I didn’t do either of those things, Big D. I was talking about the term itself and its history… not attacking individuals who use the chant. I’m sorry if I didn’t make that clear.
Yeah I was out of line and I apologize for calling you out. Can I blame it on Friday the 13th and buy you a beer should we ever meet?
Have you been on an official guided tour for potential UF students recently? I have - with my son. As a Gator Alum and life long fan, I was embarrassed. It was total woke nonsense from start to finish. If I was a kid genuinely looking around, I would have walked out and never come back. Sad state our beloved University is in. Did anyone see the giant banner hanging over Univ Ave today in front of the stadium? How'd it make you feel?
Yet parents send their kids to these indoctrination centers by the hundreds of thousands every year ...
2025 Usnews rankings, we fell one spot among publics. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public
Forbes just named UF #4 public university in the country. So there is that. Depends on what opinion source you look at and what they measure.
UF has 1125 current student organizations, only 26 of which are IFC. Find an organization - GatorConnect - University of Florida
Kinda how I see it too. Our chant has zero to do with what happened 100 years ago. I don’t see the connection. Fans in the swamp are not yelling racist things about children.
The other thing is, where do you stop with that line of thinking? Is the GATOR chomp inappropriate for the same reasons? The family that lost a child at Disney a few years back is one that I'll never forget. A child at Disney playing by the water. Complete compartmentalization for me to separate the event from issuing a GATOR chomp in a sports capacity (I mean, do we really envision an alligator destroying an opposing player when we do the chomp? not everybody should answer that question). Could you imagine being one of those parents and ever doing the GATOR chomp? Ooof. The mom and dad lived in Omaha, and the GATORS would win the national championship the following college world series (for those that live on Pluto, that's where the CWS is played). Again, complete compartmentalization for me. Anything fierce or dangerous in college football has a story (why is it fierce or dangerous?); then there's things like perceived slights against Native American imagery and lack of respect for the history (who owns the right on what the imagery means and the right to be offended vs. the right to claim no offense intended?). Nobody knows why Alabama celebrates toxic algae; and the bulldogs aren't dangerous; per Google/AI, they are known to be sweet, gentle, and dependable. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
I just don’t believe in the connection between that and gator chant at our stadium. There’s nothing malicious about it when you go to the swamp.
That isn't the point, though. Nobody is saying that the people who chant Gator Bait are saying it with connection to the historical meaning. The argument is that the term "Gator Bait" had dubious origins/double-meaning and therefore is inappropriate to use, in general.
It depends on the rating source and the factors they use and the weight given to each. U.S. News & World Report hadUF rated number 5 among public universities. I don’t believe it changed much this year. It has been my experience that a smart and motivated student can get a great education almost anywhere.
Based on what Fuchs said on the Steve Russell show when asked that question, I think it is as simple as there are some inappropriate early materials that he did not want the school to be associated with. It wasn't even that there was a double meaning to it, just simply cutting off an opportunity for others to attack the school for racism.
I posted it above, USNews rankings came out last night, UF is 7th a,k g publics this year, tied with UTa.
Well yes it is a double meaning. The term had a different meaning in the past and it has a different meaning to Gator fans. Fuchs made the decision to disassociate the university from it. I think the move made pragmatic sense.
If you're honest about the Gator Bait cheer issue, the move came at a time when we were seeking ways to appease minorities. That's all it was. No one was going to associate our cheer with feeding babies to alligators.
