With spring semester classes starting Wednesday, the upgraded UF student section will be filled with Rowdies Tuesday.
Exactech Ready to Get Rowdy
Tuesday, January 3, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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No. 24 UF plays its SEC [new] home opener Tuesday night against Ole Miss.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Devin Robinson and his Florida basketball teammates had just made easy work of Arkansas-Little Rock. The date was Dec. 21 and the Gators had ushered in a new era by playing their first game in the renovated, $64.5 million Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.
The joint was sold out. The home team played well. Everybody gushed about the upgraded amenities, from the new lighting and sound systems, the giant scoreboard, grand atrium concourse, etc., etc.
But something was missing
"I'm looking forward to seeing how it is when we get some real competition in here," Robinson said after scoring a career-high 21 points in the 94-71 victory, making an obvious reference to the pending start to Southeastern Conference play. "When we get everybody else in here, it's going to be crazy."
And that was a reference to the Rowdy Reptiles.
The grand reopening of the O'Dome on Dec. 21 was a sellout, but most of those fans in the lower bowl student section (right side of court) were not Rowdy Reptiles. They will be Tuesday for the SEC opener vs Ole Miss.
The UF-UALR was played after the fall semester had ended and most of the student body had gone home for the holiday break. Thus, the lower bowl student section spots usually reserved for the pom-pom waving maniacs who spend hours waiting outside the O'Dome to make a rush for their prime seats were issued to common ticket-buyers. They did their job. They cheered on their team and made for a memorable, victorious night.
But with spring semester classes starting Wednesday, the UF students began filing back to town at week's start, some returning to campus Monday after watching the football team pound Iowa in the Outback Bowl. Several were already in place at O'Dome Gate 3 — armed with rain gear — early Tuesday in anticipation of Tuesday night when the 24th-ranked Gators (10-3, 1-0) clash with Ole Miss (9-4, 0-1) in an SEC home opener that figures to have a different feel than even the grand "reopening" game of nearly two weeks ago.
Because that's what the Rowdies do.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's 'Pregame Stuff' UF-Ole Miss preview here]
"We make it harder to play there. That's our job," said Kim Dang, who serves as Rowdies event coordinator. "When we're in there and being loud, the team plays better. Our record is better. Now, we have the new O'Dome, which is gorgeous, so the environment is going to be even better."
Gone, of course, is the bleacher seating that made for some awfully close quarters for the students. It's been replaced by chair-backs for everyone, but don't expect a lot of Rowdy butts to be planted in the cozy new cushions. The estimated 2,200 of 'em will be standing, jumping, yelling and screaming, as is customary. The UF pep bad has joined the Rowdies in that section, also, adding to the on-top-of-the-floor, in-your-face atmosphere.
"I'm so ready to get in there and yell at some Ole Miss players," said Austin Pleasants.
Pleasants is the Rowdy Reptiles president. He did not attend the UALR game, but rather went snowboarding in West Virginia, where an attempt to execute a 360 ended badly; with a broken forearm. Pleasants had surgery to put a plate in the arm and is now in a sling, so he'll be the wounded-looking guy in his usual front row/center court seat Tuesday. He wouldn't miss it.
"We've been waiting for this day to come for a long, long time, but I've got a feeling it's going to be worth the wait," Pleasants said. "I just hope I don't re-injury myself in all the excitement."
Rowdies vice president Jake Kilgore was at the UALR game. The first thing that struck him upon entering the O'Dome was that it didn't look the O'Dome.
"I got there four or five hours before the game and it looked like an NBA arena; like Staples Center or something," he said. "And the crowd was way better than I expected."
Time to take things to the next level.
Junior forward Devin Robinson on defense against Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Gators have done their part. Last week, UF went to Arkansas and left Bud Walton Arena with an 81-72 win. Robinson, in maybe the best conference game of his career, scored eight straight points midway through the first half to give his team a lead it never relinquished. Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen was hot from the 3-point line on his way to 21 points. Florida shot it well overall, did a better job on the glass and played some good, solid team defense.
"One of our best efforts of the year, if not the best," Coach Mike White said afterward.
Now, the Gators want to replicate that effort in front the frenzied home folk and see where that gets them.
So, get ready to get Rowdy, people.
"It's something that you can't put into words. It's something you feel," Kilgore said of the Rowdy Reptiles experience. "It's about the moment when the Gators go on 12-point run and the other team calls a timeout and the music is playing, everyone is jumping up and down -- it's pandemonium in there. It's why you get in line early in the morning and brave the cold or the rain or whatever. To get that feeling. To some, it may be just screaming and yelling, but we're having an impact on the game."
And there's a new game (and arena) in town. Should be fun.
