1 » Opening the University of Florida’s 2010-11 athletic season on Friday, No. 11 Florida Gators soccer (1-0) defeated the Miami Hurricanes (0-1) 2-1 in a double-overtime match at James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Scoreless in the first half, redshirt sophomore midfielder McKenzie Barney kicked the ball across the goal to the far post at 49’ to put Florida ahead. In the blink of an eye, Miami’s Blake Stockton hit an equalizer at 53’. Almost an hour of game time later, now in the match’s second overtime, freshman forward Taylor Travis put the Gators ahead for good with a seven-yard golden goal into the far post at 107’. Florida will need to regroup quickly as the ladies will travel to Orlando, FL, for an away game against the Central Florida Knights on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. The match will air live on FOX Sports Florida.

2 » The defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide earned the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll released Saturday with the Gators coming in three slots behind at No. 4. In between the two are the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 3 Boise State Broncos; Alabama was awarded 54 of 60 possible first-place votes. Other Southeastern Conference teams ranked by the AP this preseason include Arkansas (No. 17), LSU (No. 21), Auburn (No. 22) and Georgia (No. 23). Florida finished last season listed No. 3 in the USA Today and Associated Press polls, also earning the No. 3 spot in the USA Today preseason poll released on Aug. 6.

Photo Credit: University of Florida/GatorZone.com

1 » Denver Broncos veteran Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey has been heaping the praise on rookie quarterback Tim Tebow and that trend continued Wednesday in an NFL.com report. Talking about Tebow’s star quality and magnetism, the former Georgia Bulldogs star placed the Florida Gators legend above even the most famous Florida State Seminole. “I’ve been on a team with some [high-profile] players, such as Deion [Sanders] and guys like that, but I’ve never seen nothing like this,” Bailey said. “It’s amazing. […] I’m kind of proud of him for the way he handles himself. He wants to be one of the guys. People are going to put him on that pedestal, but he handles both sides very well.”

Defensive end Justin Bannan is also impressed. “I’m kind of blown away,” Bannan said. “I’ve just never seen anything like it. It’s like a phenomenon. This city’s just become obsessed with Tebow. The guy has earned that right to get that kind of attention, because he’s probably going to go down as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — college player to play the game.”

2 » It should be no question that Pittsburgh Steelers rookie center/guard Maurkice Pouncey, the University of Florida and the NCAA all want the allegations surrounding the player to be settled – one way or another – as soon as possible. Nevertheless, according to the University Police Department, determining whether or not Pouncey accepted a $100,000 payment from the runner for a sports agent may take up to two more months to settle. “It’s still an ongoing investigation,” Capt. Jeff Holcomb told The Gainesville Sun. “It could be another month or two before it’s finally closed out. It’s a slow-going process.” The process has been underway since June.

Photo Credit: Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post

Just take their advertising campaign for the video game as an example. Though we initially had a tough time locating a copy of the television commercial being aired across the country, we have finally found it thanks to the help of one of our Twitter followers. (The first few seconds of the video are what counts here.)

This online ad also showcases the theme that the company has created.

Our point? We don’t have one really. It is just cool to see OGGOA (even as a phrase) being used to promote a big-time product…just as it was last year throughout the “Finish the Mission” campaign for Nike Pro Combat apparel. Now if EA Sports would only see the value in advertising here like some of our other sponsors.

If the title of this Web site seemed familiar to you at first, that is because it should be. It is hanging over the tunnel to Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, seen by the entire football team every time it storms the field. The phrase stands as a reminder to the players that The Swamp is land worth fighting for, defending and dominating opponents on. Thanks to our Gainesville, FL-based hosting company, Acceleration, OGGOA‘s new design reflects the famous sign and meaning behind it better than ever.

Like The Swamp itself, OGGOA strives to be the stopping ground for die-hard Gators fans – an online home base to serve as your all-inclusive, one-stop portal for everything you want or need to know about your favorite college team. Timely, informative and updated around the clock, OGGOA features breaking news, commentary, discussion, interviews and so much more.

Your support made us an instant success, and your continued loyalty to OGGOA and passion for the Gators has kept us up and running for over 160 days. We hope to continue being your home for full coverage of University of Florida athletics and look forward to providing you with as much insight and content as possible at every turn.

Design – A special “thank you” to Jesse and the guys over at Acceleration (see right column) for updating and streamlining the design elements of this Web site. OGGOA looks better than ever, and it is because of Acceleration’s passion for their work.

Mobile site – OGGOA is compatible with the Apple iPhone and other mobile devices including the Motorola Droid and RIM Blackberry. This optimization allows mobile users to load the site quickly, without the clutter of images, while also letting them read full articles and participate in discussions by commenting. If you are on a mobile device and wish to view the regular site, simply scroll to the bottom of the mobile page and click “OFF.”

Share button – The “Share” button at the bottom of every post allows OGGOA readers to easily distribute the latest Florida Gators news to friends and fans via Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, digg, del.icio.us, etc. Utilizing this feature does wonders in promoting OGGOA, so please do so when you have the opportunity and find a post interesting.

