Jim McElwain hands a stick of gum to each of his kids and his wife after every game
- Thread starter alaskanseminole
- Start date
Yeah, those kids should be downtrodden after a trying season and a trying 4 years where everyone doubted them, thought we might barely beat Iowa if not lose, and then instead came out and dominated them.
Shame on those kids.
Smh guys. You really get wrapped up in your own shit don't you?
Shame on those kids.
Smh guys. You really get wrapped up in your own shit don't you?
Some people suffer from "BONG Syndrome"; in that it's all or nothing. Aside from winning the SEC outright, he never saw much in the way of rankings, 10-win seasons, bowl performance, rival head-to-head, etc. I always disagreed. Only ONE team can win it all; therefore, fans must look at many other factors to get full enjoyment from CFB (IMO, of course).
I was walking down university one night back in the late 90s when a skinny figure popped out of the bushes and yelled I'm quizzy. I immediately turned around and started to prance the other way. It didn't take him long to catch up to me though. He pulled my jammers off and stuck his tongue down my kiester hole. At first I felt violated but then enjoyed the little brothers oral action. I never saw him again after that night. Awooooooga!
So how many usernames does fsu939913 actually have? Over/Under?
Are you Jimbo Fisher's ex-wife?
It was a solid season from what most expected going into this year. We had some bad game and we had some good ones. The product on the offensive side of the ball needs to get better.
Well, there is the alternate all or nothing prevalent here as well, the notion that you are cheerleader for your team, no matter what. Guess what, it IS possible to enjoy a bowl win, and to take notice that the team won a game or two more than was predicted by some, but at the same time be quite concerned by the major issues facing the program. Also, it is one thing for players to celebrate a bowl win, and enjoy a week in Tampa, and it is another to act like the team won something big. But I guess nuance can only work in one direction....
Absolutely! FSU got flat out embarrassed on a national stage by UL, then crapped the bed against UNC. However, we still managed to beat our rivals (not a passive aggressive jab), earn 10 wins, and beat a highly-ranked Michigan team. Those are great accomplishments, IMO, but not blind-folds to the issues with our OL and defensive scheming against the spread.
I can't imagine watching football with an all or nothing attitude.
And I am sure that many here who are unhappy with the program would be in a much better mood this season, even with a lesser record, if it appeared that Mac was moving things in the right direction. Anyways, I think the whole "all or nothing" attitude, even with BONG, is a bit over stated.
What in the hell is "nuu-ance"? Sounds communist. Florida Gators, love 'em or leave 'em pinko!
I wouldnt call it solid but the win kept it from being a real big letdown. I think myself and many others saw 3 losses coming but we didnt know the Spring game masked LDRs limitations so much. Well I guess you could see some possible issues with his weak throws when pressured but with that vanilla defense the Spring game didn't highlight them.
./\/\/\ The white hand is bigger than the black hand. There goes that myth.
If I remember he was all dancey and celebratory during/after the Citrus Bowl following the 97 season. His last game as a Gator.
Even less reason for him to be celebrating the Citrus Bowl...And even more reason for these guys to be celebrating the Outback Bowl.
National Runner Up
National Championship
Citrus Bowl
Vs
No Bowl
Birmingham Slag Bowl win
Demolished in the Citrus Bowl
Outback Bowl Win
Quzzie needs to let these guys enjoy their accomplishments as he enjoyed his.
By no means am I comparing any Spurrier to anything Mac, accept one thing.
1992 season Spurrier talked about how the Gator Bowl(Sponsored by Outback no less) was a big step forward for the program. He was still new at the UF HBC position.
Year two at the UF HC position MC wins an equivalent bowl game.
Granted I know MC doesn't sling the ball around and have sexy offenses or nowhere the recruit's Spurrier had.
I know UF was just off a recent probation in 93 and back in those days any bowl win was big.
But Mc isn't following up a storied coach with super successful seasons.
Point is...It's a building point. Something positive to take the next step.
Spurrier used his Outback Gator Bowl win to build a dynasty of a SEC program. It's up to Mc to move us to another level.
I just think this is Mac, he's kind of a corny goofball. I mean the guy makes PB&J sandwiches for our players lol. He is what he is, at least he's himself. There are plenty of ways to skin a cat win and nobody will care.
Yeah and he celebrated a Citrus Bowl win to end his career even though he had been to real championships before.
Pot and kettle.
Lol ur probably right. I jus dont get the gum thing. I would rather see the shoes thing tbh.
If Nick Saban did this I would LOL as well. I just don't understand it at all. I need the backstory to understand something like this. It was 100% creepy watching that happen. You can tell no one wants to be a part of that but him. Not trying to hate on Mac but...... wow, that looks bad.
Jim McElwain tries to carry his family with him everywhere he goes.
Even when the first-year Gators coach is on the sideline in the middle of the third quarter of a tight game, his family is with him.
As part of a tradition that began when his oldest daughter JoHanna was born in 1990 and he was serving as the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at Eastern Washington, McElwain pulls out four sticks of gum after every game.
Each of the first three sticks has one of his three children’s names — JoHanna, Elizabeth and Jerret — written on it. The fourth stick has the name of his late father, Frank, written on it.
“It’s me remembering every day, when we go into those games and writing their names on a stick of gum, why I do this,” McElwain said Monday.
Following games, including last week’s season-opening win over New Mexico State, McElwain hands the first three sticks to his children and the one with his father’s name to his wife, Karen.
“Hopefully, it has helped them know I do this for them,” McElwain said of the ritual.
Coaching has taken McElwain all over the country from Eastern Washington to Montana State to Louisville to Michigan State to Oakland to Fresno State to Alabama to Colorado State and now to Florida.
The one constant through it all has been his four pieces of gum.
“We go through a lot of things as coaches, where we’re not there every day for our kids,” McElwain said. “We’re there, but maybe not in person. Only really seeing some of my daughter’s volleyball games. My son’s football games, getting there at the end. Not being at very many of them at all. You wonder sometimes why you do this?”
The four sticks of gum are McElwain’s reminder.
“I’ve seen the ritual up close,” said Eastern Washington associate athletic director for development Marc Hughes, who is a friend of McElwain and has stayed over his house multiple times in recent years. “It keeps Jim centered and around his family. It allows him to see them and give them a hug after games. It’s a self check for a guy who’s just a parent like the rest of us.”
But it has become tougher and tougher to complete the tradition with his children scattered all over the country. With JoHanna living in Phoenix, and Elizabeth and Jerret studying at the University of Alabama, the three don’t always make it to their father’s games.
They were all there for last week’s opener, though.
“Them being at that ballgame, even though they’re all over the country now, that was something that was really special to Karen and I,” McElwain said.
But one person was missing. His father Frank, who passed away in 2009.
“One of those sticks of gum has my dad’s name on it,” McElwain said with some emotion in his voice. “I just wish he could’ve been here to see it.”
This is the first time u have ever been useful. Thx
I guess that makes sense in his head but....... Is there not another way to do it? I understand the father thing, my dad passed last year and that is the toughest thing anyone can go thru especially if they are close. So from that aspect I guess I understand it.
Similar threads
New Story GAME THREAD: First game of season Florida vs North Florida, Thursday 6th of February, 2025, 6 PM.
