I was reminiscing about my earliest days on a Gator message board, and brought up the "Carlos Alvarez Thread". On the old board, during the incredible 2006-2008 run (i.e "happier times"), was a thread about the "Gator flop" game against Miami, when the actual Gator legend CA dropped in and contributed to the conversation, sharing story after story. Goosebumps now, as I had then.
For those not familiar, someone found the archive of the thread
http://web.archive.org/web/20090131...ve/forums/a/tpc/f/3691038186/m/1251052928/p/1 (it had gotten deleted from the HOF when the old board went tits up), but this might be my favorite excerpt from CA of the whole thread.
Another memory was my senior year and my last game on Florida Field. We were playing Kentucky and it was a close game into the 4th quarter when I went deep along the east sidelines heading into the north end zone. It was one of those beautiful Gainesville autumn, late afternoon where the sun is low in a brilliant orange with a backdrop of the bluest of skies. I was very open on the route since the defensive back had over-committed thinking it was going to be a curl route. John and I had looked at each other in the huddle and knew that we would do this one more time--just the way we had started it our sophomore year. There was never any doubt. I still remember the perfect pass by John and it was almost as if I could see every seam of the football as it was spiraling towards me in what seemed like slow motion. I swear time stood still in that moment for me as I was going full speed down the east sidelines. I caught the ball in full stride, raced into the end zone and immediately a thought exploded into my head that I should (and somehow could)throw the football out of the stadium. So I threw the football as far as I could into the north stands on an adrenalin high that still gives me goose pumps. No, the ball never left the stadium (laws of physics apparently don't play Gator football) but that moment was incredibly sweet even though it cost me my only penalty in my Gator career. It is always for me what college football is all about---passion and fun. That "tradition" of trying to throw the football out of the stadium on your last game at Florida Field your senior year was duplicated by Travis McGriff (he was told about it by Lee McGriff--his dad and a great Florida wide-receiver and friend)and Bubba Caldwell in 2007.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!
