#7 Florida Gators vs #1 Alabama Crimson Tide

#7 Florida Gators vs #1 Alabama Crimson Tide
Saturday 5:00 PST

Howdy Gators:

This is going to be a short mail, as I am quite busy at the moment with non-Gator-related activities (yes, I know, where are my priorities?!). Suffice to say the brevity of this mail doesn't match the magnitude of this weekend's contest in Tuscaloosa.

Revenge will be on the minds of the Orange and Blue this Saturday as they take the field against the Crimson Tide, the team that ousted Florida from the SEC and National throne last season. If we can somehow muster an offensive performance like last week's (can we count on Trey Burton for another six TDs?) and emerge victorious over the Tide, there may be no stopping the 2010 Gators; however, if we regress to the level of the first three games, it could be a long and dreary evening in Sweet Home Alabama.

But let's keep things in perspective - win or lose, both teams are still in control of their own destinies and very likely could end up facing each other in Atlanta again for the SEC crown.

Go Gators,
Courtney

#9 Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats

#9 Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats
Saturday 4:00 PST (see below for viewing locations)

Howdy Gators:

Well another week and another nail-biting contest for our strangely sputtering Gators. Not to dismiss a win in Knoxville, which is never an easy task, but we obviously still don't seem to be clicking on Offense. To paraphrase an article I read recently, one week is an aberration, two weeks is a worrisome pattern, but after three weeks of mistake-filled, uninspiring football, quite possibly it is what it is. Perhaps it's youth, perhaps it's the excruciatingly conservative scheme of the not-so-creative Steve Adazzio, but I think we all realize that something is not quite right for a Florida offense that has historically dazzled and entertained.

OK, now that I have that off my chest, I think we can celebrate the fact that we beat the lowly Vols for the sixth straight time and still remain undefeated. But it wasn't easy! Were it not for an extremely gutsy fake-punt call (which I only actually saw on replay after temporarily turning away in disgust on what appeared to be a three-and-out by the Gators), we might have limped out of Neyland Stadium with a crushing "L." Hats off to Urban for realizing that the momentum had shifted and that the Orange and Blue needed to snatch it back or else fall prey to a clearly less talented UT team. And kudos to John Brantley for playing relatively mistake-free football (no thanks to the pitifully inept Mike Pouncey) and making some big third-down conversions. Hopefully Adazzio will realize he has a passing talent under his tutelage and open up the offense a bit more (Note to Steve: Tebow graduated. Move on!). And finally, large props again to our Defense. Despite a couple missteps by our secondary, the Gator D once again came up big, forcing some crucial turnovers and holding the Vols offensive attack largely in check.
Come on out this Saturday and watch Florida face off against the Kentucky Wildcats in Gainesville. While this contest has been lopsided for the past 25 years (UK hasn't won since 1986), Kentucky is looking strong thus far under offensively-minded first year coach Joker Philips, so the Gators will need to put some points on the board to emerge with a victory. I am looking at you Adazzio - open up the offense and use all your weapons, daggummit!

Go Gators,
Courtney

Eastside Viewing
Sideline Sports Bar
3720 Factoria Blvd SE Ste F
Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 644-2781

Westside Viewing
Spitfire
2219 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121 (Belltown)
(206) 441-7966

Florida Gators vs Tennessee Volunteers Tide; 12:30 PST (East and West-side Viewing Locations)

#10 Florida Gators vs Tennessee Volunteers
Saturday 12:30 PST (see below for viewing locations)

Howdy Gators,

After a sluggish start last week against South Florida, it appeared that the Gators lousy outing against Miami of Ohio might not be an aberration. However, something obviously clicked at the end of the second quarter, and the Gators turned on the jets for the remainder of the contest, scoring 31 second-half points largely on the heels of Jeff Demps (Percy Lite?) and our other diminutive speedsters. There was hardly a snap mishap this time around, and the offensive line appeared to gel late in the game, opening up huge holes for our swift backs and giving Brantley ample protection. The Defense also came up strong again with four interceptions and a fumble recovery, albeit they gave up quite a few rushing yards to the talented USF quarterback. Despite the big win the Gators fell another two spots to #10 this week, as the nation’s sportswriters seem unconvinced that the 2010 Florida team has overcome the early season jitters and is now firing on all cylinders.

This week Florida heads to Good Ol' Rocky Top to face their perennial foe, the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols looked sharp against the Oregon Ducks in the first half last week, but were blown out before a raucous home-crowd in the second. From the looks of things, Tennessee has a tough time defending the run, so expect the Gators to go at them with a healthy dose of Demps, Gillislee (love this guy thus far!) and Moody. But the young Gators will need to be on guard, as it’s never easy to play in front of 110,000 rowdy fans in Knoxville (the one plus is that it's not a night game). Additionally, the Gators will not be fueled this time around by their desire to beat the oh-so-obnoxious Lane Kiffin, who abandoned the Vols after an infamous one-year stint at the helm of Tennessee.

Come on out this weekend and watch the Orange and Blue take the field against the Vols. As mentioned last week, we will now be showing the games on both the West and Eastside. Hopefully we will see the Gators celebrating early and often in the checkerboard endzones of Neyland Stadium!

