Colleges

Swamp took time to percolate

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published November 9, 2006

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. fast facts

Sizing them up

So you're wondering if Florida is playing like a national championship contender right now? Coach Urban Meyer says, not really, but he's expecting improvement, beginning this week. A look at the top four teams in the BCS standings and how they fare statistically in rushing, passing and scoring offense per game.

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GAINESVILLE - What's in a name?

Apparently, it depends on who's using it.

You can give Steve Spurrier credit for the Gators' six SEC championships and their one national title, but Spurrier said this week that he can't take sole credit for Florida Field being nicknamed "The Swamp."

"Actually, it had been suggested by some people earlier," Spurrier said. "I don't know the guy's name, but it just didn't catch on. I started using it, it caught on."

Not right away.

"One of our marketing guys there, I never will forget, he said: 'That will never work. It will never catch on.' He's not there anymore, by the way."

So why the word "Swamp"?

"If you think about it, it's a word that's fun to say," Spurrier said. "If you've ever met a guy named Bubba, when you're talking with him you'll use the word Bubba over and over again. ... 'We're going to play in The Swamp this week.' It was sort of a fun word that everybody started using and saying."

With BCS title implications on the line, Florida fans are hoping to bury Spurrier and his South Carolina team on Saturday in that same Swamp he made famous.

Antonya English can be reached at (813) 226-3389 or english@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 9, 2006, 01:30:23]