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| SJS College Football Extravaganza |
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| Decade In Review | ||
Welcome to the end-of-the-decade special here at the SJS home page. The 90s is a great decade to review for me: a latecomer to college football, I first had season tickets to games in 1990. I had arrived in Gainesville in 1989 as a fan of Florida State (italics signify an internal, heart-rending shudder on this page); that, coupled with an ambivalent attitude towards football caused me to toss my season ticket request form into the garbage. Interestingly, it was a stint with the College Democrats that changed my attitude.
I did two fun things with the College Democrats: one, I had a blast picketing out in front of the O'Connell Center protesting a speech given by Oliver North, across from the College Republicans who carried "Ollie For President!" signs. Second, we kind-hearted souls collected supplies and money at a 1989 UF football game for Hurricane relief (Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina). The free trip to the game was integral to my development. By the second half, I was bowing with 70,000 other Gators at every 11-yard run Emmit Smith ripped off, praying aloud "Emmmmm-itt! Emmmmmmm-itt!"
During the season, UF fired coach Galen Hall, and in the offseason, replaced interim coach Gary Darnell with Steve Spurrier, who had led record-setting offenses at lowly Duke for the previous three years. Emmitt was gone, but I was hooked, and at $6 a game, there was nothing keeping me from every single Gator game from 1990 to 1996. I didn't miss one, I didn't leave with 5 minutes left to go in the blowout, I watched every single minute. Exiled now to Maryland, I am forced to catch what I can on TV, but my interest has only grown to the point that if the Podunk Bowl is on TV, I'm there.
Here then is a highly-opinionated and somewhat Gator-centric review of my decade, the 90s. I anticipate that other information, and possibly other universities, will be added to the list of items over the coming months. Items currently listed but not currently hyperlinked are in progress.
I am indebted to Danny Wine and John Boughter for supplying research materials that contributed to this review.
Footnote: for those of you wondering, I now have roughly the same amount of affection for the Democratic Party as I do for my former team, the Seminoles. As Winston Churchill said, if you aren't a liberal when you are 18, you don't have a heart; if you aren't a conservative when you are 30, you don't have a brain. At least I beat the curve by 10 years.
My review of the college football during the 1990s.
Some basic facts and figures, each with a dash of opinion: like my list of the decade's 13
national champions, ranked in order of worthiness.
My review of the Florida Gators during the 1990s.
Inside, you will find: