Passing Of The Mic: Longtime Mr. Orange and Blue RJ to Hand Off to Hip Hop Duke
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 | Football, Scott Carter
Richard Johnston Jr. has served as Mr. Orange and Blue for 31 consecutive seasons (File photo).
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The eight-hour round trip from his Fort Myers home never dampened his enthusiasm for the job.
On the drive here Richard Johnston Jr.'s anticipation would grow with each mile marker passed on Interstate 75. Known as "RJ" to friends and close associates, afterward, the buzz from the crowd often remained when Johnston returned to work as a bankruptcy lawyer on Monday mornings.
Most Gator fans know him simply as Mr. Orange and Blue. That has been Johnston's weekend job at each Florida home game since 1984.
A former UF cheerleader and walk-on swimmer -- Johnston swam for Gators coach Gregg Troy's AAU team in Fort Myers in the late '70s -- he took a test drive as Mr. Orange and Blue in 1980 while attending law school at UF.
His first game serving as the Gators' on-field cheerleader armed with a microphone was Sept. 27, 1980. The Gators finished 0-10-1 the previous season and came home to Florida Field undefeated after beating California at old Tampa Stadium and then winning on the road at Georgia Tech.
"If you think this weekend is exciting, after an 0-10-1 season and you're coming into Gainesville 2-0, I could have said 'pooh-pooh' and it wouldn't have mattered,'' Johnston said this week. "It was a magical year. I got away with a lot of stuff back then that you couldn't get away with now."
Johnston earned his law degree the next year and left UF to start his career. However, when the opportunity to become Florida's official on-field cheerleader presented itself a couple of years later, he took it and has held onto the microphone for 31 consecutive seasons.
If you have been to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during that time, you have heard his "Give me a G" call and many other cheers during pregame festivities.
It seems fitting that as Johnston prepares to retire and pass the mic to a new Mr. Orange and Blue, another figure tied closely to UF tradition will be in The Swamp: former UF head coach Steve Spurrier and his South Carolina Gamecocks.
"I think it's going to be a great ending,'' Johnston said.
Johnston enjoyed countless Saturdays revving up the crowd during Spurrier's 12 seasons from 1990-2001. More than anything, serving as Mr. Orange and Blue has been a labor of love for Johnston, who is passing the mic on Saturday to UF senior Bunduki Ramadan.
Ramadan is better known as Hip Hop Duke, performing his hip-hop songs around campus and town. He has also developed a strong following among his fellow students, one of the UAA's primary targets on game day to fire up the crowd.
UF student Bunduki Ramadan has a website (HipHopDuke.com) and skills holding a mic.
"This was always a student's job,'' Johnston said. "We were one of the first universities ever to have a live mic because back in the early '70s they did it for Gator Growl and one of the head cheerleaders said, 'why don't we do this for the football game?' That's how it started."
Johnston watched Ramadan perform for students at the Eastern Michigan game earlier this season. Ramadan earned the spot after trying out as "Mic Man" for the UF Spirit Squad in an attempt to connect with students at sporting events on campus.
His on-stage persona and free-style rap skills made a favorable impression.
"I really think this kid Duke has something,'' Johnston said. "I've never seen someone relate so well to the audience. He gets it."
At some point prior to Saturday's Florida-South Carolina, an official passing of the mic will take place from Johnston to Ramada. The UAA plans to move forward with students serving in the position.
Ramada is excited to put his touch on the role.
"I'm not replacing him, I'm like the next step,'' he said. "I'm a different person and I'm kind of bringing a different vibe to the position. That's pretty much my natural element, in front of people performing.
"That's what I love. I also free-style and improvise the hip-hop. That adds a different flavor to it. I let people get involved."
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Ramadan said he moved to Jacksonville when he was 2. He grew up speaking Arabic and English and as a teenager developed a love for Gators basketball.
And now he's Hip Hop Duke, Mic Man, and soon-to-be Mr. Orange and Blue.
"I was watching March Madness when we won those back-to-back championships,'' Ramadan said. "It's pretty cool to be here and think about what that was like sitting there watching TV and watching the Gators. I'm now a Gator and getting more and more involved."
As for Johnston, don't expect him to be a stranger on fall Saturdays. He might not make every game like he has for the last 31 years, but he plans to attend as many as he can as a longtime booster.
He got emotional when asked why the role meant enough to him to make all those long weekend drives to Gainesville over the years.
"There's a moment, especially when you are out on the field with 300 members of the band, and 20 to 25 cheerleaders, you get to just say 'give me a 'G,' and to have 90,000 people where you can harness that, it's a moment like nothing I can ever tell you,'' he said.
And with that, RJ dropped the mic.
