Here is some quick Gators trivia on this fine evening:
Question: Which player hit a game winning shot with no time remaining to help the Gators to a defeat over the Butler Bulldogs in the NCAA tournament, and in what year?
A.) Neal Walk, 1968
B.) Vernon Maxwell, 1987
C.) Anthony Roberson, 2003
D.) Mike Miller, 2000
Answer: If you answered A, B or C, please, shore up on your knowledge of Gators' hoops history. If you answered D, Mike Miller in 2000, then you would be correct and would be considered a great Gators fan in my eyes. Congratulations, you've earned my approval.
The Gators will face the same school on Friday that Miller helped defeat, the Butler Bulldogs. While both schools have improved very much since then, with Butler being an afterthought and the Gators just simply an up-and-coming school with some good young players in 2000, the memory of that shot will never escape our memories -- especially if it's up to the mainstream media, who has consistently reminded us over the last four days that, yes, these two schools would be meeting up once again in the NCAA tournament; And yes, this was the matchup that produced the dramatic shot that helped propel the Gators to a near-championship run seven seasons ago.
Now don't get me wrong -- the scene of that Miller shot brings back a great memory of a great Florida basketball team -- a team that in a way helped mold the program into what it is now, as well as helping pave the way towards high expectations and great times cheering for a consistently winning hoops team. But I must repeat that was seven seasons ago and I must repeat that these are two remarkable programs in the present. We do not need to continually see Miller's shot to beat the Bulldogs in 2000. Instead we should be hearing more about how these two teams match up and which team has a better shot to make it to the regional final in St. Louis next Sunday.
Please, CBS. I beg of you. Do not show the clip of Miller's shot more than once on Friday. I've already seen it at least eight times watching news shows and have read at least three articles in newspapers about the shot. I'm well aware that the Gators had a dramatic victory over the Bulldogs in 2000, I do not need to be reminded over and over again -- nor do any of my fellow fans of the Orange and Blue that are just as educated on recent Gators' hoops history.
And of course, I beg you Gators to not make my heart beat as fast as it did in the closing seconds of that game seven years ago.