We've all enjoyed our Gators license plates that read "National Champions" going all the way back to the 1996 title run. But now it's all going to change.
For some odd reason the new University of Florida tags no longer say "National Champions" - a title we hold in both football and basketball - only to be replaced with the words "The Gator Nation." Which, of course, is about as cliche as it gets these days with sports:
The university's marketing director told First Coast News the decision was made long before the UF Men's Basketball team made headlines with its title in April.
The plate is designed to show that UF is about more than sports, with a nod to the school's new slogan "The Foundation for the Gator Nation."
Go write the great American novel, or whatever.
That blows. Seriously. In a time in which our athletic department rules the major college sports world we will not have the means to show off that illustrious title (which I repeat, we hold in both basketball and football) to others out on the road.
Oh well, I guess since we are well aware that the University of Florida is the national champion we shouldn't sweat this out too much. But c'mon. "The Gator Nation?"