PhD Gator
Super Moderator
I can never get enough of reading all the articles about Gator sports and our accomplishments on the court and on the field of play. However, they are easily topped by articles like this one about Noah. This is what it is truly about and what makes me so proud of so many of our Gator athletes. Even if Noah were a very average player (which he is not in any way) I would be beyond proud to say that I am a part of the Gator Nation along with him.
http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10012242
This isn't the only great Noah story I have read (or heard) about though. The one that probably gives me the most respect for Noah is this (I honestly don't even remember who told this story, but I believe it was a poster on another board):
This person was a big-time Gator booster and had season tickets either first row or very close for all of the basketball games. He would often take his grandson (who if I remember correctly was somewhere around 10 years old) to games with him. He loved watching Noah and they would get there early to watch them shoot around. Noah noticed the kid and would come by and high five him during every shoot around. So, one day Noah came over to high five the young kid and the boy pulled out an invitation to his birthday party and gave it to Noah. I don't remember where the guy said the grandson lived, but I believe it was somewhere around an hour away from Gainesville. That Saturday afternoon Noah showed up at that boy's birthday party. I obviously can't confirm that this story is true, but I have absolutely no reason to believe its not. If you can hear a story like that about an athlete who is as big on the national stage as Noah is and not be just utterly proud that he is a Gator....then I don't even know what to say. I seriously grin with pride every time I even re-tell that story.
Anyways, I didn't mean for this to turn into a long, emotional post. But, at only 24 myself, to read about some of these young men that are even younger than me and are thrown on to a national stage doing good like this and making a difference is very heart-warming. These type of things just make it even easier to say "It's Great to be a Florida Gator" and that I am proud to be a part of the Gator Nation.
http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10012242
This isn't the only great Noah story I have read (or heard) about though. The one that probably gives me the most respect for Noah is this (I honestly don't even remember who told this story, but I believe it was a poster on another board):
This person was a big-time Gator booster and had season tickets either first row or very close for all of the basketball games. He would often take his grandson (who if I remember correctly was somewhere around 10 years old) to games with him. He loved watching Noah and they would get there early to watch them shoot around. Noah noticed the kid and would come by and high five him during every shoot around. So, one day Noah came over to high five the young kid and the boy pulled out an invitation to his birthday party and gave it to Noah. I don't remember where the guy said the grandson lived, but I believe it was somewhere around an hour away from Gainesville. That Saturday afternoon Noah showed up at that boy's birthday party. I obviously can't confirm that this story is true, but I have absolutely no reason to believe its not. If you can hear a story like that about an athlete who is as big on the national stage as Noah is and not be just utterly proud that he is a Gator....then I don't even know what to say. I seriously grin with pride every time I even re-tell that story.
Anyways, I didn't mean for this to turn into a long, emotional post. But, at only 24 myself, to read about some of these young men that are even younger than me and are thrown on to a national stage doing good like this and making a difference is very heart-warming. These type of things just make it even easier to say "It's Great to be a Florida Gator" and that I am proud to be a part of the Gator Nation.
