opinion - The Independent Florida Alligator

Eight Gators writers pick eight college football games from around the country.

Sports

Picks column Week 7: Polka dot jerseys

Oct. 12, 2017

It has been a trying week for the Florida Gators football program. The team lost by one-point to LSU, lost multiple players with injuries and lost the respect of some fans by ditching the orange and blue uniforms this weekend. The Gators will take the field Saturday against Texas A&M wearing green jerseys that the Oregon Ducks passed on. The jerseys took 18 months to design since the artist accidentally opened Internet Explorer and had to wait for it to close. He then used the remaining 10 minutes to put black polka dots on a greenish-gray background. The team first got the idea for the jerseys when Nike approached them and told them that no one was buying Gators merchandise. A year and a half later, here we are. The Florida-Texas A&M game is sure to be one of the most interesting picks this week. But before we get into all of our picks and meet our competitors, Alligator sports editors Matt Brannon and Dylan Dixon will break down the much-anticipated matchup between Delta State and West Florida. Be sure to catch Statesmen and the Argonauts on Saturday on BLAB TV.

Opinion

An open letter from some members of UF IFAS departments

Oct. 12, 2017

For the most up-to-date letter, visit goo.gl/7t3zeC.

Opinion

A column for UF President Kent Fuchs: Make UF great, for once

Oct. 12, 2017

No part of America has been untouched by President Donald Trump’s already disastrous presidency. In less than 10 months, Trump and his supporters have resurrected and instrumentalized racism and xenophobia, undermining the dignity of America and Americans.

Opinion

A summary can never compare to a real book

Oct. 12, 2017

For almost 20 years, SparkNotes has been providing students with easily understood summaries and analyses of works commonly found in high school and college classrooms. Before that, CliffsNotes was offering student study guides since 1958, serving as a lifesaver for students struggling to wade through and extract some sort of meaning out of their assigned Shakespeare readings. When you’re in 11th grade and you’re having an exam on “The Catcher in the Rye” in your next class, these guides can be invaluable tools in garnering enough knowledge to throw together a slipshod analysis of Holden’s hunting cap, but are they anything more than this?

Opinion

Darts & Laurels

Oct. 12, 2017

It’s Friday the 13th — the spookiest day of the year. You decide to take advantage of the eerie end of the week and break out your old Ouija board with some of your friends.

UF coach Jim McElwain and his staff don't appear to be tuned in to their players' social media accounts.

Sports

Column: Negligent UF football staff appears unaware of players' social media accounts

By Dylan Dixon | Oct. 11, 2017

According to the University Athletic Association’s staff directory, coach Jim McElwain has over 30 employees working for him to help oversee Florida’s football program.

UF unveiled the alternate uniforms it plans on wearing for Saturday's game against Texas A&M.

Sports

Column: UF’s new uniforms are so cool they almost make me forget how bad the team is

By Matt Brannon | Oct. 10, 2017

The Gators recently released photos of the alternate uniforms they plan to wear on Saturday night, and I couldn’t be more excited. The greenish-gray uniforms are designed after actual alligators and will be paired with matte green helmets featuring a Gator logo.

Opinion

Don’t commit to an animal you can’t keep just to rehome it upon graduation

Oct. 10, 2017

In a few months Facebook groups will be jam-packed with seniors saying they need to rehome their pets. It’s about time we have a discussion about how this is one of the worst things you can do to an animal.

Opinion

We’re all scared about the future

Oct. 10, 2017

If you’re anything like us, your heart probably skipped a beat when you received an email last week informing you that it’s already time to start thinking about registering for Spring classes. And when we say that your heart skipped a beat, we don’t mean it did so in the cute and jovial “school girl in love” sort of way. We mean you probably felt like your heart was going to leap out of your chest from beating so hard because you have yet another thing to stress about.

Opinion

Mediocrity is now part of Gator football culture

Oct. 10, 2017

The Florida Gators have accepted mediocrity. Saturday’s 17-to-16 loss against LSU was a wake-up call to some fans, but in reality this has been a long time coming.

Opinion

You're not conceited; don’t be afraid to accept compliments and believe them

Oct. 10, 2017

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” But I think this mantra needs to be updated to reflect the feelings of our generation. Maybe something like, “If you have anything nice to say, please don’t say it because I won’t know how to react.”

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will help lead the Dodgers on a deep postseason run this fall.

Sports

Column: Series-by-series prediction for 2017 MLB Postseason

By Dylan Dixon | Oct. 10, 2017

Following the completion of a long, arduous, 162-game regular season, the MLB playoffs are officially in full swing.

UF quarterback Feleipe Franks calls out for a block while running with the ball during Florida's 17-16 loss to LSU on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Sports

Column: If you’re an offensive player, why would you want to play for the Gators?

By Ethan Bauer | Oct. 8, 2017

Florida ruins offensive players. That’s just what it does, with a few notable exceptions.

Opinion

We need to stop saying it’s too soon to talk about gun control

Oct. 8, 2017

I don’t like to start a column this way, but sometimes we do things we don’t like in order to think critically about the world. Imagine a large building in Gainesville burned down. Imagine the fire started by accident — a gas leak or a candle — but the flames raged out of control, and the entire structure came down. In the 24 hours following the fire, we learn that it rapidly escalated as a result of poor building codes, and we probably could have contained the fire if it had not spread so quickly.

Opinion

We need to learn to disagree with others effectively

Oct. 8, 2017

We are living in a time of anger. We’re angry at the way the world looks right now. We are angry at each other for making it this way. We all have different opinions about why the world is the way it is, and we have even more opinions about how to fix it.

Gators athlete Kadarius Toney is wrapped up by LSU defenders.

Sports

Column: Florida cannot challenge anyone for the SEC title, and Saturday was the proof

By IAN COHEN | Oct. 7, 2017

Funny, isn’t it? The game of football. It’s a confusing sport. One with plenty of randomness that sometimes isn't that random and plenty of measurables that you can’t really measure and plenty of certainties that turn to uncertainties.

Sports

Picks column Week 6: Homecoming edition

Oct. 6, 2017

There’s nothing quite like Homecoming week at the University of Florida — as long as you exclude all the Homecoming weeks at other colleges. But one thing UF has going for it this weekend is a premier college football matchup between the Gators, who feel like they can conquer the world after beating Vanderbilt, and a team that almost knocked off Troy last weekend. The LSU Tigers come into Gainesville looking to find the win column for the first time since beating Syracuse two weeks ago. But while LSU had little trouble taking down the Orange, we’ll find out Saturday if they can beat the Orange and Blue.

Opinion

Gov. Scott has blame in nursing home tragedy

Oct. 6, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott has made every effort to wash his hands of the Sept. 13 South Florida nursing home tragedy, which left 12 residents dead. In my opinion, he shouldn’t absolve himself so quickly.

Opinion

Patreon is a nod to the past and a jump into the future of expression

Oct. 6, 2017

The Renaissance is known as the “cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history,” according to Wikipedia, with the genesis being in Florence, Italy, in the 14th century. It was a vibrant period of exploding artistic expression and impressive intellectual and philosophical exploration.

Opinion

Darts & Laurels

Oct. 6, 2017

It’s the Homecoming football game, and you and your friends have been eagerly waiting all week to watch the Gators crush the Louisiana State University Tigers. You’re a little groggy after staying up late to watch Snoop Dogg perform at Gator Growl, but — let’s be honest — it was worth it.