University of Florida - Tower / Seminole Yearbook (Gainesville, FL)

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Gator Greatness The year began like most any other. Bright eyed freshmen lined up outside dorms, teary eyed parents left their children to the world, and weary eyed upperclass- men played it cool. The beginning of a fall semester always brings with it innocence, wonder, bemusement and anticipation. A new football season, a new school year and a new canvas on which to imprint ourselves. What defines the year is everything that follows. And for better or worse, this school year defined itself rather quickly and dramatically. Riding the tide of a triumph prevalent all over campus, the Gator football team opened the season at the top. Yet smugness and excitement cloaked inexperience and uncertainty for both Gator football and the campus. Eventually both stumbled. Midseason losses for Gator football and midyear crises on our campus belied the inexperience and trepidation we worked so hard to dis- guise. Yet perhaps it was inevitable. Our lives themselves are a constant evolution of thought and self education and such a process demands the attention that the occasional struggle will afford us. From self examination and criti- cism that follows such losses or crises, we emerge stron- ger than before. And such was the way this year played itself out. As if to prove the point, the Gator football team responded with an effort no one who saw it will ever forget. For that day, November 22, 1997, they shunned individualism and embraced the greatness within their reach. If it is said sports are a microcosm of life, we proved it this year. With similar strength and vigor, we as students emerged from our own midyear slump greater than ever. We embraced our time together, we initiated serious dia- logues, we rallied behind our President shunning individu- alism embracing our diversity and embracing the greatness that was within our reach. And as we look back at the year, we won ' t forget any of the struggles, big or small. Nor would we deny that we indeed shaped the best years of our lives together and that we were fortunate enough to do it here at UF. And we wouldn ' t have wanted to do it and perhaps we couldn ' t have done it at any other place. For when the smoke cleared, we were surrounded everywhere by GATOR GREATNESS!