With that being said, Web sites undergo many changes throughout their lifespans (SEE: Web sites We Visit: How They Looked 10 Years Ago). OGGOA is sure to continue evolving as time goes on. For now, we present you with version 2.0 as well as some wallpapers for use on both your computers and mobile devices!

Schedule desktop wallpaper (1280×1024)
Schedule desktop wallpaper (1024×768)
iPhone wallpaper
Droid wallpaper

Sincerely,

Adam Silverstein
Owner, editor

It has been a tough week for Van Pelt, especially after notorious Howard Stern prank caller Captain Janks fooled him by acting as former Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook during a live on-air interview. Anyway…enjoy.

Van Pelt, of course, apologized. Because heaven forbid the FCC not hear an apology for a simple technical mistake and/or profane slip-up. “Earlier in the program, as we were heading to a break, my microphone was still open and I uttered a profanity,” he said. “And for that I apologize for anyone I might have offended.”

Now back to business. While OGGOA is committed to bring you the latest breaking news and most informative, up-to-date details about the Gators at every turn, I have run into a scheduling conflict on Saturday. Fortunately and unfortunately, I have a wedding to attend during the Florida vs. Florida State Seminoles game. Therefore, all game day coverage will be up on Friday and there will not be live coverage of the game on twitter. However, I will have a full story up at some point after the game and OGGOA will stay on schedule from that point forward. As far as how I will watch the game, the best option looks like the CBS College Sports app for the iPhone, which will air the game live.

Glad that is out of the way. Over the past few days, I have come across three pieces of audio that I think you all will enjoy. First is a brand new Gators rap song from Gemini Soundz featuring B. Nyce called “GATOR.” As a hip-hop fan myself, I am always excited when a new song comes out, especially when it is as well-produced as this one. Enjoy.

Gemini Soundz feat B. Nyce – GATOR

I was also able to embed the audio from the Nike Pro Combat page, both of which happen to end with the very name of this site: ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive. Pretty cool.

Florida Gators – Nike Pro Combat Uniform

Florida Gators – Finish the Mission

If you know me, you know that I pride myself on providing you all with the most immediate, up-to-date and accurate news possible. Having a server that is down when the Web site needs to rely on it the most makes achieving these goals impossible. With that being said, OGGOA will be switching hosts within the next 48 hours so none of this should be an issue going forward. It will remain active throughout the entire process, so please continue to visit the the site as usual for news and information.

I appreciate all of your continued support and dedication to the site. Without Gator Nation storming OGGOA in record numbers the last two days, I may not have realized the need for hosting improvement. The one positive that will come out of this is that OGGOA will be faster and more reliable, meaning you will never again have to question whether or not the site is up and active.

Regards,

Adam Silverstein
Owner, editor

iPhone / Mobile site – OGGOA is utilizing a special technology to make the site compatible with the Apple iPhone and other mobile devices. This optimization allows mobile users to load OGGOA quickly, without the clutter of images, while also letting them read full articles and participate in discussions by commenting. I think this is one of the most unique features of the site and hope those of you that have not utilized this feature begin to do so soon. If you are on a mobile device and wish to view the regular site, simply scroll to the bottom of the mobile page and click “off.”

Share button – Implemented Tuesday night, there is now a “Share” button at the bottom of every post. This allows OGGOA readers to easily share and distribute the latest Florida Gators news to friends and fans via facebook, Myspace, digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Design – A special thank you to Mike over at Big Mike Design (links in right column) for creating the design elements of this Web site. OGGOA would not have found the quick success it did without you.

With that being said, Web sites undergo many changes (some fundamental, some minor) over their lifespans (Web sites We Visit: How They Looked 10 Years Ago). OGGOA is sure to change and evolve as time goes on; this is just the start of something special!

Unlike previous instances when I had simply written the idea down, my pen did not stop at the concept alone this time. Instead, I began writing potential titles. After immediately throwing out some of the more trite words and expressions used by and about the Gators, I realized there was only one phrase that truly portrayed the passion of Gator Nation, the dedication of our student-athletes and the fear playing against the Gators instilled in our opponents. Best of all, it was something I had seen dozens of times in my UF career and is easily my favorite part of The Swamp.

If the title of this Web site seemed familiar to you at first, that is because it should be. It is hanging over the tunnel to Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, seen by the entire football team every time it storms the field and stands as a reminder to the players that The Swamp is land worth fighting for, defending and dominating opponents on.

Like The Swamp, ONLY GATORS strives to be THE stomping ground for die-hard Gators fans – an online home base to serve as your all-inclusive, one-stop portal for everything you want or need to know about your favorite team. Timely, informative and updated around the clock, ONLY GATORS will feature breaking news, commentary, discussion, interviews and so much more.

I hope you explore and bookmark the site, subscribe to the RSS feed, become a fan on facebook, follow us on twitter and immerse yourself in the entire ONLY GATORS experience. (Note: ONLY GATORS is optimized for Apple iPhone and other mobile devices.) Once you have spent some time on the site, I guarantee you will find none other like it for Florida Gators fans on the World Wide Web!

Please visit the About page to learn more.