'No respect' for Gators

That’s a complaint I’ve heard from Alabama to Arizona. Seems it’s just not hip to bleed Orange and Blue outside the Sunshine State.

Duh, right?

In Alabama there’s the University of Alabama and Auburn University. Mobile resident and UF grad Darlene Maltese told Ryan and I that Gators get less-than-perfect treatment in a state dominated by that huge rivalry. “Florida fans don’t get any respect.”

Ditto over in Louisiana, Seth Bloom told me. “LSU fans are extremely hostile to Florida fans.” Bloom is a Jacksonville native who practices law in New Orleans and is the president of that city’s Gator Club.

“Certainly you’re always hearing it from Texas fans.” That’s Michael Millet, president of the Alamo Gator Club in San Antonio. Seems like people who worship alligators aren’t welcome in a state where the official religion revolves around a bull with long horns.

We’ve heard these complaints from Arizona UFers, too, but they (and I) expect that to change drastically this weekend. “We’re expecting 5,000 to 7,000 Gators at one pep rally alone,” Desert Gators Club president Gary Manton told us. That would be the rally from 6-9 p.m. Sunday in Old Scottsdale. Check out www.desertgators.com for the 411 on that.

BTW here are some stats on Gators (alumns mostly) living in the states Ryan and I have crossed through on our desert dash. These numbers were provided by the UF Alumni Association.

FL: 274,325
LA: 1,612
AL: 3,237
MS: 982
TX: 9,224
AZ: 2,061

OK Gotta run. We’re headed for Glendale.

Jeff