Go Gators,

Courtney

Eastside Viewing
Sideline Sports Bar
3720 Factoria Blvd SE Ste F Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 644-2781

Westside Viewing
Spitfire 2219 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121 (Belltown)
(206) 441-7966

Reminder - Sidelines Opens Saturday 9/18 - Vols Game

Gators vs The Vols
Spitfire & Sidelines Sports Bar
Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 12:30 PM

Eastside Gators,

Just a reminder that we will be opening our Eastside viewing location this Saturday, September 18 at 12:30 PM. Sidelines has updated their televisions to HD and made other changes to improve your viewing experience. Marianne, Rose Marie, Cathy and Paul have volunteered to be your hosts. We are still in need of a few more volunteers to help run the Eastside Swamp. If you are interested in helping out, please feel free to contact us.

In case you forgot, Sidelines is located at Loehman's Plaza in Factoria. The address for Sidelines is:

3720 Factoria SE
Bellevue, WA

I look forward to seeing everyone again at Sidelines*,

Go Gators!
Neil Hang
President, Seattle Gator Club

* - our Westside location at Spitfire will also be open as usual

Gators v Vols Sep 18 12:30PM

Quick Update

Our first week at Sidelines and Spitfire.
We'll be doing our first drawing of the year at Spitfire and if you want to keep Sidelines as a viewing venue, volunteer to help out and show up in numbers!

GO GATORS!

Sidelines
3720F Factoria Blvd. (Loehmann's Plaza)
Bellevue, WA
425 644 2781

Spitfire
2219 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
206 441-7966

#8 Gators vs South Florida Bulls

#8 Gators vs South Florida Bulls
Saturday 9:00 am PST
Spitfire 2219 4th Ave (Belltown)
(206) 441-7966

Howdy Gators:

Well that was an uninspiring outing by the Gators last week, huh? I watched the game on the flight back from New York (amazing that you can watch live college football 30,000 feet in the air!), and had to contain my cursing and pacing so as not to upset the other passengers and the FAA. Eight fumbles and 25 offensive yards through three quarters! Yikes, that’s atrocious! Had it not been for a few key interceptions by our Defense and some late-game scoring, Florida quite possibly could have opened the season with an epic thud. As it stands, they eked out a win over a supposedly inferior team in the Swamp and as a result have justifiably dropped to #8 in the polls.

Come on out this weekend and watch the Gators face the USF Bulls in game two of the 2010 season. Led by first year coach, Skip Holtz (son of Lou), the Bulls slaughtered their opening week opponent and are likely an athletically superior team to the Miami Redhawks. Certainly, if we play USF the way we played last week, the Gators will be looking a 1-1 record going into week three against Tennessee. Let’s hope that Mike Pouncey learned how to snap the ball during the off-week (word has it he and Brantley have ironed out the kinks) and that our offensive line starts to firm up with the return of a couple starters. Presumably, we can only improve from here…

Go Gators,

Courtney

#4 Gators vs Miami of Ohio Redhawks

#4 Gators vs Miami of Ohio Redhawks

Saturday 9:00 am PST
Spitfire 2219 4th Ave (Belltown)
(206) 441-7966

Howdy Gators:I am writing this mail on the road from the excruciatingly humid home of the US Open, New York City. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch the first contest of the season, as I will be flying back to the Emerald City during the game (assuming Hurricane Earl doesn’t ground our flight…), but I will most definitely make a mad dash to the airport lounge once our flight lands to see the results of what I anticipate will be a lopsided affair. After a season of off-the-field drama in which Urban Meyer stepped down only to once again return to the helm a few days later, ala Billy Donovan, Florida kicks off the 2010 campaign with a squad that will be virtually unrecognizable to the Gator Faithful. Following the departure of our beloved quarterback and minor deity, Tim Tebow (aka Friar Tuck), the Florida Offense is sure to look very different from the teams of recent memory. Given the reported passing prowess of junior QB John Brantley, Meyer will most certainly make some major tweaks to the offensive scheme to take advantage of Brantley’s skill-set. Something tells me that this year’s team may resemble the pass-happy Spurrrier teams of old rather than the run-first offense of the past couple seasons. Dare we dub this team “the Fun 'n' Gun II?"

Florida also lost a great deal of talent on the defensive side of the ball to the NFL draft (the New England Patriots have been labelled the "Gators of the North"), but with the top recruiting class this past year, expect Florida to reload rather than rebuild. These baby Gators will have to grow up fast however, as Florida faces tough games on the road against Tennessee and Alabama over the next several weeks.

Come join us this Saturday as the Gators take on Miami of Ohio (hey, who said the Gators are afraid to put Miami on their schedule?) of the MAC conference at the Swamp. The Redhawks were a lowly 1-11 last year, so chalk this contest up as a much needed preseason game for our fresh-faced Florida squad. In the spirit of NYC, my home for the next few days, start spreading the news, the Gators are back!

Go Gators,
Courtney

CLUB NOTES:

We have a very cool, new Seattle Gator Club shirt this year. Bring your current UF Alumni Association membership card to receive a club discount. If you are not yet a member of UFAA or your membership has expired, please try and register this year. For every membership, the club receives $10, and if we have the most members for all the Gator Clubs in the country, we receive $500.