Oral History of Florida Gators vs. Auburn Tigers
By TJ Ackerman
The Florida Gators extended their winning streaks (18 straight games overall – longest in school history; 30 in a row at the O’Dome) with a come from behind victory over the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night. As I walked in the door from a late night at work, I thought the game would be steadily in hand at the half. Much to my surprise, the expected letdown following the win at Kentucky was just that, a letdown. Below is my own personal play-by-play of the roller coaster ride that was the second half.
Start of 2nd Half (38-30): What the hell happened in the first half? I expected a letdown following the Kentucky victory, but not to Auburn. They shot almost 58% in the first half?!?! And 67% from three point land? Last time I let work get in the way of a Gator game.
19:34 – Scottie Wilbekin made Three Point Jumper (38-33): Great start to the second half. Thata boy Scottie!
19:05 – Tahj Shamsid-Deen made Three Point Jumper (41-33): OH C’MON!
18:16 – Patric Young Dunks (41-37): BOOM!
15:45 – Official TV Timeout (41-41): Solid 11-3 run to start the second half. I feel better about walking away for a few minutes to cook some dinner. And this definitely calls for a beer.
13:19 – Chris Denson made Jumper (48-43): Who is this Denson kid and why is he ruining my night?!
12:18 – Will Yeguete made 2 Free Throws (48-47): Yeguete what you get!
11:53 – Dion Wade made Three Point Jumper (51-47): What the F do they have in the water at Auburn? This is ridiculous! Every time the Gators get close, they drain another dagger. Time for another beer.
10:49 – Patric Young made Layup & Free Throw (51-50): Standing up, pumping my chest with my fist, as if I made the actual play.
8:55 – Scottie Wilbekin made Jumper (51-54): Start singing “I’ll I DO IS WIN WIN WIN” by DJ Khaled while refilling my beer. Scottie is pumping up the crowd, and I reminisce about how awesome it was to be in college while they scan the Rowdy Reptiles.
7:19 – Matthew Atewe made Layup (55-54): So this is going to be my night. A back and forth affair coming down to the wire. So much for a slow Wednesday evening…
7:01 – Patric Young made Layup (55-56): OK PAT! GET BIG!
6:41 – Allen Payne made Three Point Jumper (58-56): This is a joke.
5:13 – Patric Young made Layup (59-60): YOU GOTTA EAT IF YOU WANT TO GET BIG!!!
4:47 – KT Harrell made Three Point Jumper (62-60):
My beer is getting low…
2:17 – Patric Young made Free Throw (63-63): TIED UP! BABY BAABAY!
2:06 – Foul on Will Yeguete; Chris Denson made 2 Free Throws (65-63): Of course Denson makes both free throws. This Denson guy is killing me!
1:36 – Asauhn Dixon-Tatum Block (65-63): Dude Scottie, you got packed son! We’ve got to take better shots than this…
0:42 – Michael Frazier II made Three Point Jumper (65-66): SIT THE $(*#@% DOWN!!!!! I look around my living room mean mugging everyone, slowly realizing that I’m watching the game by myself.
I sit down and take another sip of beer to calm myself.
0:21 – Foul on Will Yeguete (65-66): WHY DID YOU FOUL?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? Camera pans to Billy Donovan asking Will the same question. I don’t even play basketball and I know that. C’MON MAN! Denson has been money all night…
NICE! He missed the second one!
0:21 – Patric Young Defensive Rebound (66-66): Thank you Patric!
0:20 – Foul on Asauhn Dixon-Tatum (66-66):
0:20 – Patric Young made 1st Free Throw (66-67): Singing “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti. He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready to drop bombs…”
0:20 – Patric Young made 2nd Free Throw (66-68): I nod my head up and down in approval like a proud father and think, “It’s time to get loud!” I start yelling at the TV as if the noise I generate is going to have any impact on the Auburn inbound pass…
0:19 – Allen Payne Turnover (68-66): IT WORKED! I knew I could get in their heads! HAHAHAHAHA.
0:08 – KT Harrell missed Three Point Jumper (66-70): “Can’t buy a bucket” straight out of NBA Jam.
0:00 – End of Game (66-71): VICTORY!!!!
Man! That game took about a year and a half off of my life. Time for bed.
All GIFs compliments of http://www.reactiongifs.com/