the classiest schools in the country. This bonfire doesn’t compare to the riots at UCLA after Florida stomped them twice, or the riots at UNC after they won the title, or any other school for that matter who won or lost. Go search you tube for school riots and you will find things like, “Police shoot rubber bullets into crowd at UCLA.” The were a total of maybe 10 arrests out of all 3 championship celebrations at the University of Florida, including the idiot who killed one of GPD’s finest. And the student who drunkenly ran the officer over, WAS NOT A UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDENT. HE IS A STUDENT AT UNF, I REPEAT, A STUDENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA!!! In closing, no school can compare to a school like Florida. Since we now OWN Ohio State and UCLA, That makes us the largest school in the nation at 115,000 student!
April 11, 2007 at 9:20 pm
fnerd
Brad, I was saying?
“In closing, no school can compare to a school like Florida. Since we now OWN Ohio State and UCLA, That makes us the largest school in the nation at 115,000 student!”
I guess the UF student that let the UNF student get into his car at 3 times the legal limit is full of class just like “Who Cares What My Name Is?”.
Thank you joeblow@aol.com or whoever you are for proving my point.
April 12, 2007 at 8:50 am
Who Cares What My Name Is?
They were all from Jacksonville, none of these kids are Gainesville residents nor are they students.
I am assuming you are from either Ohio St., Kentucky, UCLA, or Tennessee? Which would explain the jealousy.
April 13, 2007 at 8:02 pm
jeff
I didn’t really read through these comments (13!), but I seem to recall Dilger getting arrested one year for running down University Avenue and yelling at cops.
April 13, 2007 at 9:29 pm
fnerd
No sheet?! Well, that explains his defensive nature on this matter.
Then again was he chasing Zook out of town? Justifiable criminal intent.
April 13, 2007 at 10:47 pm
cbd
Ah, my sordid past comes back to haunt me.
I was heading home on Univ Av the night of the first national championship. Too crowded on the sidewalk, so I stepped out in the road. Next thing I know, a cop grabs me, says something about not following orders, and cuffs me. I thought I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but then I realized the cop came up on my deaf side. So I didn’t hear whatever he said.
Curtis wanted me to get a lawyer, etc. I didn’t have to, because a few days later an ADA called to say the charge was dropped. Sorry I don’t have a better story…
April 13, 2007 at 11:23 pm
cbd
Also, it looks like Randy Shannon is doing some things to fix UM’s discipline problems.