... Made me a fan

[E.T.]

When I heard that USF, a local university was starting football from scratch. I jumped on the opportunity.

[WoolyBully]

I became a football fan in the Army. I had some buddies who were from Ohio and we'd watch the Browns, then coached by Sam Rutigliano, on AFRTS. Quality entertainment. When I got stationed in Monterey, we'd head up to San Francisco on Sundays and watch the 49ers.

AS for college...didn't start following that until we moved to Florida. All my wife's friends were Gators, so I did the only morally right thing to do and became a 'Nole fan. However, about '97...that sort of changed...big time. 

As for the Bulls...being an alumnus ('94) and season tickets from day one. I remember going to the Big Sombrero for 'pick your seat day'. There's nothing like getting in on the ground floor of something that's been this exciting. The great thing about being a Bull - and living in Tampa - is that I can be at every home game (except our win over Southern Miss...the only game I didn't attend) and I've met some wonderful people through the program.

[Qbanbull]

Need I say more  ??? 

[flsportsfan83]

good post,

Mike why do you always have to be an a$$?

[dabull80]

good post,

Mike why do you always have to be an a$$?

Is this an inside joke ?

Did I miss something ?

[BJ]

How the hell could anybody forget Army was homecoming? I wish I could, but I'm afraid something that embarassing sticks with you for a while

[flsportsfan83]

How the hell could anybody forget Army was homecoming? I wish I could, but I'm afraid something that embarassing sticks with you for a while

I love when people try to correct someone, and they are wrong...... I find that funny as hell.

[DC Bull]

Marquel Blackwell to Huey Whittaker touchdown connections was what started my obsession.

[nukebull]

Grew up in Miami during the Dolphins perfect season and loved football form when i can remember. I played from the time I was a tiny mite. They had a deal in Miami that you could get a bus ticket and game ticket for the Canes for like $3.00 and me and my friends from the neighborhood would catch every game. I got to play in the OB 3 years in a row in what was called the Orange Bowl classic and I started to really love the college game more.

My brother went to FSU so I would go to games up there with him and we would both go see a good friend of the family play for the Gators when we had the chance. Spent 3 years in Germany in the Army and would have my mom send me college football games on video tapes. I also would watch whatever game they showed on AFN so I got to watch a lot of teams. I decided to go to USF instead of FSU and they had no football so I remained a Canes fan and would go down for the games. I got Bucs season tickets while in college and attended those also.

The Bulls announced the start of a football program the year I graduated; I got season tickets and stopped rooting for the Canes and the rest is history. I have only missed 1 home game since they started and it was against Army; but i did go up and see the USF- Army game.

[MikeG]

Need I say more  ??? 

speaking of Superfans-----

At Age 85, Mr. Two-Bits Still Fires Up Gator Faithful

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 23, 2007

TAMPA - George Edmondson really did intend to retire from his second job in 1999. The Tampa resident, who made his primary living in the insurance game, spent 50 years worth of fall Saturdays clad in a yellow shirt and orange-and-blue tie leading thousands of fans in a cheer that hadn't grown old in five decades.

"I couldn't stay away," the man better known as Mr. Two Bits said this week.

Eight years later, Edmondson, 85, still comes to Florida Field in that yellow shirt and orange-and-blue tie. And before each game, he runs to midfield, turns his palms to the ground and quiets more than 90,000 fans. Then, with each pump of his fist, they scream.

Two bits!

Four bits!

Six bits!

A dollar!

All for the Gators, stand up and holler!

Edmondson first visited Florida Field in 1949. The Gators were losing to The Citadel, the school Edmondson had attended before joining the Navy. Edmondson couldn't stand to hear Florida fans booing their own team, so he got them cheering with a chant about adding up 25-cent pieces.

Saturday, Florida will honor Edmondson between the first and second quarters of the Florida State game. The golf tournament held this past weekend in Edmondson's name raised $19,000 to fund scholarships for Florida's cheerleaders.

That's the only kind of money Edmondson wants for his cheers. When Hugh Culverhouse bought the Buccaneers, he offered to pay Edmondson to cheer at Tampa Stadium.

"If I would've done that for the Bucs, I would've been doing it for the pocketbook," Edmondson said in 1999. "That's not right. You do this for the love of the game, the love of your school. It's from the heart."

Words to stand up and holler for indeed.

Andy Staples

FSU Cowgirl Became Internet Celebrity

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 23, 2007

Jenn Sterger woke up on Sept. 5, 2005, just another Florida State student excited about that night's game against Miami at Doak Campbell Stadium. She woke up the next morning an Internet celebrity after being shown repeatedly on TV during ABC's national telecast. She'll be on E! Entertainment Television in January as one of the 20 hottest women on the Internet.

Her friends still call her Jenn, but legions of college football fans know her as the FSU Cowgirl, thanks to her sexy outfits highlighted by garnet and gold, and a cowboy hat and boots. Sterger graduated from FSU over the summer, but she still roots for her Noles, especially when they play Florida.

"We are very, very loyal," Sterger said of FSU fans. "We stick by our team. We have been through some tough times lately with all our coaching changes, but we still keep going. The way things have gone the past couple of years, I would love nothing more than to see us pull out a victory in The Swamp."

Sterger, a Gaither High graduate who is now living back in Tampa, is planning to attend Saturday's FSU-Florida game in Gainesville. How do Gator fans usually treat one of FSU's most famous fans?

"It all depends, and I think it all has to do with what generation of Gator fan," Sterger said. "I've got plenty of friends who go to school there, and they're great. I also think blood-alcohol content has something to do with the way people react to me."

When asked if she would be interested in a photo shoot with Florida's most famous fan - Mr. Two-Bits - Sterger couldn't resist. After all, she may be a new face to this rivalry, but she respects its storied history.

"He is a legend if you grew up in Florida," she said. "I've always wanted to meet him."

Scott Carter