On the eve of the Final Four, I wanted to share with you my story on Golden.
Three years ago, UF invited a few donors to come visit for a spring football practice and get a tour of the new football facility during construction. I was invited (even though I am not a huge fish) and went up with a couple of family members. I donated enough money after that trip to get my mom and dad’s name on an assistant football coach’s office door but that is small, small potatoes compared to the vital support provided by some of the other people on this site.
Part of that spring football event allowed us to watch a football practice in the IPF. We stood on the sidelines and got to observe the coaches and players during drills.
I noticed that Todd Golden (who had just been hired) was standing a few feet away on the sidelines and was watching the practice too. He was by himself and came over and introduced himself to us.
Instantly, you knew this guy had the “it” factor. Super high energy and incredibly smart. Really likeable. He wanted to know how long I had been a bullgator; what was my favorite part of the Gator experience; what we should expect from the basketball team; what kind of basketball team did we like to watch; who on last year’s team did we like the most; did I come to football games; etc.
When I finally got the chance to ask him questions, he blew me away. He told me about his analytics approach; the players he liked to recruit; the coaches he was bringing on; his focus on finding undervalued players; the way he gets his team to synch; the support he needed to compete; etc. He was just so dang real. It was like talking to someone you had known for a long time. He laughed and joked, and you could tell that he was living his best life. He was thrilled to be the Gator coach. We spoke for close to 45 minutes.
When we left, he said “Dog, I am going to come see you at your tailgate this fall.”
Not a dig on Napier or football at all, but Todd stole the show that day.
Fast forward to 5 months later and low and behold, Todd shows up at my tailgate. He remembered my name; my family; where I lived; etc. He stayed for a half hour and took pics with all the people there and was just unbelievably cool. We have stayed in touch ever since. And I have been “all-in” on TG ever since. He was just the kind of guy who could not/ would not fail.
And, in three short years, he has brought the Gators back to prominence with a team full of players that many blue blood schools did not know and did not want. Todd gets it.
We may or may not win it all this weekend. But we won it all when we landed the 36-year-old coach from San Francisco back in 2022. The future is bright Gator fans. Very bright.
KC
Three years ago, UF invited a few donors to come visit for a spring football practice and get a tour of the new football facility during construction. I was invited (even though I am not a huge fish) and went up with a couple of family members. I donated enough money after that trip to get my mom and dad’s name on an assistant football coach’s office door but that is small, small potatoes compared to the vital support provided by some of the other people on this site.
Part of that spring football event allowed us to watch a football practice in the IPF. We stood on the sidelines and got to observe the coaches and players during drills.
I noticed that Todd Golden (who had just been hired) was standing a few feet away on the sidelines and was watching the practice too. He was by himself and came over and introduced himself to us.
Instantly, you knew this guy had the “it” factor. Super high energy and incredibly smart. Really likeable. He wanted to know how long I had been a bullgator; what was my favorite part of the Gator experience; what we should expect from the basketball team; what kind of basketball team did we like to watch; who on last year’s team did we like the most; did I come to football games; etc.
When I finally got the chance to ask him questions, he blew me away. He told me about his analytics approach; the players he liked to recruit; the coaches he was bringing on; his focus on finding undervalued players; the way he gets his team to synch; the support he needed to compete; etc. He was just so dang real. It was like talking to someone you had known for a long time. He laughed and joked, and you could tell that he was living his best life. He was thrilled to be the Gator coach. We spoke for close to 45 minutes.
When we left, he said “Dog, I am going to come see you at your tailgate this fall.”
Not a dig on Napier or football at all, but Todd stole the show that day.
Fast forward to 5 months later and low and behold, Todd shows up at my tailgate. He remembered my name; my family; where I lived; etc. He stayed for a half hour and took pics with all the people there and was just unbelievably cool. We have stayed in touch ever since. And I have been “all-in” on TG ever since. He was just the kind of guy who could not/ would not fail.
And, in three short years, he has brought the Gators back to prominence with a team full of players that many blue blood schools did not know and did not want. Todd gets it.
We may or may not win it all this weekend. But we won it all when we landed the 36-year-old coach from San Francisco back in 2022. The future is bright Gator fans. Very bright.
KC
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