“Man we just lost to Vandy. Vandy, man.”
I don’t remember which one of the Gators’ linemen said it that day, but I’ll never forget hearing it.
It was November 9, 2013. It was homecoming and it was supposed to be a cupcake game. Plus, if we’re calling a spade a spade, it was the Commodores – the team who had long been the conference doormat.
Yet the Dores danced into Gainesville and beat the Gators 34-17, snapping a 22 game losing streak in the series for Vandy.
In the midst of an abysmal season and long after many Florida Gators’ fans had given up, that whispered statement of disbelief heralded in perhaps the biggest Gators’ loss of the past season – team confidence.
Watchoo talking ’bout Will?
Now it’s 2014 and time for the Florida Gators to face Vandy again.
Florida has a new guy under center, some different names out at receiver, a couple of running backs that set a school record versus Georgia and only one of which even played in this game last year. But there are just enough who were around to experience the defeat and the feelings of fury over last year’s, well, spanking.
Feelings which haven’t dissipated but grown more forceful over the past year – perhaps fueled by more unbelievable (but true) losses.
This past week has been filled with typical coach-speak of “It’s the most important game because it’s the next on our schedule” and “Well you want to win every game” and, my personal favorite, “It’s 2014 Florida versus 2014 Vandy”; thanks for that one Boom.
What does that even mean?
Still, a few noteworthy words have slipped through the vice grip and Gorilla Glue that seals the lid of communication from the athletic department these days. The words embarrassing, disappointment, revenge and redemption have recently found their way to freedom of the press.
Well, yay.
Let’s be honest here, you can’t be beaten like a red-headed step child in K-Mart and not want revenge – especially if you’re a Florida Gator.
It’s a mad, mad, mad team
Offensive lineman Max Garcia said it first and best, “They completely embarrassed us last year”, he remembered with a self-depreciating sigh.
“We’re going to their house and we want them to experience the same disappointment that they gave us last year. We definitely have to redeem ourselves in that way. We’re going out there to play football. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against but it is an added token just knowing that they embarrassed us last year in The Swamp.”
Lineman Chaz Green relates it to something as simple as pride.
“If you have some pride about yourself, you just look at last year’s film and that’s all the motivation you need.”
If you watch that film, you’ll see Kelvin Taylor as the leading rusher, but he can only laugh when reminded of that.
“I had like 39 yards. I did horrible last year versus them.”
It was actually 47 yards, but thanks to a negative 44 yards for Florida, the final stat sheet for the whole team does in fact read 39.
“I just got to go out there and have a great game,” Taylor continues. “Get my teammates a win and have fun.”
Because of course, as we saw versus Georgia, winning is fun…unless you’re this guy…
Which takes us back to 2013, when the Gators had no fun whatsoever especially versus the Dores.
If you peruse the stat sheet, it would seem right off the bat that the Gators won.
Florida had 26 first downs to Vandy’s 12.
The Orange and Blue racked up 344 yards of offense while the Dores were held to 183.
But, oh, yea there it is. The telling stat. Florida turned the ball over four times including three interceptions for 86 yards and three of those four led to touchdowns.
And there is one line of coach-speak that always seems to prove true.
“Win the turnover battle, win the game.”
Vanderbilt won that turnover battle.
But the Gators have had nearly a year to stew on it, and while the answers have been somewhat reined in this week, there’s still that undercurrent of revenge. That’s the natural progression isn’t it? You get embarrassed, you get mad and then you get even.
And there’s nothing scarier than someone looking to get even.
Revenge Wrap-Up
As Kelvin Taylor reminds us, it’s time to get even, and on the heels of a 418 yard rushing performance, he’s confident Florida is set up for another great game.
“It was very embarrassing,” Taylor says. “ We have to really, like Max said, redeem ourselves this year and I’m sure going out there Saturday, we will go out there and have a great game.”
Look, an SEC East Title = beating Vandy. To help everyone get in this mindset, I’ve compiled a list of the five best quotes about revenge, beginning with the title of this article.
- “Revenge is sweet and not fattening.” – Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock
- “And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?” – William Shakespeare
- “The best revenge is massive success.” – Frank Sinatra
- “Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule.” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
- “Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell.” -Walter Scott, The Heart of Mid-Lothian