GAINESVILLE, Fla. – First, it was Cooper Brown in 2022. Then, Lauren Lemasters in 2023.
The recently adopted tradition of having the sitting University of Florida student body president execute the pregame "Mr. Two Bits" cheer at the annual Orange & Blue Spring Game in 2024 will fall Saturday to
Olivia Green. It's her turn and she didn't even know it.
"I had no idea," she said.
If only the marketing folks at the University Athletic Association had come up with the student government spring game nod a few years earlier. Like, say, in 2019. Back when Green's older brother, Ian, was student body president. A brother-sister twist would have been a first for the celebrity take on George Edmondson's iconic chant – set to enter its 12
th year in the fall – so the Green siblings will have to be OK with their special family ties in that third floor office of the Reitz Union.
Olivia Green (who goes by "Liv"), meanwhile, has some pressure on her with regard to her appointment with about 40,000 or so friends at Steve Spurrier/Florida Field this weekend. Like most students who have been on a campus a while, Green is familiar with the cheer. And like all the honorary "Two Bits" picks before her, she has reviewed some of the work of her predecessors via
YouTube to get the routine down, including the one executed by the greatest Gator of them all.
"I watched Steve Spurrier do it and my heart dropped. It was a lot more aggressive than I expected," Green said. "I asked if can do a practice run before the game and was told 'no,' so I'll be practicing the rest of this week."
Green is a second-generation Gator, with both her parents having attended UF during its football glory days under the aforementioned head ball coach. A native of Atlanta (and, no, not a Georgia fan), she graduated from a high school of more than 4,000 students and can't recall another (besides her brother) who came to UF.
She's certainly made the most of her time here.
Olivia Green (UF student body president '23-24) and brother Ian Green (student body president '18-19) at a Gator basketball game.
Green, who will graduate in May with double majors in finance and economics, worked her way up to the president's office via the student senate, as well as vice chair of budget and appropriations. Outside of student government, she was president and vice president of Alpha Omicron Pi and members of Florida Blue Key, homecoming and Gator Growl committees, as well as Black Student Union.
Next, Green is headed to law school at Northwestern, where she'll focus on merger and transactional law.
As far as any political ambitions?
"Nope," she said. "This the end of the road."
Maybe so. But first come a couple rather high-profile "lame-duck" duties over her final few weeks in office. No aggressive tactics will be necessary.
"I spoke to 8,000 freshmen [last fall] and have to speak at graduation, so I guess this will be good practice," Green said. "It'll be fun."
