So I joined the wife and kids for Mexican after work tonight. When I walk in I see her talking to some woman with whom she is friends. I'm pretty tired after a crappy day at work, so I say hi, chat for a minute, then book it to the table (for a Margarita). After she joins me she tells me who I was talking too and mentions her husband played football for Florida and went to UF med school. She points him out to me and I see this smallish looking man in a strip shirt, very unimposing. I say, "are you sure that's him?" She nods yes and I said, "must have been a kicker."
Well a minute later he walks over and introduces himself to us, its Bart Edminston. For the younger crowd, Bart was the kicker for the Gators from 93-96. That is Spurriers team that won 4 SEC titles and a national title in 96. When he graduated he lead Florida all time in points scored and might still be number 4 on that list. Bart went to medical school after his time as a Gator and is a successful anesthesiologist now. We actually grew up in the same hometown as well a few years apart and knew a lot of the same panhandle players (me having played against his old brothers friends) such as Amp Lee, Dexter McNabb, and of course Emmitt Smith. What's even nicer is he is just a very pleasant and unassuming gentleman, father of three kids, and has a very good reputation as a physician. You'd never guess of his college football successes talking to him unless you knew before hand who he was back in the day. Very humble man.
The point of this, aside from catching up on a Gator great, is to remind all of us, especially those of us that played football, that these are 18-22 year old young men playing their hearts out for the love of the game and the Orange and Blue. Bart wasn't happy with Saturday either, but he correctly said the players hurt far more than we do when they lose a game, especially like that one. We lose the human element watching them play from the stands and through the TV, but these are good kids/young adults doing their absolute best to go out there week after week and win one for the Gators. That demands and deserves our respect in wins and in losses.
Certainly we can be critical of things on the field when they go wrong, but we should always be respectful especially of the players.
Go Gators!
Well a minute later he walks over and introduces himself to us, its Bart Edminston. For the younger crowd, Bart was the kicker for the Gators from 93-96. That is Spurriers team that won 4 SEC titles and a national title in 96. When he graduated he lead Florida all time in points scored and might still be number 4 on that list. Bart went to medical school after his time as a Gator and is a successful anesthesiologist now. We actually grew up in the same hometown as well a few years apart and knew a lot of the same panhandle players (me having played against his old brothers friends) such as Amp Lee, Dexter McNabb, and of course Emmitt Smith. What's even nicer is he is just a very pleasant and unassuming gentleman, father of three kids, and has a very good reputation as a physician. You'd never guess of his college football successes talking to him unless you knew before hand who he was back in the day. Very humble man.
The point of this, aside from catching up on a Gator great, is to remind all of us, especially those of us that played football, that these are 18-22 year old young men playing their hearts out for the love of the game and the Orange and Blue. Bart wasn't happy with Saturday either, but he correctly said the players hurt far more than we do when they lose a game, especially like that one. We lose the human element watching them play from the stands and through the TV, but these are good kids/young adults doing their absolute best to go out there week after week and win one for the Gators. That demands and deserves our respect in wins and in losses.
Certainly we can be critical of things on the field when they go wrong, but we should always be respectful especially of the players.
Go Gators!
