New face of terror for UF... MARK RICHT

By: Brandon Zimmerman, a sportswriter for the Gainesville (FL) Sun
Article can be found on this website
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The Gators needed a new villain.

After all, who was left for Florida football fans to truly hate?

Bobby Bowden? The Seminoles haven't beaten Florida since 2003. FSU is so far off the radar of Gator fans, the ridiculous Allstate commercial featuring Bowden's statue barely even draws their ire.

The Hurricanes? Please. It's hard to hate a rival that has lost 12 games the last three seasons, not to mention one that hasn't been on the schedule in that same span.

What about Phillip Fulmer? He hasn't beaten Florida since 2004.

Steve Spurrier? He was one moment from costing his former school a national title last year. But Jarvis Moss' finger tips twisted fate in Florida's favor.

Ohio State? Oh-for-two.

Florida fans entered this season in a very rare situation: They harbored no legitimate hatred toward anybody.

Then came Mark Richt.

Happy Halloween. The Gators have a new villain.

Richt didn't just upset the Gators Saturday in Jacksonville. He gave Florida fans a visual they will long remember: Seventy Bulldogs frolicking in the end zone as yellow flags rained down on them.

The amount of venom being spewed toward Richt from Florida fans has been overwhelming. Just click your mouse or turn on a radio talk show in Gainesville.

But that's just in Florida.

To gain a new perspective on Georgia's now infamous touchdown celebration Saturday, I turned to a close friend, Brian K.

Brian is a lifelong Tennessee Volunteer fan and spent eight years of his life attending school at UT (I know what you're thinking, but the eight years actually included grad school).

I figured Brian would have a non-biased viewpoint on what happened at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Florida fans called it classless. Georgia fans contend that Richt is a genius for finding a way to overcome the demons that have haunted the Georgia program in Jacksonville the last two decades.

Only Tennessee Brian could find the middle ground. So this is what Brian wrote me in an e-mail.

"As an objective bystander who legitimately hates both schools, I thought this was hilarious. I rose to my seat when I saw it happening. I also thought this would have been much worse by Georgia if Mark Richt had a reputation for being flamboyant or obnoxious, which he does not. If, say, Bruce Pearl tried to do this, I would think he was a total slime ball. But when Mr. Conservative himself has the (guts) to pull this trigger, you have to admire it."

I was still curious. So I asked Tennessee Brian how he would feel if this stunt was performed against Tennessee, and it led to a Georgia victory.

"I would be VERY angry."

This seems to be the final verdict on the situation. Richt's decision received praise nationally, but was met with ire in Gainesville.

When one of the most conservative coaches in America begins taunting the defending national champions " and then beats them " people take notice.

For one day, at least, the usually reserved Richt became Ralphie Parker from "A Christmas Story." In the movie, Ralphie unexpectedly rushes neighborhood bully Scott Farkus and pummels him to a bloody heap. This was an unexpected plot twist, and funny to everybody, except Scott Farkus.

On Saturday, the Gators were Scott Farkus.

Even the Florida players were upset. Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes called the move "classless." Safety Tony Joiner called it "fake juice."

Coach Urban Meyer told his team after the game to not forget what happened Saturday. Don't ever forget.

For the next 360 days, when the Gators reflect on the loss, they won't think about Tebow's six sacks, or Mohamed Massaquoi's 84-yard touchdown catch, or Mikey Henderson's 54-yard touchdown catch. The first visual will be the 70 Bulldogs dancing on the field.

And they'll be stewing for another shot at Georgia and Richt.

It's been a long time since Florida has suffered such a bitter loss to a rival, let alone one it had beaten 15 of the last 17 years.

So now they have a new villain... Mark Richt.