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SAN ANTONIO — On the surface, Florida Victorious’ Final Four celebration was about the past. From the name of the bar it was held at – Be Kind and Reward – to the Purple Porpoise shirts worn by the bartenders.
The event, put on by Florida athletics NIL collective, was designed to remind Florida basketball fans of what winning felt like. A reminder of the dominance of the 2006 and 2007 national championship teams.
But the event was also about the present – a chance for UF fans in San Antonio to celebrate the current squad Todd Golden has built.
The celebration ran from 8 p.m.-12 a.m. in downtown San Antonio and included free admission for all Florida Victorious members and a $25 entry for all non-members.
Inside, it was all-you-can-drink with bartenders wearing shirts honoring old Gainesville haunts, such as the Purple Porpoise, and drinks inspired by the Gators – including one named “Gator Boys Stay Hot.”
Florida Victorious Vice President of Marketing – Bri Wade – said the event received confirmation the moment Florida defeated Texas Tech.
“As soon as we won, as soon as the buzzer ring, I emailed them saying the Gators are there, we’ll be there,” Wade said.
The retro theme was by design of course.
“This is such a big deal us making it to the Final Four, and a common theme across like Twitter, with our members and fans, that this feels a lot like the good old days and the nostalgia,” Wade said. “So wanted to play into that, and found the perfect venue here”
It really did feel like a blast to the past for the fans in attendance. Ari Luxemberg, a UF alum and entertainment lawyer from Los Angeles would know. After all, he’s attended each of Florida’s last three trips to the Final Four – 2006, 2007 and 2014.
He’ll never forget how he made it to Indianapolis in 2006. He spent the first weekend of March Madness in Las Vegas. When the week ended, he had money left over, so he bet on the third-seeded Gators to make the Final Four. They did, and he used that money to book a ticket to Indy.
The only way we could afford to go to the Final Four is to win those bets. We got great seats. We saw us win our first basketball title,” Luxemberg said. “It was all so fresh and new. It felt like a team of destiny.”
The allure of a Final Four has never washed away, and neither has Luxemberg gambler attitude. He still spends the first week of the tournament in Vegas. Instead of taking the safe option and driving five hours north to San Francisco, he chose to put all of his chips on San Antonio.
“We booked our hotel rooms nonrefundable for San Antonio,” Luxemberg said. “I booked mine when we beat Alabama in the SEC tournament because otherwise I knew they'd be sold out, so every game is sweating it out because hotel room was expensive.”
The anxiety reached a fever pitch vs. Texas Tech, when he changed his shirt three times and stopped watching with three minutes left.
Yet, the Gators dug deep and now Luxemberg is here. He said he’s confident in Florida since it is back to the “hunter” role after being the “hunted” during the tournament.
“People didn't think we're better than Auburn. We have to prove it. We have to show them, so I think we'll come out loose and aggressive,” he said.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected] and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball fans attend event at Final Four hosted by Florida Victorious
Continue reading...
The event, put on by Florida athletics NIL collective, was designed to remind Florida basketball fans of what winning felt like. A reminder of the dominance of the 2006 and 2007 national championship teams.
But the event was also about the present – a chance for UF fans in San Antonio to celebrate the current squad Todd Golden has built.
The celebration ran from 8 p.m.-12 a.m. in downtown San Antonio and included free admission for all Florida Victorious members and a $25 entry for all non-members.
Inside, it was all-you-can-drink with bartenders wearing shirts honoring old Gainesville haunts, such as the Purple Porpoise, and drinks inspired by the Gators – including one named “Gator Boys Stay Hot.”
Florida Victorious Vice President of Marketing – Bri Wade – said the event received confirmation the moment Florida defeated Texas Tech.
“As soon as we won, as soon as the buzzer ring, I emailed them saying the Gators are there, we’ll be there,” Wade said.
The retro theme was by design of course.
“This is such a big deal us making it to the Final Four, and a common theme across like Twitter, with our members and fans, that this feels a lot like the good old days and the nostalgia,” Wade said. “So wanted to play into that, and found the perfect venue here”
It really did feel like a blast to the past for the fans in attendance. Ari Luxemberg, a UF alum and entertainment lawyer from Los Angeles would know. After all, he’s attended each of Florida’s last three trips to the Final Four – 2006, 2007 and 2014.
He’ll never forget how he made it to Indianapolis in 2006. He spent the first weekend of March Madness in Las Vegas. When the week ended, he had money left over, so he bet on the third-seeded Gators to make the Final Four. They did, and he used that money to book a ticket to Indy.
The only way we could afford to go to the Final Four is to win those bets. We got great seats. We saw us win our first basketball title,” Luxemberg said. “It was all so fresh and new. It felt like a team of destiny.”
The allure of a Final Four has never washed away, and neither has Luxemberg gambler attitude. He still spends the first week of the tournament in Vegas. Instead of taking the safe option and driving five hours north to San Francisco, he chose to put all of his chips on San Antonio.
“We booked our hotel rooms nonrefundable for San Antonio,” Luxemberg said. “I booked mine when we beat Alabama in the SEC tournament because otherwise I knew they'd be sold out, so every game is sweating it out because hotel room was expensive.”
The anxiety reached a fever pitch vs. Texas Tech, when he changed his shirt three times and stopped watching with three minutes left.
Yet, the Gators dug deep and now Luxemberg is here. He said he’s confident in Florida since it is back to the “hunter” role after being the “hunted” during the tournament.
“People didn't think we're better than Auburn. We have to prove it. We have to show them, so I think we'll come out loose and aggressive,” he said.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected] and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball fans attend event at Final Four hosted by Florida Victorious
Continue reading...
