The_Super_Gators

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Super Gators The Super Gators The Super Gators Morgan, Mike Wallace, Brian Barnes and Josh Patterson. By the end of that season, the group would routinely swell to more than 11 fully dressed super gators per game. Notoriety The first TV appearance of the super gators was before the University of Miami vs University of Florida football game in 2002. The group was asked to shoot a promo and open sportscenter that morning. After that, the group was seen on CBS, Jefferson Pilot Sports, several more espn spots, an Old Spice Commercial, and local media outlets. Several Super Gators have been featured in various news papers also. On August 12, 2006, the super gators were featured in the lead picture on espn.com’s homepage. Original founding member, Paul Johnson, was also the University of Florida Mascot, Albert the Alligator, for a number of years. He is one of the most decorated Alberts in school history, having been on the court for the 2006 Basketball National Championship and on the field for the 2006 Football National Championship. The position was later taken over by another Super Gator, Mike Wallace. Samantha Shoaf, a female member of the group, is a retired Alberta having graduated in 2008. Formation Headquarters Location Website 2001 University of Florida Gainesville, Florida Super Gators on ESPN The Super Gators are a group of students and alumni from the University of Florida that attend football games dressed as super heroes. The group’s legendary wardrobe consists of a neon orange hunting style (or beanie) hat, face paint, orange shorts, blue knee socks, and usually no shirt. Most super gators absolutely refuse to attend games out of costume, and their face paint design never changes. In 2008 for the University of Kentucky game the tradition of every dressed out member having their individual face-paint pattern was broken to comply with the ’orange out’ requested by Mr. Two Bits on his last homecoming game event. They march to the games each week, leading thousands of fans in cheers and posing for pictures. The group began attending games in costume in 2001, during Florida’s last season under coach Steve Spurrier. The first four people to dress in the traditional super gator outfit were Paul Johnson, Steve Gillbert, Dan Murphy and Dave Smith. In 2002, the group added a few more members who would later be regarded as the "founding fathers" of the group. Johnson and Gilbert remained, and were joined by Jarrod Continuing tradition The tradition has continued each season, as the original super gators are gone, but a host of younger students have taken over, and kept the traditions alive. The newest breed of the super gators are featured on the official 2008 Football Schedule poster and media guide issued by the University of Florida Athletic Department. See also • Florida Gators • Albert and Alberta • University of Florida 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Super Gators External links • The Super Gators Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Super_Gators" Categories: University of Florida athletics, College mascots This page was last modified on 23 April 2009, at 21:43 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers 2