Where I Come From: How I Became a USF Bull
by Ken DeCelles on Jul 5, 2010 4:59 PM EDT
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I didn't grow up a USF fan. Heck, I didn't even know USF existed until I visited the campus for a competition in the 5th grade. Growing up in the metropolis that is Titusville, Florida, you were basically forced to pick one of the Big 3 schools and that was that. I went with the Gators (yep I'm sorry) for the fact that my grandfather graduated there, and because I really had no other choice because that's all my family watched on Saturday afternoons during the fall.
I did start to follow USF though once I did visit the campus, and in particular when I was able to go inside the Sun Dome. I walked on the court and started to think that this was the big time. The relatively new NCAA banners fluttering up in the rafters showed me that this was a BIG TIME university and that they were ready to make the next jump. The only thing that bothered me was why they had a goat for a logo when USF was the Bulls. Still, it did put USF in as my 2nd favorite team, and whenever the Bulls popped up for a C-USA basketball battle on ESPN2, I would stop what I was doing and watch the rest of the game. It also helped that the jerseys during the Seth era were awesome.
The part that slowly moved the Bulls over the Gators in my mind was the recruitment of three players from my high school, Chris McBee, CJ Lewis, and in particular, Derrick Sarosi. To see three guys get picked up by Coach Leavitt makes you want to root for them, and the fact that all three are great guys helped out a ton. I wanted them to succeed because I had an emotional investment playing with them.
My fandom was signed, sealed and delivered after being accepted into the university, and I can still remember my first game in 2003 against Nicholls State. Coming down the stand to find that there were probably 10K fans for the opener at Raymond James that year. I told my roommate next to me that its great that we are on the ground floor on this, and he looked at me like I was an idiot. After the 2003 Louisville Double OT thriller, I told him the exact same thing as we were rushing the field and he started laughing. I think I made the right decision all along.
So the question of the day is "Where did your Fandom come from?"
Voodoo will be back tomorrow with Part 2 of our 6 part series.
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My own story might be the lamest out of all three of us.
USF didn’t have football when I was a kid, and since no one chose their college team based on anything else, I decided to jump on the FSU bandwagon because, well, because everyone in my neighborhood liked the Gators and I had to be contrarian. And also because Charlie Ward was awesome.
Then I got to high school, had a completely miserable four years, and realized two things right before I graduated:
1. I never wanted to see any of these people again.
2. Nearly all of them were going to UF or FSU.
So I decided to stay in Tampa for college. Thanks to the magic of the now-trashed Florida Academic Scholars program, I got free tuition from USF and kept it all the way through to graduation. And I’ve pretty much never seen any of those people since high school, so it was a double win.
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Baby Gator
I was born and raised a Florida fan. Mom, dad, brother, uncle, cousins all went to UF, I had a gator licence tag before I had a car, all the pictures of me as a baby are in old school orange and blue onesies, Emmitt Smith even baby sat me a few times. I moved to Gainesville, fun time, awful town. I applied to USF, was accepted, and 2 weeks later I lived in Tampa. With a cautious optimism I started going to games. I now bleed green & gold.
For most of my life until high school, I was a Seminole fan.
But, I always had an appreciation for what the football program in such a short time. My dad took me to my first USF game against Memphis in 2003 I believe and would occasionally go to more. I hopped on the bandwagon in 2006 when a bunch of my high school friends decided to go there. They became my number 1 team (and eventual school of choice over FSU) towards the end of that season when I watched Matt Grothe pull amazing plays out of his butt, and beat West Virginia in Morgantown. From then on, I’ve been a die hard Bull.
(Note: Football success was not the only reason I chose to go to USF)
That game in Morgantown is almost forgotten historically.
We must do something about that when we get the time.
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by Jamie DeVriend on Jul 5, 2010 11:47 PM EDT up reply actions
My fandom developed when I went to my first football game freshmen year.
It was homecoming against Army. We lost, but the experience made me a fan.
Funny, my entire family raised me as a Gators fan since my brother went there. I never liked them though, not sure why. Didn’t like FSU or Miami either. Just never really cared about football till I went to USF and started going to games.
I was at that game in Morgantown
I hope TheBullsPen.com still has my post from that day. I wrote it with a rather emotional mix of exuberance and Jagermeister. One of the great days of my life. And honestly better than Auburn (was there for that one too) just because it came out of nowhere. And also because they hated us so much the only way I got served in Morgantown bars that night (wearing the only jacket I brought, a USF one) was because my friend Meredith was a Morgantown local. Otherwise I seriously would have gotten in more bar fights that evening than the rest of my life combined.
She just moved back to Tampa, but her condo was across the street from Puskar Stadium. It was faster to walk home after the game than to drive. It was one of the scariest (yes, I got threatened multiple times) but most exhilarating walks of my life.
Greg Auman was kind enough to give me his extra media credential (despite the fact I was a USF staff member and not media). After Trae picked off that final Pat White floater, I rushed out of the stands and was on the field when the final whistle sounded. I was on the field for both the big WVU wins. We may never win another football game, but no one will ever get to take those two games from me.
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