A line of orange-and-blue clad Gator fans stood outside Katie Seashole Pressley Stadium and down Hull road waiting to greet the school’s newest national champions.
Florida sealed the deal Tuesday night against No. 2-seed Alabama after the Gators won the program’s first national title.
It only made sense that they would come home to a stadium filled with their biggest fans.
The event opened with senior Hannah Rogers leading the team into the stadium with the NCAA trophy held high and the team chanting, “It’s great to be a Florida Gator.”
The crowd clapped and chanted along.
UF President Bernie Machen greeted the squad as it placed the trophy on a blue-clothed table in the center of the field and tore into packages of Twizzlers.
“We’re not just Florida’s team,” Machen said. “We’re America’s team.”
The crowd enthusiastically roared in response to Machen as he gave up the microphone to coach Tim Walton.
As Walton spoke about the achievements of the 2014 class and the importance of an NCAA title making its way to Gainesville, shouts of “I love you,” and “Walton is the best,” echoed from the fans that had waited in line under the Florida sun at the hottest time of day, at the hottest time of the year.
Adam Schick, play-by-play host for Florida softball, took over and began interviewing Stephanie Tofft, Aubree Munro and Kirsti Merritt, but it wasn’t until the final name was called that the crowd went wild.
Rogers stepped next to Schick and as the crowd died down, stragglers shouted their love for the four-time All-American.
“I just wanted to do it for these girls,” Rogers said to Schick as he asked her about the perfect end to a 55-12 season.
When Rogers stepped away, the team turned to the video board that usually displays hits, runs and errors, to watch a montage of the team’s postseason success:
Clips of home runs, Merritt’s “SportsCenter Top 10” catch on Tuesday night and image after image of Rogers striking out opponents.
The celebration ended with the team huddled together in a circle singing, “We Are The Champions,” and then each player parted ways to greet their friends and families.
The final words of the night came from UF athletic director Jeremy Foley.
“You want to know what makes this special,” Foley said. “This team is special. These kids are, that coach is and the way they represent the University of Florida, it’s like a I said, it’s why we do what we do.”
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Florida pitcher Hannah Rogers, left, celebrates with teammates Aubree Munro (1) and Kelsey Stewart, right, after Tuesday night’s win.
