UF/UM: THE FEUD CONTINUES…

  For UF fans, the UM faithful remain a “ghetto” contingent:  thay talk to loud, dress obnoxiously, and spend ridiculous sums of money putting rims and tv in their 2002 SUV’s.  For UM fans, UF’s contingent is mired in SEC mores, which means that non-SEC schools, especially of the gangsta’ variety, are scum, which, yes, you can’t spell without UM.  

UM fans are quick to point to their 5 national titles and UF fans are quick to rebut by noting that as an independent throughout the 90’s, da’ U was free to load up on cupcakes, play two or three really good teams a year, and wind up 10-1 or 11-0 as a result.  Erstwhile, in the rugged SEC, Florida was battling annually with top-10 programs, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, and oh yeah, had to wrap things up with the ‘Noles, who finished in the top-5 for 10 years in a row.  All of this is simply fan banter, water under the proverbial bridge of hatred built across the sea of disgust that separates these fanbases. 

It looks like the vitriole filled annals of this rivalry will include UM Coach, Larry Shannon, who ripped off this zinger following Saturday’s loss:

”I’ll just say this one statement,” Shannon said. “Sometimes when you do things, and people see what type of person you really are, you turn a lot of people off. Now, whatever you want to get out of that, I won’t say it again. But it helped us. It helped us more than you’ll ever know.”

Shannon, a newcomer to this rivalry, wasn’t around when UF’s President was denied a seat in the President’s box at the Orange Bowl, nor when UM players like MIchael Irvin, Ray Lewis, and Llamar Thomas (who was fired following his embarrassing comments during UM’s brawl with their little sister, FIU) routinely and publicly bashed Florida players and fans.  Neither was Urban Meyer.  So, in a game as well-played and hard fought as Saturday’s contest, why would Coach Shannon undermine the achievements of his young club, which lost to last year’s number 5, Oklahoma, by over 30 points?  Didn’t Miami call a timeout on a 4th and 2 last week against directional u up 42-7 in the 4th quarter?

IN SNL’s opinion, Shannon’s remarks are (understandably) myopic, but illuminate a larger problem in college football:  the polls.  What Coach Shannon fails to account for is that, like it or not, UF is one of 5 or 6 teams that are playing on a national stage.  In other words, the score matters.  Unlike the No Fun League, where a win is a win is a win, point-differentials matter in CFB because of the subjective nature of the polls.  How many coaches and sportswriters watched Saturday night’s contest?  Alot to be sure-but not all of them.  How they vote come Sunday then, is determined by the box score and the highlights E-SPIN doles out. 

Coach Shannon’s ‘Canes finished 6-7 last year and are unranked.  As such, there is no concern for the national title picture in Miami nor should there be.  But his comments, which not so subtly indicate that Meyer is somehow classless for throwing a pass in the 4th quarter, are baseless and non-sensical in the context of the CFB world, which dictated that Florida needed another score to avoid dropping in the polls.  This point was driven home for the millionth time recently when the Buckeyes and Bulldogs were dropped in the polls after failing to win by enough to satisfy the voters.

So, Coach Shannon, when you step back and look at the relative positions of these two programs, remeber that UF is where the ‘Canes once were, and has a chance to add another national championship to its resume this year-which will still be 2 less that UM has-which your fans are quick to remind us gators of every chance they get.  Irrespective, as the dust settles in Florida, one thing remains certain:  The UM/UF rivalry remains as heated and ugly as ever.

-So Sayeth the Shepherd