The Deep South’s Oldest Column: The Flag on the Balcony - SEC, ACC, AAC, Conference USA, Big Ten...Sunshine State, where is your allegiance?
The Sunshine State is known for beautiful palm trees, awesome beaches, and well…sunshine. But does the Sunshine State have hard ties to a football conference or school? Dr. B dives into personal experience to answer the question.
By: Dr. B
At one point in my career, our family had a stop in the Sunshine State. It was an interesting time period, to say the least, as living in a very wealthy community in South Florida brought about some unique challenges, yet at the same time, we experienced some really cool things. It took a while getting used to the fact that seasons didn’t exist there. Palm trees dressed up in Christmas lights starting in November was the norm. Halloween and trick-or-treating would be void of walking through fallen leaves on a crisp, fall evening, and the reality would be trudging from house to house on a hot, muggy evening. In addition, on Thanksgiving and Christmas, we swam in our outdoor pool. Tough life indeed.
The majority of people we met during our time in Florida weren’t originally from the Sunshine State, but were “transplants,” people, like us, who had moved to the state from elsewhere. In addition, from around November through April, the local roads would clog more than usual as groups of “older” northerners would arrive, spending the winter with us in paradise. This group of people were tagged “Snowbirds”, and we locals would laugh about them often, except when we had to find alternate routes home from work or had to wait for a seat in our favorite restaurant because our friends from up North rushed to our favorite area restaurants, taking full advantage of the early bird special. No matter, I really loved living there, even among the “birds.”
My wife did not like living in South Florida as much as I did, mainly due to the extreme humidity which wreaked havoc on her hair (or so she thought...I always thought she was beautiful, no matter what her hair looked like). I served as the lead administrator at a large independent school, which presented some challenges on the social front. Most of the parents at the school were really great, yet some, as is the norm at almost every school, wanted to become friends with my family as part of a power-play, especially through my wife. The goal of the “friendship” wasn’t for social reasons, but would be used as a way to tell her things about the school with the hope that the information would get back to me. My wife could never figure out who to trust based on my position as a school leader, and that was a frustration for both of us because we are extremely easy-going people. We did make solid connections with families, mostly neighbors and parents of our kid’s friends who realized that we were down to earth. Still, those that posed as friends hoping to get to me to enact their own agenda at the school was terribly disappointing.
Looking back, Florida culture was, well...unique, mostly in a positive way. I really enjoyed my job, and most of my colleagues were dedicated, terrific professionals that I was super proud to lead. As for the kids, who are supposed to be the reason educators should be in the business to begin with (right?!?! More on this to come), they were terrific and I loved being their leader. I began to realize what it was like to live in South Florida through the kids (as well as through the parent that told me that if the temperature fell below 60 degrees, I would need to call off school because it would be too cold for the kids. To quote the great pet detective, Ace Ventura, “Alrighty then…”). As an administrator, I tried to get to know the kids by spending time with them in the halls, visiting their classes, attending their games, and being a regular during their lunches. In addition, I coached youth lacrosse for my son’s team. Lacrosse is generally a Northern and Mid-Atlantic sport, yet it’s spreading nicely all over the country, including in Florida. There were some terrific players and coaches down there, which surprised me, but it was great to see high-quality players on the field and coaches on the sidelines that actually knew the game well enough to teach it correctly. One day during practice, I had a conversation with a twelve-year-old player and asked him what he liked to do off of the lacrosse field. His answer of “surfing” caught me off guard, as growing up in New Jersey and spending most of my adult life away from the coast, I had never met a “surf/lax dude” before. He was a good kid and a very good player, and I hope he goes far in the game.
Photo: Courtesy Brooklyn Lacrosse Club
For you deep southerners: la·crosse /ləˈkrôs/ - a team game, originally played by North American Indians, in which the ball is thrown, caught, and carried with a long-handled stick having a curved L-shaped or triangular frame at one end with a piece of shallow netting in the angle.
In addition, when I talked to students at my school and asked them what they were doing over the weekend, I got answers like “we are taking our boat to the Bahamas.” I would laugh and ask them what they really were doing. My laugh was usually met with a serious face and a reply like “No, Dr. B., we really are taking our boat to the Bahamas.” I had grown up in a wealthy community, but this one blew mine away. Lastly, when I first arrived at the school, I studied the list of colleges the school sent its graduates to, and the vast majority of grads stayed in-state for college. When I asked why that was the case, the answer I got strayed away from a typical answer having to do with in-state tuition being cheaper than going out of state and fell more along the lines of “well...why would anyone want to leave Florida?” I learned quickly that Floridians, much like Alabamians and Texans, generally love their state and everything that has to do with it.
Which brings me to the college football scene in Florida. I had a hard time figuring it out. I knew that due to the number of transplants down there, I would see a myriad of football allegiances. That proved to be true, and in addition, it was hard to determine if we were in SEC country with the Florida Gators or ACC territory with the Florida State Seminoles and the Miami Hurricanes or in the land of the American Athletic Conference with UCF and USF, or possibly we were in the domain of Conference USA with FAU and FIU. Moving down there, I expected scores of fans in Gator, Seminole, and Hurricane gear. The fact of the matter is I didn’t see much of that at all. There were some fans loyal to the state teams, no doubt, but mostly I ran into people who were totally dedicated to the Big Ten (WHAT?), especially Ohio State.
