General

The Latest Dirty Word in Gainesville: Kiffin

Sep 16, 2009, 6:15 PM UTC

If you buy something from a link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

As an undergrad at the University of Florida, I

utter

hear plenty of profanity every day. Most of it is caustic, some of it is creative, and none of it can be reprinted on this family website.â†µâ†µExcept for “Kiffin,” that is.â†µ

â†µâ†µOn Tuesday, a reporter asked Gators linebacker Ryan Stamper about stopping Tennessee’s running game, then probed about the tenor of student body-football team relations in this week of wonderful hatred. Stamper made the mistake of being honest:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥REPORTER: “What have they been saying?”â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥STAMPER: “You know, just asking us what are we doing to prepare and stuff about, you know what I’m saying, the whole Lane Kiffin thing. That’s about it.”â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥FLORIDA PR GUY: “OK. Thanks, Ryan.”â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥After Stamper mentioned Kiffin, no more players were made available on Tuesday.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µThis isn’t stunning stuff. Florida’s football team hasn’t been a font of meaningful quips under Urban Meyer, whose friendship with Bill Belichick has produced a similarly shrouded operation in Gainesville. â†µ

â†µ

â†µFor the Gators, suspensions are coded messages announced after they occur, injuries are discussed cagily, if at all, and generally, the only person saying anything substantive to the press is Tim Tebow. Take, as evidence of the tight-lipped culture, this "interview" with Jordan Reed.â†µ

â†µâ†µBut someone (cough, Brandon Spikes, cough) spouted off about Tennessee even in a year without Kiffin’s verbal kerosene, and Meyer certainly doesn’t want to throw a log on the Vols’ fire via an inane comment about their coach. That’s more Hello Kiffin’s style, of course, but Meyer’s turnover-loathing, precision-prizing style doesn’t have much room for over-revved players making mistakes, and, as a fan, I’m worried about the Gators aiming to win by 70 and being unprepared to win by seven. (No, this scenario hasn’t been bugging me all week. Why do you ask?)â†µ

â†µâ†µThe best revenge is success and a smile (and, just maybe, garbage-time timeouts), and you can be sure Meyer’s smirk and Tebow’s beatific grin will tell tales wordlessly should the Gators trounce the Vols this Saturday.â†µ

â†µâ†µThey’ll let The Swamp do the talking for them. I’m sure 90,000 saintly, sober fans would have no problem working the K-word into their otherwise wholesome and family-friendly discourse. â†µ

â†µ(HT: Gator Clause.)â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

See More: