Student witnesses amazing Gator victory
Leah Arnold
Issue date: 1/27/09 Section: Sports
Nearly 27 million viewers were glued to their TV screens on the night of Jan. 8, 2009. Jessica Watkins, a 19-year-old elementary education major at the South Campus, wasn't one of them.
Instead, she was in Miami, soaking up the experience that would culminate in a second BCS National Championship for the University of Florida's Gator football team.
"It was definitely a feeling of, 'We did it. We knew we could do it,'" she said. "It was just amazing."
"My best friend was a big Gator fan, and she showed me the truth," said Watkins. "I didn't really care about football before then, but we always used to watch the games together so I quickly became a Gator fan."
So when her beloved Gators were headed toward the national championships, she knew she had to be there too. Watkins found tickets for herself and some friends on Ebay, placed a bid on them, and won by a single dollar.
"We got there really early to park, and it wasn't too crowded," she said. "There were almost no Oklahoma fans tailgating; it was all Florida fans."
The excitement and anticipation before the game came with its fair share of anxiety as well.
"I felt they were going to win, but I was still super nervous," Watkins said. "In Miami, we had gotten calls from my friend's dad saying that Percy [Harvin] wasn't going to play, so we all got more nervous."
She described the game as "really intense," especially in the first half. She said that as the second half came along, she knew they would win.
"We were going crazy," she said. "We got pretty excited."
The Florida Gators ended up defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 24 - 14. Watkins hung around the stadium afterwards to watch the trophy presentation and ceremonies.
"Everyone was screaming and chanting 'One more year!'" she said. "The stadium was rockin', that was for sure."
As the University of Florida celebrates its win, Watkins knows that the victory is different than the 2007 BCS National Championship.
"A lot of these players felt more excited just because they were starters and they had a bigger role in the game," she said. "For the fans, it felt like we knew that we were one of the top colleges in sports, and this just solidified it: 2 championships in 3 years. It was a big thing for Gator Nation."
Instead, she was in Miami, soaking up the experience that would culminate in a second BCS National Championship for the University of Florida's Gator football team.
"It was definitely a feeling of, 'We did it. We knew we could do it,'" she said. "It was just amazing."
"My best friend was a big Gator fan, and she showed me the truth," said Watkins. "I didn't really care about football before then, but we always used to watch the games together so I quickly became a Gator fan."
So when her beloved Gators were headed toward the national championships, she knew she had to be there too. Watkins found tickets for herself and some friends on Ebay, placed a bid on them, and won by a single dollar.
"We got there really early to park, and it wasn't too crowded," she said. "There were almost no Oklahoma fans tailgating; it was all Florida fans."
The excitement and anticipation before the game came with its fair share of anxiety as well.
"I felt they were going to win, but I was still super nervous," Watkins said. "In Miami, we had gotten calls from my friend's dad saying that Percy [Harvin] wasn't going to play, so we all got more nervous."
She described the game as "really intense," especially in the first half. She said that as the second half came along, she knew they would win.
"We were going crazy," she said. "We got pretty excited."
The Florida Gators ended up defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 24 - 14. Watkins hung around the stadium afterwards to watch the trophy presentation and ceremonies.
"Everyone was screaming and chanting 'One more year!'" she said. "The stadium was rockin', that was for sure."
As the University of Florida celebrates its win, Watkins knows that the victory is different than the 2007 BCS National Championship.
"A lot of these players felt more excited just because they were starters and they had a bigger role in the game," she said. "For the fans, it felt like we knew that we were one of the top colleges in sports, and this just solidified it: 2 championships in 3 years. It was a big thing for Gator Nation."