As part of The Alligator Awards recognizing the best in UF athletics during the 2011-12 season, columnists Joe Morgan and Corey McCall will debate two of the five nominees in each week’s category. Vote for the winner online at alligatorSports.org.
Corey: Rewind to Sunday night, I’m sitting on my couch, Magic Hat in hand, ready to watch the Red, White, and Blue take gold in the 4x100m relay. Three minutes later, my beer is still full and I’m screaming at the TV as if I was somehow helping — I bet that’s not how you imagined handing Michael Phelps his first silver, you washout. Regardless of the result, however, I was satisfied. The nailbiters are the ones for the history books: the “Miracle on Ice,” Jordan’s buzzer beaters and how about the women’s volleyball team’s come-from-behind, never-say-never 3-2 victory at Arkansas. Already voted best comeback of the season, it should be the ace for best game of the year. Everyone knows the craziest comebacks are always the best; I’m looking at you, Robert Downey Jr.
Joe: Shout out to RDJ! He is great in everything he does — except “Due Date.” That was terribly unfunny. You know what was funny? Florida 9-8 victory against North Carolina State to clinch the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional. The Gators’ 9-8 victory against the Wolfpack — going back to “Due Date,” Zack Galifianakis was bad in that, too — sent UF to its third consecutive College World Series and convinced nearly everyone in attendance at McKethan Stadium on June 10 that Florida would finally win its first national title. A tightly-contested back-and-forth battle, the Gators’ 9-8 triumph against N.C. State was the highlight of a successful, but ultimately disappointing season. At no point did UF fly as high as it did after punching its ticket to Omaha, Neb.
Corey: Punching any ticket to Omaha seems depressing, more so than losing a half-body length lead on national TV — clown move, bro, maybe the return period isn’t up for that diamond grill. Meanwhile, coach Mary Wise’s squad faced a tough opponent in Southeastern Conference West leader Arkansas. Already two games behind East leader Tennessee with only four conference games left, the trip to Fayetteville, Ark., was a must-win situation. But the Razorbacks had other ideas, taking the first two sets convincingly (18-25, 30-32), and put the Gators in a 2-0 hole; a deficit not overcome in four years #Obama2012#Bush#RIPTupac. Behind a record performance from sophomore Chloe Mann, however, UF stormed back and defeated the bane of their existence to win in five sets. Spoiler Alert! Batman is actually Superman stuck in limbo, BRRAWRWRM!
Joe: Damn it, Corey! I’ve only seen “The Dark Knight Rises” twice! You’re sick! I would just insult you for your dastardly deed and move on, but your punishment must be more severe. At the end of this Rally, when your argument is ashes, you have my permission to die. Getting back on track here, Florida’s clincher against N.C. State was a phenomenal game excluding the merciless two-hour, 23-minute rain delay. The Gators and the Wolfpack used a combined 12 pitchers in an offensive shootout. From the seventh inning onward, nine total runs were scored. Florida would take the lead, and N.C. State would answer immediately. The Wolfpack played relentless baseball, but in the end, like Batman’s return to action after eight years of seclusion in “The Dark Knight Rises” — relax, it’s in the trailer — the Gators took care of business in a thrilling finish.
Corey: Thrilling is the ending of Batman — now go see it so we can make more references, yes you readers, unless you want more “John Carter” editions. Speaking of rising, against Arkansas, Mann solidified herself as a threat at middle-blocker, putting up a career-high 19 kills and a match-high five blocks. That put her total at 21.5 points for the match, the most for a Gator middle-blocker in the 21st century. Seniors Kristy Jaeckel (19 kills, 10 digs) and Kelly Murphy (15 kills, 32 assists) added double-doubles of their own to the match total, making this performance very impressive not only on the court, but on the stat sheet as well. At the end of the day, the Florida athletes, coaches and even fans walked away happy from this one. Much like the theater after the “John Carter” premiere — seriously go watch “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Joe: The simplest argument here will be my last — the baseball game mattered more. With all due respect, the UF volleyball team’s 3-2 win against Arkansas was merely a regular-season contest. Win or lose that game, the Gators still likely advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, the baseball team would have been in trouble had they not closed out the Wolfpack then and there. The Gators had already sent Hudson Randall and Jonathon Crawford to the mound in the series. Considering Brian Johnson’s struggles in the CWS opener against South Carolina, who knows how he would have fared against the Wolfpack in a third and decisive game? Had N.C. State rallied and won the second contest, they would have developed some serious momentum and perhaps kept Florida from advancing to its third straight CWS. The stakes were high, and both teams delivered in clutch moments, but the cooler heads — I’m looking at you, Chris Diaz and Elliott Avent — prevailed in perhaps the most memorable non-no-hitter this season.
Contact Corey McCall at cmccall@alligator.org and Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Former Gators designated hitter Brian Johnson drops his bat after hitting a home run in a 9-8 win in 10 innings against the Wolfpack on June 10.
