A long time ago in a place not far from here, I asked the great wise man about rivalries. He looked up from the blades of grass he had been studying, wiped the sweat from his brow and said this:
“Well, it depends on when you were born.”
Those words from Danny Wuerffel, then a junior in college, always stayed with me. Because for Florida, a school that probably has too many rivalry games, they differ from decade to decade. Heck, sometimes they differ from coach to coach.
Some rivalries are thick with history. Some are fairly new. Some make no sense at all.
We only know that the electricity gets cranked up, the noise elevates, and the losses are gut punches.
For the latest Dooley’s Dozen, here are the 12 biggest rivalries for the mighty Gators. You don’t think there are 12. Ha! I say to you.
12
Oklahoma Sooners
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The younger you are, the more of a rivalry game this feels like. Mostly because of the Cotton Bowl two years ago, but certainly because of what happened in gymnastics, basketball and baseball. Still stings Gator fans. And now, you have to welcome them into your conference.
11
Central Florida Knights
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
This was no rivalry at all. Then, UCF tried to claim a fake national title. And Danny White started a newspaper argument with Scott Stricklin. And then, of course, the Gasparilla Bowl. One would think the game next year in the Swamp will feel like a rivalry game even if Gator fans don’t want to admit it.
10
Missouri Tigers
AP Photo/L.G. Patterson
It’s a new rivalry because of the spat that the teams and coaches got into at halftime two years ago. It’s a bigger deal to Dan Mullen and Eli Drinkwitz, but don’t forget that Missouri has beaten Florida as many times as Florida has beaten the ‘Zou since the Tigers joined the…
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