Surrounded by a stadium packed 51,000 strong, the Gators gathered in Atlanta for the 2007 NCAA championship game, prepared to face off against Ohio State. Back in Gainesville, fans crowded into the popular bars of the day, anxious to see if the Gators could pull off their second — and consecutive — NCAA championship win, a feat no team had managed to achieve since the early ‘90s.
Today, UF’s men's basketball team once again stands within arm’s length of national victory, with only the Houston Cougars in its way.
Most current UF freshmen were infants when the Gators brought home the win 18 years ago. But for alumni, the Gators’ arrival to San Antonio for a chance at another national title has them reminiscent of the 2007 victory.
Justin Moore, a 38-year-old class of 2010 alum living in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, said UF’s 2006 championship win was a driving factor in his decision to transfer schools, moving from Syracuse in upstate New York to the Gainesville swamp.
UF had beat out Syracuse in the second round of March Madness that year.
“I always said, ‘ah, Syracuse will beat Florida in basketball,’” Moore said. “Well, Florida ended up beating Syracuse, and I got really drunk and woke up and applied to transfer the next day.”
Moore watched the 2006 game at a friend’s apartment while visiting his best friend and girlfriend, both UF students. When the Gators won, he described it as a moment of “pure joy” watching his eventual alma mater win its first NCAA men's basketball championship title.
Meanwhile, the U.S. was in the grips of a major economic downturn – the Great Recession – and economic prospects were dire. But, Moore said, the Gators’ wins in basketball, among other sports like football and softball, alleviated concerns about the country’s financial situation.
“As students, we did not care at all; our teams were winning. It was electric,” he said.
Enthusiasm touched Moore’s romantic life, as well, as he credits the celebratory atmosphere for bringing him and his now-wife together.
“I always had a reason to invite her to go do something,” he said.
Mary Lynn Brennan, a 38-year-old Jacksonville resident and 2009 UF alumna, confirmed Moore’s description of Gainesville’s jubilation during back-to-back basketball championships.
“Everyone was just kind of looking forward to the game, not a care in the world,” she said.
Brennan and Moore said they see similarities between the players who won the title 18 years ago and the players preparing to possibly claim a third national title in San Antonio’s Alamodome.
“Like our 2006-2007 teams, these guys play with true heart, and no one is looking to outshine the other,” Brennan said.
For her, attending games with school honor at stake is an important part of her identity, with her father and grandfather both being UF grads. Coming out to support the Gators reminds her of the good times she had in college.
“You still have the same great feeling coming back,” she said.
Tonight, Brennan will gather with her family around Jacksonville to watch the game together. And, she noted, she’s preemptively scheduled a half day for work tomorrow.
UF students at the time rode the wave of the 2006 victory straight into the following season. Morgan Hughes, a 38-year-old Gainesville resident and 2010 UF alumna, said the “hype” in 2007 began as soon as the men’s basketball players decided to continue playing for Florida, rather than entering the NBA draft.
“It was just like full-head, double championships — that’s what everybody talked about for the whole year. There was no other option,” Hughes said. “That was the theme of 2007.”
At the time, Hughes said, seeing West University Avenue shut down was an unusual sight — an ode to the game’s significance. When it became apparent the Gators had won, Hughes ran out her door towards University Avenue. Even the police officers meant to be controlling the crowds joined in the celebration, she said.
“The whole city was running,” she said. “We were all together.”
After the Gators’ last win, chaos erupted on Gainesville’s streets. Fires broke out on West University; a police helicopter circled Anderson Hall as jubilant fans launched fireworks at its base; drunken revelers were arrested. The game also gained national headlines when one of the Gators’ leading players, Joakim Noah, publicly criticized former President George W. Bush’s stance on foreign policy.
Gainesville was a different city then. In the early 2000s, Gator City Sports Grill stood as a pillar of nightlife. The establishment is now a remnant of the past, and even its successors like The Social have also come and gone with MacDinton’s Irish Pub taking its place.
Other popular game-watching venues from the time have also faded from Gainesville’s cityscape, such as JP Gators, a bar and pool hall. But local staples, like The Swamp Restaurant which was founded in 1994, have maintained their popular appeal for decades.
One thing is certain – the outcome of this year’s NCAA championship game will still be in Gator fans’ memories 18 years from now.
Tonight, Hughes plans to continue her family’s connection to the Gators by taking her 9-year-old son to the O’Connell Center for what might be the first NCAA Gators’ win of his life.
Like Hughes, Moore and Brennan are both planning to watch tonight’s game – Moore is even trying to get a table at Balls, a midtown bar.
Whether UF wins or loses, all three of them agreed, it’s great to be a Florida Gator.
Contact Avery Parker at aparker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @AveryParke98398.
Avery Parker is a third-year English and History major covering university affairs for The Alligator. Outside of reporting, Avery spends his time doting on his cats, reading, and listening to music by the Manwolves.
