Gator Country

A young fan holds up one of the many free football that were given away by Gator Country during Thursday's TitleTown Gator Club barbecue. / Gator Country photo by Saj Guevara

The TitleTown Gator Club hosted Florida football coach Will Muschamp at the first of his 10-stop tour of Gator Gatherings on Thursday, April 19 at the Gainesville Raceway.

Muschamp spoke and fielded questions for a little more than 30 minutes from the crowd of some 300 fans who feasted on barbecue and took part in prize drawings during the event. The second-year UF coach also signed autographs afterward.

Gator Country was a co-sponsor and photographer Saj Guevara captured 173 photos from the three-hour event. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page for links to the gallery as well as Gator Country's coverage.

When Florida coach Will Muschamp made the rounds at the Gator Gatherings around the state last year, he was greeted with loud roars and raucous applause as the Gator Nation got to know its new coach.

After a 6-6 regular season, Muschamp was far less excited to meet and greet fans around Gainesville. He joked Thursday night as he met with the Titletown Gator Club at the Gainesville Raceway about running into an elderly gentleman on campus after the season ended.

“You’re 6-6 and you’re a rookie and you came in as the head coach,” Muschamp said. “You just lost to Florida State at home, and that ain’t good. You’re walking and this guy kind of looks and double takes and says ‘are you Will Muschamp?’

“With all of that combined, you’ve got to be careful who you say yes to,” he chuckled. “I’m looking for the red dot on my head somewhere.”
The fans laughed and enjoyed every minute of Muschamp’s 30-minute appearance, which turned out to be sniper free.

In fact, Muschamp seemed right at home at the microphone while fielding questions from a handful of the 300 or so people who attended the barbeque.

And for their part, the fans were cool and collected. There weren’t any angry questions or upset fans grabbing the microphone to grill the now second-year coach. In fact, the fans were behind him 100 percent.

“I just wanted to say congratulations for the upcoming season,” the first fan who got the microphone said. “Keep bringing the fire!”

To read Thomas Goldkamp’s complete recap of Muschamp’s appearance, click here.

To see a review of what Muschamp said about recruiting, click here.

To read about fans reaction to Muschamp’s appearance, click here.

To view the complete photo gallery by Saj Guevara, click here.

DIRECTORY OF GATOR COUNTRY PHOTO GALLERIES

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