'It's Great To Be A Florida Gator'

By JULIE PACE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jan 10, 2007

GAINESVILLE - Hours after claiming the national championship, the Florida Gators have little time to rest.

First there is a Tuesday morning team breakfast, then a news conference. By noon, the team is back at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, boarding a charter flight to Gainesville.

One notable person is missing: quarterback and championship MVP Chris Leak, headed to Los Angeles for an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

As their heroes rush to catch flights, fans back home take the day to revel in victory.

"I cried," says lifelong Gainesville resident Calvin Brand, walking out of the Orange and Blue Beverage store on University Avenue, one of many city businesses with a name inspired by the Gators.

Brand, with festive Gators beads around his neck and an orange hat on his head, is here for an important purchase: more beer so the party can continue.

The atmosphere in town is more exuberant Tuesday than it was when the Gators won the national championship 10 years ago, says Joan Prange, owner of a local flower shop where the window display is filled with blue and orange bouquets.

The Gators are always a hot topic in Gainesville, Prange says, but today they're the only topic.

"It's all about the game," she says.

Fans know the team is on its way, but the university is keeping the arrival time a secret. More than a dozen police officers stand guard at the small Gainesville Regional Airport, trying to keep unauthorized people out.

About 5 p.m., three buses pull up. Driver Ron Crowley climbs out of his bus, grabs a small camcorder and starts videotaping the media waiting for the Gators.

Crowley lives in Orlando and wasn't loyal to the Gators until he started working with the team. The players won him over.

"It's all business with them," says Crowley, turning his camera toward the empty tarmac.

The American Airlines charter plane carrying the team touches down at 6:05 p.m., 10 minutes ahead of schedule. The players climb out wearing white national championship T-shirts and board the buses.

A police escort leads them through the streets of Gainesville, toward the university. A small but enthusiastic group of fans waits at a street corner, shouting a familiar refrain - "It's great to be a Florida Gator" - as the buses whiz by.

The team arrives at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to little fanfare because most students didn't know when the buses would arrive. Plenty will be there at noon Saturday for the formal celebration.

The subdued homecoming doesn't faze the players, including former Jefferson High standout Trent Pupello, now a freshman on the Gator football team.

"It was still an awesome experience, everything you could imagine it would be," says Pupello, a tight end. "And we're going back next three years or however long I'm here. I plan on that."

The Gators have one more stop. They head to the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, where another group of national champions, the Florida men's basketball team, is playing.

As the football players carry their championship trophy onto the floor at halftime, the crowd erupts.

Coach Urban Meyer quiets fans, then acknowledges the players who led his team to the title.

"This could not have been done without the work of the entire football team - but arguably one of the greatest senior classes in Florida football history," he says.

And the crowd erupts again.

Reporters Andy Staples, Bill Ward and Jenna Marina contributed to this report. Reporter Julie Pace can be reached at (813) 259-7567 or jpace@tampatrib.com.