The Year of the Gator The Florida Gators 1996 National Champions

I have cheered for my beloved Gators (a charter member of the Southeastern Conference) since 1991, the first year I studied at the University of Florida. I have been to nearly every home game from 1991 to 1996, including the wins over Tennessee in 1991, 1993 and 1995; the 35-0 win over Alabama in 1991; the heartbreaker to Auburn in 1994 (and the revenge two years later); the domination over Georgia in 1994 (the only appearance the Dawgs have made in Gainesville in over six decades); the 35-24 defeat of Florida State in 1995; and the regular blowouts over the rest of the Southeastern Conference... Did you know that the Gators have lost only twice at home in the 1990s?

ROAD TRIP! I can claim to have seen four Florida-Georgia games -- all huge Gator victories -- in four different kinds of stadiums. (Stadiaa?) I saw them win in 1991 in the old Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, the aforementioned 1994 thrashing in the Swamp, in 1995 in Athens with Jim Burk (yes, I went to the game, and Athens is beautiful... but all the cheerleaders are dawgs!), and in the refurbished-for-the-NFL Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in 1996 with Marty Gold. I've also been fortunate enough to see the Gators smack Mississippi State in Orlando in 1991. God, it's good to be the king.

The Year of the Wolverine The Michigan Wolverines 1997 National Champions

Oh yeah, I've also been a passing fan of the Michigan Wolverines (a charter member of the Big Ten Conference) since I was a kid, primarily because my parents are Michigan fans; while they were growing up in Detroit, their friends and families loved to cheer for the Maize and Blue. Lots of my friends and family have gone to -- or are at -- the University of Michigan, and I was very happy to see the torch passed from Gainesville to Ann Arbor for college football supremacy. I have no idea what I would do if the Gators ever played the Wolverines...

Besides all that college football mumbo-jumbo, I cheer on the following professional teams, listed somewhat in the order of which I discovered them:

Growing up in Miami in the 1980s, when the Dolphins were the only game in town, I became a fast fan. It didn't hurt a bit when they went to Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX, too. Dan Marino is going to Canton.

Having friends and family back in Detroit, a second home for me -- of sorts, I also followed the Lions. But for the vast majority of the time I've followed them, they've really needed improvement. They still do... When visiting family up there for Thanksgiving in 1994, I went to the Lions/Bills game. Detroit won. Yay.

I have followed the Jaguars since they were announced into existence in 1993. Jacksonville is closer to Gainesville than Tampa is, so this town turned into a Jaguars town very fast. I attended a preseason game in Miami between the Jags and the Dolphins with Jim Burk, and I went cheering for both teams. Hey, this was Jacksonville's first-ever game in its home state. Wouldn't you know it -- they won on a last-second field goal, 24-21. Jim kept saying in the car on the way to my house: "They f---ing won!" It was an omen... who knew that they would play for the AFC Championship in only their second year?

In 1984, I got into baseball for selfish reasons. The Tigers, the major league team in my second home (and my only real team to root for, because the state of Florida didn't have a team at the time), was doing really well. 104 wins. As a matter of fact, the 1984 Tigers hold the record for most games in first place in one season... with 162. That's right... the whole season. They are only one of four teams to lead a division wire-to-wire -- from opening pitch to season stretch -- and win the World Series. They were the most recent team to accomplish that feat. To win the title, they won the A.L. East, swept the Kansas City Royals to earn the pennant, and then they beat the San Diego Padres in five games. In the 1990s, they have sucked rocks of late, but they are improving. Slowly. Maybe too slow for my taste...

Ya gotta love the Cubs! How can anybody not love the Cubs? (Unless you're a -- yechhh -- White Sox fan...) A perfect play to play baseball, with loyal fans, in a great baseball city...

WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!
THE TEAL IS FOR REAL!
THE FIVE-YEAR PLAN SUCCEEDS!
I love the Marlins dearly, because my beloved sport of baseball finally came to my hometown. The Marlins have slowly progressed and transformed into one of the best teams in all of baseball. The glimpse into excellence began in the winter of 1997, with the signing of Jim Leyland as manager, and then the Fish began to win games. They answered all speculation in the team's fifth year of existence by winning the National League Wild Card, sweeping the San Francisco Giants in the divisional series, and beating the Atlanta Braves in the 1997 National League Championship Series to win the pennant! AND THEN THEY BEAT THE CLEVELAND INDIANS IN SEVEN GAMES TO WIN THE 1997 WORLD SERIES! GO FISH!
And then they went from first to worst in 1998. The fastest nosedive for a defending professional sports champion in modern world history. Ouch. All thanks to the best team money could buy, and the November 1997 Fish Fire Sale.

In 1988, I got into basketball for the same reasons for baseball -- selfish reasons. The Pistons, my second home's NBA team, were playing the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA title. The Lakers finally won in seven games, but the Pistons got revenge. The next year, the Pistons swept the Lakers in four games for the 1989 world title, not three months after the men's basketball team at the University of Michigan won the NCAA championship. Southeastern Michigan was the basketball capital of the world that summer... and the Pistons repeated in 1990 by beating the Portland Trail Blazers in five games. Awesome.

In 1988, the NBA's presence in Miami began. By the fourth year, we made the playoffs. However, since that fateful year of 1992, we hadn't been able to win any playoff round at all... until 1997, that is. Pat Riley, Alonzo Mourning, and that stifling defense led to a 1997 Atlantic Division championship. After barely getting by the Orlando in a five-game Sunshine-State supremacy thriller, we got some help from the league's front office to beat the New York Knicks in seven games to advance to the 1997 Eastern Conference Championships. Unfortunately, it was against the Chicago Bulls. We lost in five. Drat.

I've always been a passing Wings fan, primarily because my father had season tickets for years when he lived there. I was a passing fan because there was no hockey team in Florida. And then the 1995 season came upon us, and since Game 4 of the 1995 Stanley Cup finals, I have forever cursed the New Jersey Devils. I used to think that the Wings needed to learn how to play playoff hockey, but winning the 1997 Stanley Cup, in a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers, proved me wrong. And then they did it again, in another sweep in 1998, this time against the upstart Washington Capitals.

Hockey purists probably passed a brick when they saw Tampa Bay and Miami get NHL teams. Hockey? In Florida? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! But then the crowds came. And they learned the game. And they loved it. And they stayed. In 1996, the third year of the Florida Panthers, they were outstanding; they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals before a heart-wrenching triple overtime game in Miami that resulted in a sweep by Colorado. And, for what it's worth, since that game, I have forever cursed the Colorado Avalanche... By the way, every so often the Florida Panthers are referred to as the Rats. On 8 October 1995 (early in the third year of existence), Mellanby kills a rat in the locker room and scores two goals, giving birth to the Rat Trick and the tradition of rats being thrown on the ice after goals. Unfortunately, a rule was instituted after that season that prohibited that event.

I got interested in soccer as a spectator sport when the World Cup came to the United States in the summer of 1994. The clincher for me was the surprising American victory over Colombia on Independence Day at the Rose Bowl, as the U.S. entered the Round of 16. Anyway, I hope that Major League Soccer does succeed in the States, although it doesn't seem hopeful. One of the two MLS two expansion teams for 1998 was the Miami Fusion came into existence. The first problem was the team nickname. (Well, that's my opinion.) Good luck, guys... and to the league.