Hey, Gators fans: Will Muschamp isn’t the only high-energy new boss in town.
The move may not be quite as highly publicized, and it likely won’t have the monetary or emotional impact on quite as many lives. In fact, possibly the only other thing the two of us have in common is that Adam Berry also occasionally enjoys referring to himself in the third person.
Still, I couldn’t be more excited to be back at UF as the Alligator’s sports editor for the spring semester. These are my final few months as a college student, although I feel like a freshman again after being away for eight months.
I spent the summer covering the Tampa Bay Rays as an MLB.com intern and the fall as a sports intern at the St. Petersburg Times. While I thoroughly enjoyed my time away, I can’t help but notice that quite a bit has changed since I left.
Put it this way: When I was last attending classes, there were whispers around Gainesville that, hey, maybe John Brantley will be a better “real quarterback” than Tim Tebow. Oh, and former Florida football coach Urban Meyer (weird, right?) was so fired up about his job that he yelled in a reporter’s face.
Having said that, we here at alligatorSports aren’t content to just sit back in our rocking chairs and talk about the good old days.
Is that the kind of attitude “Coach Boom” would bring to the table? I think not.
Pro-style offense? Pro-style newspaper.
We will ramp up the in-depth, all-around Gators sports coverage that you’re familiar with by now, but we are also going to revitalize some old Alligator staples and create a few new traditions as well.
Video Killed The Radio Star: We simply don’t have the staff or means to provide daily updates and footage like some other outlets do. And most of our writers have faces and voices made for print media, anyway. (I’m kidding. Love you guys.)
But we’ve got the manpower and moxie to bring you a short, weekly, as-of-yet-unnamed video show with highlights, interviews and analysis. Keep an eye on alligatorSports.org in the coming weeks.
On Your Radio: Speaking of our multimedia endeavors, it’s no secret that the critically-acclaimed-but-generally-overlooked alligatorSports Podcast fell on hard times last semester. But not this spring. I created the podcast two years ago, and I won’t stand to see it go to waste.
You will be able to hear Gators news and analysis from our mouths to your ears at least once a week, hopefully twice, from now until you begin your summer vacations, and the show will be a return to the witty banter and insightful, honest analysis of yesteryear. So, fire up your iTunes or RSS readers, look us up and subscribe now.
Dolla Dolla Bill, Y’all: We’ve seen enough people lose their minds over the margins of victory in mid-December low-major basketball games to confirm that, indeed, college students gamble on sports. While we’re absolutely not condoning that behavior, we would like to provide a relevant perspective on the issue.
Fortunately, we have just the man for the job. Bill O’Connor will be looking into the culture of gambling, specifically related to sports, in a whenever-we-feel-like-it column throughout the semester. I’ll let Bill explain why his thoughts are worth taking note of, but trust me: He’s probably the most interesting person I’ve ever spoken to, and you’re going to want to read what he writes.
Don’t Shoot The Messenger: As far as what you’re reading – or skimming over – right now, there is one important thing I want to get across before the semester begins so I can point to this when we inevitably have to repeatedly explain it later.
We will be unbiased. That’s part of our job description as reporters. We’re not Florida fans or cheerleaders, nor do we burn Gators flags and jerseys outside our office at 1 a.m. every night after we finish working. We don’t have an agenda, despite what you probably think and are led to believe by certain people who act as if the media is out to “get” them.
Speak For Yourself: Do you love us? Do you hate us? Are you completely indifferent to our continued existence? No matter what your answer is, we want to hear it from you.
Comment on our stories. Hit us up via e-mail at sports@alligator.org or podcast@alligator.org, and you can find us on Twitter (@alligatorSports) or on our podcast’s Facebook fan page.
