I considered myself pretty lucky that the Illini football team went to a BCS Bowl our freshman year, and the Illini basketball team was #1 and went to the Championship game our senior year. (And that I got to attend both in person). Anyone a year before our after us only got to be there for one of them.
So I can only imagine what it would be like to have enrolled in the University of Florida in the fall of 2005.
Freshman Year
This was Urban Meyer's first year as head coach. The 2005 football team went 9-3 and beat Iowa in the Outback Bowl in Tampa on January 2nd, 2006. Quite a good season.
At the same time, the basketball team started 17-0, the best in Gator history. The entered March Madness as a #3 seed and beat Georgetown, Villanova to advance to the Final Four. They then beat UCLA to win the first title in school history. The only downside, the tournament was in Indianapolis. National Champion.
Sophomore Year
In the fall of 2006, went 13-1, including a SEC Championship victory over Arkansas. Then in Glendale, Arizona, Florida beat Ohio State 41-14, for only the second football championship in school history. National Champion.
In the spring of 2007, the basketball team started 24-2, won the SEC tournament and entered March Madness as the #1 overall seed. In the Final Four, they beat UCLA and Ohio State to win back-to-back titles, the only team ever to do so with the same lineup. This time the Final Four was in a much more road-trip friendly Atlanta, Georgia. National Champion.
Thus, for a '09 Gator, they won 3 national championships in 4 opportunities, in their first two years on campus. That's inconceivable.
Junior Year
With Tim Tebow as the starter, the football Gators only went 9-4 including a Capital One loss to Michigan 35-41. Although he did win the Heisman trophy.
Without any starters from the championship team, their basketball team only went 24-12, missing the Big Dance and ending the year losing in the semifinals of the NIT.
Senior Year
Uh, they got over Junior Year. Tebow lead the Gators to a 12-1 season. They faced Alabama in the SEC Championship when Alabama was #1 in the country. Florida was favored by 10 and they covered. Then in the BCS Championship, they played Oklahoma who was now #1. Florida was favored by 5.5 and they covered yet again. National Champion.
The basketball team is currently 14-2. Even if they don't do anything that's still, two basketball titles and two football titles in 4 years. Also, they got to win titles in their freshman year and senior years, nice times to have them.
Of course it's nice when your teams are dominating, but I think victory is more enjoyable when it's hard fought and/or unlikely. There's much more excitement then.
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