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 Gainesville Sun sports columnist, Pat Dooley, has predicted an LSU victory in The Swamp this Saturday.  This sentiment was echoed in yesterday’s MGoBlog picks, which predicted an outright victory for the Tigers as well.  Interestingly, the cacophony of learned CFB pundits has not manifested itself in Vegas, where the Gators remains 6-point favorites. 

Still, it goes without saying that those of you who make a habit of greedily gobbling the bland offerings of the pundits will become increasingly concerned as kickoff nears, praying to wahtever god you worship for a Festivus miracle to aid your Gators.   

Conversely, SNL’s confidence in the Gators remains unthawed.  This is a game that Florida must win and will win.  Sure, there will be some harrowing moments that will bring about the collective groans of 90,000 Gator fans in The Swamp, but the Gators are due.

To reiterate, SNL predicts aggressive play-calling on first down (pretty ingenious considering Florida is 7 for 30 on 3rd and 8 or longer), and a stiff run-defense bolstered by returning DT’s (see today’s paper).  LSU, imbued with confidence after breaking down Florida’s Ole Miss and Arkansas games, should be fairly predictable on 1st down, running Chuck “The Truck” into the teeth of the Gator defense.  This should result (at least early on) in a bevy unmanageable down and distance situations for the freshmen QB in the most hostile atmosphere in CFB. 

Unlike Auburn, the Gators can play offense and LSU, down by 10 at the half, will be unable to close the gap.  SNL says, 23-19 Gators.  Book it.

Working on ATS picks now, this is shaping up to be by far the best Saturday card to date so check back soon.

Tags: Fans, LSU, Pope Urban, SEC

Dear Opposing Fan:

As you can see from the calendar, the game is coming up this weekend. I’m sure you are as excited for it as I am, as our cities are rivals and have been for quite some time. Your confidence in your team is high, but rest assured, you will suffer humiliation when the sports team from my area defeats the sports team from your area.

On numerous occasions, you have expressed the conviction that your area’s sports team will be victorious. I must admit that every time I hear you make this proclamation, I react with both laughter and disbelief. “Ha!” I say to myself with laughter. “What?!” I say to myself in disbelief. How could you believe that your sports team could beat my sports team? It is clear that yours is inferior in every way.

When the sporting contest begins, the players on your team will be treated as though they are inconsequential. It will be remarkably easy for my team to accumulate more points than yours. There are many reasons for this, starting with the inferior physical attributes of the players representing your area. Strength, speed, and agility are just three of the qualities that the players on the team from your area lack. The players representing my area, on the other hand, have these traits in abundance.

I would not be a bit surprised if the individuals on the team from your area were sexually attracted to members of their own gender. That is how ineffective they are on the field of battle.

Underscoring your team’s inferiority is its choice of colors. It is ludicrous to believe that your team’s colors inspire either respect or fear. Instead, they appear to have been chosen by someone who is colorblind or, perhaps, bereft of sight altogether. The colors for my team, on the other hand, are aesthetically pleasing when placed in proximity to one another. They are a superior color combination in every way.

While we are on the subject of aesthetics, let us compare the respective facilities in which our teams play. While my team’s edifice is blessed with architectural splendor and the most modern of amenities, yours is a thoroughly unpleasant place in which to watch a sporting contest. I know of what I speak, for I once attended a game between our respective teams in your facility. Let’s just say the experience left me wishing that my car was inoperable that day due to mechanical problems, rendering it impossible for me to get to your area to attend the game.

If you need another reason why the sporting franchise representing my area is superior, look no further than the supporters for the two sides. Not only are the supporters of the team from my region more spirited, but they are also more intelligent and of finer breeding than you and the rest of your ilk. In addition, the female supporters of the team from my area possess more attractive countenances and figures than yours. Some of the women from my side that I have observed could make a living by posing for pictures for major men’s magazines. The women who cheer for your team, I’m afraid, are far too unattractive to do so.