No I will NOT be keeping calm.
The amount of Buckeye fans in South Florida was stunning, and at times it seemed like the entire Buckeye Nation had relocated to The Sunshine State. Thank goodness, there were also a good amount of Crimson Tide fans my family and I could hobnob with, which was a blessing. My favorites included a family who had a daughter at the school who introduced themselves as Bama fans right off the bat (clear priorities...great start), and another was a family that had two kids at the school and seemed as passionate about the Tide as my family was. Their son was in the same grade as my son, and the two became quick friends. He would greet me daily with a huge smile, a handshake, and a hearty “Roll Tide!” I appreciated him very much, especially during my daily visit to the cafeteria in the middle of 6th-grade lunch as he, my son, and I could triple-team any unsuspecting Wolverine or Buckeye or Gator fan (in terms of the Gator fans, all two of them) that attempted to put their program on equal footing as our Crimson Tide...collectively, we put an end to that foolishness quickly. It was shocking to me that in a place where there was such pride in a home state, there was a lack of pride in the state’s college football teams. Perhaps it was just in my own community that this was the case, but traveling throughout the state (outside of Gainesville and Tallahassee) seemed to back up much of what I was seeing in my own community.
As the college football season approached, I decided to test my theory and have a little bit of fun. One of the perks I had at the school was a terrific office with a small balcony that overlooked a courtyard between the gym and academic buildings. I used to take breaks, go out on the balcony, and have chats with kids and faculty as they passed by...I felt a little like the Pope up there. At the start of college football season, I hung an Alabama flag from the balcony as a way to display my allegiance to the Tide. Yes, I received numerous shouts and taunts from the masses, but I played the game well and taunted them right back (especially to Big Ten fans). On one particular day, I went off to a meeting and upon return, my administrative assistant informed me that people were outside and wanted to take a picture of me on the balcony standing in front of the flag.
The proud Flag on the Balcony, naïve to the desecration that would soon occur.
I strolled out to my balcony, thinking I was “the man,” and posed like I was Superman or a rock star, with hands-on hips and eyes looking high in the sky with an expression on my face that clearly stated that I indeed knew I ruled the universe. Adoring “fans” took pictures and laughed uncontrollably below. Since my eyes were up in arrogant form, I thought they were laughing at me and my poses, yet I failed to realize that during my meeting, a colleague had snuck onto my balcony and covered the Bama flag with one depicting a certain rival in blue and orange, one that also starts with an “A” but ends with an “N.” So, as I stood proudly in front of what I thought was a Bama flag, yet in reality, I was posing in front of one that represented the dreaded Auburn Tigers. If my dad were alive, I no doubt would have been kicked out of the family.
An FBI file photo from the scene of the crime. All other evidence has been lost.
Some people, perhaps, would have been upset to have their flag so callously replaced with a rival one, however, I loved it. I thought it was hysterical and I was so thankful to be working with people that had a sense of humor and, at the same time, trusted me as their boss enough to know that I would love what they did. That day stood out as one of my favorites that year and made me appreciate the work I was doing. Besides, it backed up my theory that Florida is terribly confused college football-wise, as any place outside of The Plains that has Auburn fans as brash as the one who replaced my flag with their own must be in a state of utter confusion. In addition, I learned there was at least one Auburn Tiger fan at the school...God help him or her.
A quick but important digression: Working in education is exhausting, important work as we have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of kids. In some cases, we may be able to change the trajectory of a child’s life. Whether it be through work we do in the classroom as teachers, on the field as coaches, or as administrators loving, encouraging, and empowering those that work directly with kids, I pray the focus will return to doing what is truly best for kids. In this day and age, I believe we are losing our edge as more and more of education is becoming about adults rather than the kids. When I started in the business twenty-seven years ago, it was all about the kids. I wish I could say the same is true today. To all educators and leaders out there, please join me in helping return the focus of education to the kids, and I tip my hat to all whose focus truly is on doing what is the very best for them. Thank you for all you are doing to impact the next generation….digression complete.
We eventually left Florida and traded palm trees and the beach for four distinct seasons and the mountains. South Florida was a unique place to live, yet even with its conference allegiance confusion, I loved it. In some ways Florida, you are the envy of this country. I for one was blessed to be a part of your community. I loved leading a school while at the same time, having fun with colleagues and getting to know a great group of kids and parents. I loved feeling comfortable enough to act like an idiot as I posed in front of my rival’s flag thinking it was my own, and I loved exchanging daily high fives and Roll Tides with a particular 6th-grader...all in a day’s work in the Sunshine State.
So yes, Florida…Go Gators, Seminoles, Hurricanes, Knights, Bulls, Owls, Panthers, and the conferences you belong to, but please, no “Go Buckeyes” and the Big Ten...that’s just too much.
Dr. B has lived and taught throughout the South, attending The University of Alabama and earning a Ph.D. from The University of Georgia. He has come to know and love the people and rich traditions of the SEC and its rabid fan bases.