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Friday, December 13, 2002
Old rivalry not so Sugary
By Will Weiss
BCSfootball.com
Long before the Wide Right Trilogy or the Choke at Doak, there was The Flop and T-shirts that read "Gators Eat Boogers." Back in the day, Miami-Florida was the dominant rivalry in the Sunshine State. But Florida opted out of it 13 years ago, and on Jan. 2, the teams will again step onto the same stadium floor. Not only will their battle in the Nokia Sugar Bowl (ABC, 8 p.m. ET) affect the nation, it will rekindle the lost feel of their series.
|  | | Rex Grossman was 7 years old the last time Florida played Miami. |
Or so the fans hope.
When it was originally canceled, the backlash reverberated throughout the state.
Miami, which did not belong to a conference, wanted to continue the rivalry, but Florida's athletic director Bill Arnsparger cited a revised Southeastern Conference schedule and the annual brouhaha with Florida State as primary reasons for discontinuing it.
"We want to have the opportunity to go to various sections of the country and play," Arnsparger said.
And they did, playing such feared non-conference powers like Montana State and The Citadel -- at home. In the past 13 years, the only non-conference games in which the Gators left the state were for trips to Memphis State and Syracuse. In fact, the farthest the Gators have traveled since '87 has been for bowl games -- the 1987 Aloha Bowl (Honolulu) and the 1989 Freedom Bowl (Anaheim).
Perhaps that's a bit unfair. The SEC has overhauled its look in the past decade, adding Arkansas and South Carolina in 1991. That allowed the conference to split into eastern and western divisions, thereby forcing Florida to eliminate one non-conference opponent to accommodate the addition of a SEC West team onto its schedule.
In that period, though, Florida had the opportunity to reschedule Miami and passed. Miami fans called the Gators "chickens."
"At the time I was hired (before the 1990 season), I thought we needed to get them on and start playing -- play everybody," said head coach Steve Spurrier on Monday. "And then, two or three years later, it didn't make sense to do it, so I understood it."
ALF and Growing Pains were popular TV shows, and hair bands like Poison and Whitesnake were actually cool the last time the two teams faced each other on the gridiron -- Sept. 5, 1987 -- ending a run of 49 meetings in 50 years.
"I was probably watching G.I. Joe," said Florida tackle Kenyatta Walker.
In the final game, Miami throttled Florida 31-4, paving the way to its second national championship in five years.
Much has changed since then.
Miami joined the Big East Conference in 1991 and won a national championship. A few years later, the school got hit with a series of sanctions. Since then, Butch Davis has resurrected the program and now proudly paces the sidelines once tread by Jimmy Johnson and his indestructible hair.
Meanwhile, in Gainesville, Spurrier has lifted Florida to perennial contender status, winning six conference championships and a national championship in his 11-year tenure.
G.I. Joe has long since been (honorably) discharged.
In February of '99, thanks to a NCAA provision allowing a 12th game to be played in 14-week seasons, the two schools signed a deal to resume play in 2002 and 2003 for a two-year, home-and-home series. The first game will be played at The Swamp on Sept. 7, 2002.
"I hope all the people along the Florida Turnpike are ready," said Miami athletic director Paul Dee.
Oh they're ready, but can the nation handle another tête-a-tête involving Florida? When the two teams get together in New Orleans, it will be explosive. A convincing Miami win could give the 'Canes a share of the national title, and the Gators would love nothing better than to spoil that notion.
"They're saying they need to blow us out. That fuels our fire," said quarterback Rex Grossman. "They think they're pretty good. We want to show we're pretty good, too."
The Sugar Bowl marks the 50th meeting between the two teams, but the first in a bowl game. As has been the case in all the other Florida matchups the last eight weeks, a national championship could be on the line. Miami has adopted the slogan "Drive for Five" as motivation for the possibility of a fifth title.
In an ironic twist, Florida State, hated rivals of both schools, will be rooting for the Gators. The Seminoles can repeat as national champions if Florida knocks off Miami and Bobby Bowden's team follows with a win over No. 1 Oklahoma on Jan. 3.
We should be treated to a helluva football game.
Will Weiss is the assistant editor of BCSfootball.com.
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