One of the more pathetic aspects of the team from your area is the fact that only people in your immediate area possess an affinity for it. By means of contrast, the team from my area inspires loyalty and affection in individuals who live in many other geographic locations.

To illustrate this point, let me tell a brief story: Recently, I was on vacation in an area of the country far away from my own, and I saw many individuals wearing items of clothing that bore the insignia of my team. I approached one such individual and asked him if he originated from my area. He said no, explaining that he simply liked the team from my area and had for many years. Interestingly enough, during this trip, I saw no clothing or other paraphernalia bearing the insignia of your team.

Do you still doubt that the team from your area is inferior to the one from mine? Just look at our teams’ respective histories. In the past, we have defeated you on any number of occasions. Granted, there were times when your team beat my team, but those were lucky flukes.

The day of the game will soon be at hand. And no matter how hard you pray to a higher power or how many foam accoutrements you wear in support of the team from your area, your team will be defeated. We will win and you will lose. This is your fate.

Prepare for humiliation. It shall be upon you at the designated hour.

-So Sayeth the Shepherd

Column Courtesy of The Onion

Tags: Fans, Rivalries

  FLORIDA VS. HAWAII  SNL recognizes that there exists somewhere a group of Gator fans who, whether by nature, nurture, or prescription drugs, are able to find the proverbial “silver lining” following a home loss to a 23-point underdog.  Each of us knows one these eternally (and frustratingly) optimistic types, always quoting the latest inspirational message from a book or seminar on “10 ways to influence people,” or “How to make friends for life in 5 minutes.” 

SNL, prone to philanthropy, writes this post in honor of this opiated group of Urban Kool-aid drinkers, who have likely gotten over Saturday’s loss and moved on while the rest have continued to openly lament the Gators’ woes.

The chart on the above right is Dr. Saturday’s “wasted yards” compilation.  The concept, ingenious in its simplicity, is essentially a way of parsing the statistics to determine which team “wasted” the most yards and to what effect.

As you can see, Florida outgained the Rebs by 100+ yards (take away 2 plays, and the number become 220 yards), and nearly tripled the Rebs in 1st Downs.  Florida, however, racked up 167 “wasted” yards to Ole Miss’ 15.  What this means is that Ole Miss’ offense was “feast or famine,” racking up 8 “3 and outs,” but scoring on almost every possession in which they gained a first down. 

Florda, conversely, while vastly more consistent, left points all over the field-a blown 4th down in Ole Miss territory in the 1st Quarter, settling for a field goal in the red zone, a fumble in Reb territory in the second, a punt from the Ole Miss 40 in the 4th, an extra missed point and the infamous 4th and 1 failure.  Not to mention the lost fumbles in the 3rd Quarter.

Sure, there are those among you that continue to believe that the Gator offense couldn’t be worse if Congress was calling the plays, and there is ample evidence to support your position.  However, Mr. “The SEC and National titles are still on the table,” and Mrs. “We lost in 2006 too, and look how that turned out,” can spin the nearly unparalleled ineptitude displayed in The Swamp last Saturday their way too.  Chiefly by pointing out that fumbling and blocked PAT’s are almost always cyclical and like hurricanes, tornados, and lightning, seldom strike the same place (or team) twice, at least to the extent we saw last week. 

 In other words, if even 1 of Florida’s miscues last week does no occur, Florida wins, albeit by a margin much smaller than the 23-point spread.  Now, before you go getting all giddy like a sugared up pre-adolescent, bear in mind that margin for error is significantly decreased against the LSU’s and Georgia’s of the world and therefore, a modest improvement will not stave off a 2nd or 3rd loss in the weeks to come-not with this defense.  For today anyway, this will have to do because, after all, the goals of the Gators, and their fans, are all  “still on the table.”

-So Sayeth the Shepherd

Tags: Fans, Rebs, SEC, Urban