Florida Gators Sport Report and Nostalgia for September 11th

There are those days when you remember just about everything about it. The first of those day for me was November 22, 1963. It was toward the end of our school day when my teacher walked in and announced “there has been a national calamity, the president has been shot”. Just a few minutes later she told us the president was dead.

I was eleven years old.

Over the next thirty-seven years I have other vivid memories, some that are sad, some that are joyful, but none touched us as nation like the events of fourteen years ago today. It is remembered simply.

911

I was recovering from open heart surgery on that date. My wife had gone to work, my youngest son was in school and I was on Gator Country. I was still tethered to an oxygen hose and somewhat weak. I had been out of the hospital less than two weeks. I was flipping through channels when I saw the tall billing with smoke billowing forth. The audio had not started yet so for a second you ask yourself what is that?

At first the talking voices were talking about a small plane hitting one of the twin towers and shortly another and then we knew it, we had been attacked.
My wife was working at the county board of education and I called her and no one there knew nothing about it yet. I told her that she needed to go to the break room with her boss and watch what was happening, that we were being attacked.

At the time, two of the planes had not crashed or at least had not been reported as of that time. The buildings were still standing tall, but obviously weakened.

I will not delve further into the events that followed as most everyone is aware and I am not eloquent enough to improve any of the millions of words that will be spoken today.

911

Remembering.

This date in Gator sports.

The Gators are 5-2 in games played this date. The first game played on September 11th goes all the way back to 1971, the second year of the Doug Dickey era. The first two games played on September 11 were both played in Tampa, both were season openers and the Gators lost both games to ACC teams.

The Gators lost to the Duke Blue Devils 12-6 in the season openers for the “Super Sophs” senior season. Of course the super sophs refers to John Reaves, Carlos Alvarez and company. When Dickey took over in 1970 with all the talent the Gators had fan thought the long awaited SEC Championship was close at hand.

Dickey just never was a match with the Gators, despite being one in Tennessee with the Volunteers. In that era of college football quarterbacks often called their own plays and John Reaves did not like the fact that he no longer called his. I remember a quote (sort of remember) where Reaves said he felt like a robot on the field.

In 1976 the Gators took on the North Carolina Tar Heels in a season opener losing 24-21.

The Gators would not lose another game on September 11.
Sort of bouncing around the Gators won games in 1999 against Central Florida (58-27), 2004 against Eastern Michigan a season opener (49-10), and the University of South Florida in 2010 (38-14).

There were two other games played on this date, both evoke fond memories by any fan who has seen one or both of these games.

In 1982, in a game that was to set the tone for Florida Gators football going forward, the Gators hosted the University of Southern California Trojans and defeated them 17-9. In that era the SEC had good teams, but they were not the SEC of today, so to many the Gators went to play big boy football against a national power house and won the game.

Two memories from that day were Wilber Marshall playing as good of a game as Gator every played. USC decided the best way to defeat the Gators was to run away from Marshall’s side of the field. Marshall’s speed negated the Trojan’s strategy which they never adjusted. The other, was Coach Charley Pell leading the players in a victory lap around Florida Field.

Here is a look.

As big of a game that was and still is, Mick Hubert made one of those calls that live forever, just four words repeated over and over. Doering got a touchdown.

When a team’s top two quarterbacks combine to throw seven interceptions they just are not supposed to win, but as Head Coach Steve Spurrier was so fond of saying when he was our coach, God certainly smiled on the Gators today.

That day, God must have been smiling ear to ear with a box of popcorn and a bottle of Gatorade.

The short version

The drive

The Gators defeated Alabama that season for the SEC Title in a revenge game for the crown. It all started when Doering got a touchdown.

gatorgrowl
David Shepherd has been a member of Gator Country since 1996. He retired from CSX Railroad in 2001 after nearly 30 years of service. Since that time he has worked for Gator Country, Waycross Journal Herald and First Baptist Church in Paris. He loves listening to his grandchildren plqying music. He has been married to Donna for 42 years.

1 COMMENT

  1. 9-11-1993 – The day I met my wife. I was leaving the party we were at extremely pissed at the 7 interceptions we had thrown. After Doering’s TD I ran back in and the first person I saw was this beautiful girl that is now my wife.