What I Love About UF

[Detroitgator]

Parties at the Devil's Millhopper and weekends tubing the Ichetucknee. Off-campus I know, but still....

What were the caves west of Gaineville... we went drinking there one night.

 

[Marine1]

Salty Dog....does that count?

 

[Gator2222]

What were the caves west of Gaineville... we went drinking there one night.

You're probably thinking of the lime rock quarries. There was one near what is now Haile Plantation and there are several out near Gatorback in the Jonesville area.

Lived here pretty much my whole life, much of it in the suburbs to the west of Gainesville, and never heard of any caves.

 

[Gator2222]

Salty Dog....does that count?

Salty is still going strong. The old timers will know it as Alan's Cubana.

 

[GR8 2B]

You're probably thinking of the lime rock quarries. There was one near what is now Haile Plantation and there are several out near Gatorback in the Jonesville area.

Lived here pretty much my whole life, much of it in the suburbs to the west of Gainesville, and never heard of any caves.

There was horseback riding at Hash Knife Stables in the Jonesville area by the quarries. Many stories . . .

 

[Gator Fever]

We talk about the constant negativity and b!Itchfest amongst our fellow Gators so I wanted to start a thread in which we can discuss all things we love about the University of Florida. I'll start:

1. I love our colors. Orange and Blue. Complementary colors. And the perfect shade of each. Love that royal blue and our shade of Orange is so much better than Tennessee's.

2. I love the Gators script on the football helmets. So classy and pretty looking.

3. I love our mascot. The Gators. So many mascots are boring or not intimidating. Gators are a bad ass mascot. And unique!

4. Speaking of Gators, I love the chomp. Only a few schools have a physical action they do that identifies them with their team. And I still think ours is the coolest. The war chop doesn't even compare. Thousands of people doing the chomp in unison still gives me chills.

5. And on that same note, I love The Swamp. The nickname of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and how it was named is so freaking cool.

6. I love the guy who named it, Steven Orr Spurrier. And the fun he brought to Florida football. Before SOS, the SEC was a defensive, run oriented league. Spurrier offensively changed all that with his innovative style effectively changing college football forever. For the rest of time, no matter what happens, I'll always have the memories of the Spurrier years and I'll always smile.

7. I love "We Are The Boys." Thousands of people swaying side by side, whether strangers or friends, but all Gators.

8. I love the Gator Nation. There are two groups in this world, that I've always felt privileged to be a part of something so special and the Gator Nation is one of them. The other being fans of the band Sister Hazel (also fellow Gators) because being a part of either group creates a special bond and makes us part of an amazing family. Or at least it does me.

9. I love the O'Dome and the Rowdy Reptiles and the undying passion of our fanbase, second to none.

10. I love our campus. Some campuses look and feel like dumps. Not the University of Florida. Beautiful campus. Some great architecture. The layout is near perfect. And how many campuses can you go see real life alligators and bats right there?!

11. I love that seemingly every time I read about some incredible scientific or medical breakthrough, it seems to happen at the University of Florida.

12. I love that UF probably has the two greatest representatives of athletes in history in Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow.

13. I love that athletically, we are one of the best, if not the best university in the nation overall and definitely probably the best for women.

14. I love that we're centrally located in the state. All options at our fingertips.

15. I love our fight song and some of our chants, particularly Gator Bait. I always like to think that it's probably because of my favorite defensive player ever, Lawrence Wright, that that chant started. Please don't tell me otherwise and take that away from me.

16. I love that we are one of the top public schools in America and have been for years.

Forever and always, it truly is great to be a Florida Gator.

 

[NavetG8r]

Upside down margaritas during rush week.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

I was wrong...it was post #17. Relax dude, you don't have to be angry all the time. Seriously.

It wasnt 17... it was your post that went negative; I just called you on it. By the way, have you ever noticed that you're constantly telling other people to "relax"? Ever occur to you that it might be your issue and not everyone else?

