GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The game, by and large, proved to be a relatively routine season opener. The date was Sept. 2, 2006, with the Florida Gators taking on Southern Miss at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It was kickoff to Year 2 under Urban Meyer, yet he was the second-billed head coach in the house that day.
That was because UF's 1996 team — a decade removed from the first national championship in program history — was on the field and basking in some pre-game adulation. The likes of Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, plus wideouts Jacquez Green and Ike Hilliard, center Jeff Mitchell, linebacker Mike Peterson and defensive backs Fred Weary and Lawrence Wright were there and remained on the field, lined up in the south end zone as the '06 team stormed onto Florida Field for the first time that season.
That moment, recalled linebacker Brandon Siler, had quite an impact on some important players on Meyer's second team.
"Coming out of the tunnel and being able to put my eyes on their eyes … ," Siler said. "Those guys had done it. The only ones to ever do it here. For me, that made it real. I took that with me that day."
And the days, weeks and months to follow. Those '06 Gators, of course, went on to go 13-1, win the Southeastern Conference title and obliterate Ohio State 41-14 in the BCS national title game.
Now, a decade later, it's their turn to stand on the field and look into the eyes of a new generation of Gators, as the 2006ers will be back in "The Swamp" for a reunion the weekend of the Florida-Missouri homecoming game on Oct. 15. The players will be saluted at a banquet, then be introduced prior to UF's date with the Tigers at what will then be renamed Steve Spurrier-Florida Field.
"I always talk about memories of a lifetime. That's what we play for," Spurrier told the crowd of 90,000-plus that day nearly 10 years ago. "This team was able to have the biggest memory of all."
Of course, the boys from '06 provided some stellar ones of their own. A heaping helping of their highlights will be beamed on the JumboTron in October, no doubt. Siler will be watching for his favorite part.
Images from the post-game celebrations.
In fact, to this day, he remembers vividly watching a replay of the national title game the season before — when Vince Young led Texas to a pulsating 41-38 upset of Southern Cal — and locking in on the winning team.
"What stuck in my head was Vince Young holding up the No. 1 and all the confetti coming down on him and the realization he was a national champion," Siler said. "All year, every year, everybody holds up that one finger, but at the end of the year, only one team can do it and really mean it. And I remember being with Coach Meyer when the confetti was coming down on us and we got to hold up that finger."
Siler, now 30 and married with two children, went on to play six seasons in the NFL. He returned to UF in 2012 to finish work on his degree and for the last three years has worked in sales in Orlando. In recent years, he has spoken to both Athletic Director Jeremy Foley and Coach Jim McElwain about the profound effect getting up close and personal with that '96 squad had on him as a player.
"I'm superstitious about things like that," he said. "I wanted them to bring us back. I got in their ear about it."
Now, they're coming.
Brandon Siler celebrates during the 2007 BCS Championship Game.
Invitations will go out to quarterbacks Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, receivers Percy Harvin and Dallas Baker, defensive linemen Jarvis Moss, linebacker Earl Everett, et al.
It should be quite a gathering, quite an event and quite an appropriate salute, given the homecoming theme.
"I'll get to see guys I haven't seen in years and I'm going to love that," Siler said. "You always miss playing the game, but one of the thing you really miss the most is the locker room, being around the guys and that camaraderie. I'm looking forward to getting a little of that again."
Season, mini plan and single game tickets are on sale now via FloridaGators.com. Tickets for the Homecoming Game against Missouri start at $30.
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