Florida/Kentucky: A True Rivalry?

When discussing football, a number of schools could be considered

Florida’s

biggest rival.

Tennessee

.

Georgia

.

FSU

. Although not getting votes for the top spot, you could even throw

Miami

and

LSU

into an argument of rivalries. However, a longer schedule in which you play some teams twice lowers the rivalry-factor several notches when it comes to basketball.

Take for example, FSU and Tennessee. If the Gators had lost to either team during the 2008 football season, Florida would not have played for the national championship. But the Gators actually went only 2-4 against those schools during their back-to-back basketball titles seasons. None of those losses mattered in the end. The Gators were able to get past them and win championships. That could be attributed to basketball’s playoff system and football lack thereof, but we’re focusing on rivalries here.

Lose to Georgia in football and it’s a popular topic of frustration during the offseason. Lose to the Bulldogs in basketball and you generally forget in only a few days. Tuesday night, however, Florida faces the one team where the losses are remembered. Or are they?

Kentucky is one of college basketball’s most storied programs. They are the premier school in the SEC and continue to be even after a few down years. This year’s squad currently stands at 16-7 (5-3) after three consecutive conference losses, but this game is still a big one for both teams. For Kentucky, they need to prove they can compete in the SEC and need a win to turn their fortunes around. For Florida, they must prove last season’s late collapse was an anomaly that won’t happen again.

The rivalry has been fueled over the years by many factors. Kentucky was the class of the conference. Then former Wildcat assistant coach Billy Donovan came to Gainesville. Since Donovan took over at Florida, the Gators have been to three Final Fours and brought home the school’s first and second championships. Kentucky last went to the Final Four in 1998 – the year they won their last championship.

This entire article was written as an excuse to post a picture of Ashley Judd.

Last season, Florida was a team on the bubble. After a strong start, the Gators faltered late and ended the regular season with a loss to Kentucky. During the Gators’ back-to-back title years, Florida was 4-0 against the Wildcats. The 2003-04 Kentucky team that went 23-4 (13-3) during the regular season, beat Florida twice and then once more in the SEC Tournament. In 2003 – one day after becoming the #1 ranked team in the nation for the first time in school history – the Gators lost to the Wildcats in Lexington. It goes on and on.

For the schools and players, this rivalry means something. But what does it mean to us – the fans? Here are our (and by our, I mean me and the usual suspects) thoughts:

KP: I think at best both schools use it as a barometer as to how they are prepared for the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. Yes, there is the stupid SEC regular season title, but who cares about that? NCAA basketball is about the postseason. The conference tournament and the NCAAs. The UK/UF game is just a momentum maker and confidence builder/destroyer for the fans. This is why although I am for a modified football postseason, I don’t want it to become like basketball where two of the premier schools in the south/country can’t even rile up their own fan bases when they match up. I don’t want that to happen to college football. Granted, basketball has a longer schedule, two meetings a season at least between the teams and that may be the scarcity of football being its greatest asset again. But in the end this game is just a look to see where the teams stand against good competition and to get amped for the tournaments.

One-Eyed Willy: I am not sure it means much at all to me. Sad as it is, I still don’t care enough about basketball to have a regular season game really matter. Kind of one of those things if it’s on and I’m home than I’ll watch it, but I could just as easily be out doing errands and just catch the final score when I get home. To me, basketball season really doesn’t start until the SEC Tourney and then March Madness, assuming we get in.

The Bull Gator: In terms of basketball, Kentucky is Florida’s biggest rival. But I can’t help but think that when I’m watching them play on Tuesday night, I’ll have football on my mind. I watch Gator basketball games. I follow it in the media. Hell, I even write about it. But in the end, give me Florida football over the school’s top basketball rivalry game any day. This is the one game I get the most hyped for, but said level of hype isn’t anything to brag about t least not when compared to how I’ll be feeling when Florida opens the football season against Charleston Southern in September.

There you have it. It seems that even though this may be a big game, we are all either waiting for the postseason or, more importantly, football.