 

[PastyStoole]

Campus during the fall semester, the early mornings of game day. The stillness belying the intensity and excitement only a few hours away. The warm alpenglow of the sunrise against the gothic arches and ivy. And of course the memories of my time there as a student. The brief interactions we had on our way toward adulthood, shaping us for the rest of our lives, and becoming a permanent part of our makeup. We were passionate and creative and wild and wanting then, and I go there often in my mind, when life becomes static or pressing. I am grateful to have that.

 

[GatorBart]

What were the caves west of Gaineville... we went drinking there one night.

Bat caves

 

[GatorBart]

You're probably thinking of the lime rock quarries. There was one near what is now Haile Plantation and there are several out near Gatorback in the Jonesville area.

Lived here pretty much my whole life, much of it in the suburbs to the west of Gainesville, and never heard of any caves.

That's funny.
Spent many a night swimming and drinking in the bat caves just west of Jonesville, north side of Hwy 26, just before you get Newberry.

 

[Detroitgator]

Bat caves

These were out in the middle of nowhere, like in a field. Only went once and it was dark when we went so I'm not sure where, but they were real caves.

 

[Double Gator Dad]

Some are mentioning restaurants they miss so I will chime in.

It was not on campus but Ashley's in Butler Plaza served the best wings I have ever had. It was a basketball pregame ritual for us throughout the 80's and into the 90's. It closed 8-9 years ago.........so sad

 

[GatorBart]

These were out in the middle of nowhere, like in a field. Only went once and it was dark when we went so I'm not sure where, but they were real caves.

Yep, that's the place. It's been close to 30 years since I went there, so I probably wouldn't be able to find it, but what you're describing is the bat caves. We used to take some chicks, a backpack full of beers, , and some candles and head down the hole (~50 feet long and probably 20 feet deep) to the main room. Most of the time there was water there, but not so high you couldn't go exploring a couple of the offshoots if you felt adventurous.

 

[Detroitgator]

Yep, that's the place. It's been close to 30 years since I went there, so I probably wouldn't be able to find it, but what you're describing is the bat caves. We used to take some chicks, a backpack full of beers, , and some candles and head down the hole (~50 feet long and probably 20 feet deep) to the main room. Most of the time there was water there, but not so high you couldn't go exploring a couple of the offshoots if you felt adventurous.

That's the place... same, around 90-93 for me

 

[Durty South Swamp]

Tijuana flats, the swamp, and the porpoise before during and after games. Chicken bowls on weekday evenings from Maui teriyaki when a dinner study break was needed. Five star pepperoni powerhouse after a long Saturday night of bar hopping. 25 cent pitchers at a variety of pubs the week before fall semester started. The hot girls in Publix Archer Rd on any given Saturday. The tailgates before an afternoon game knowing that we were going to destroy some team, regardless of who it was (ahh the spurdog days). The campus in March/April when spring is fully in effect. Booze tubing down local creeks and springs in the summer time. The women... the women...


The Women....

 

[Marine1]

Very first night in Gainesville me and a buddy found our way to Dubs. Drinking age was 18, ladies drink free, place was packed and as we stood in line to get in.....bouncers we're tossing out girls. We couldn't wait to see what was going on inside those double doors. I was coming from Okinawa, Japan. Quite the culture change.

 

[Marine1]

Salty is still going strong. The old timers will know it as Alan's Cubana.

I still hit up the Salty Dog. Place looks exactly the same.

 

[Swamp Queen]

I still hit up the Salty Dog. Place looks exactly the same.

Except for the $h!tty country music on the jukebox.

 

[Gator2222]

It wasnt 17... it was your post that went negative; I just called you on it. By the way, have you ever noticed that you're constantly telling other people to "relax"? Ever occur to you that it might be your issue and not everyone else?

Yeah, I am way too angry and I call people names all the time. I'll try to tone that down.