By Matt Mauney | Associate Editor
Walk into Richie Long’s apartment, and it won’t take long to figure out he is a huge University of Florida Gators fan.
From signed memorabilia to a Gators throw blanket on the end of his bed, there is no mistaking Long’s love and passion for UF.
Long, the office coordinator at Sweetbay Supermarket off South Wheeler Street, says he has supported Florida Gator football as long as he can remember.
“When I was old enough to know what football was, I was a fan,” he said.
Long’s parents, Elliott and Jan, were big supporters of the UF football team and passed their passion down to their son. Long, 33, is originally from Lakeland and has been working for Sweetbay for six-and-one-half years and has been living in Plant City for three years.
Long didn’t have any chances to make the trip up to Gainesville as a child. In fact, his first game came in 2010, and the experience only heightened Long’s passion for Gators football. He returned last year for another game.
“It’s nothing like you see on TV,” he said. “You get goosebumps when you walk into the stadium. I just enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy Gainesville. Hearing the band play live and taking everything in is just amazing.”
Long admits he also has some family members, including an uncle, who support the Florida State Seminoles, one of the Gators biggest rivals.
“I remember growing up when the Florida-Florida State game would come around; it was always fun,” he said. “The rivalry of the games between the families was always exciting.”
Long’s passion doesn’t stop with the Gators. He also claims to be the No. 1 Tim Tebow fan and supporter in town.
“When he started playing for UF, I just really latched on to him because of his leadership skills and the fact that he’s not afraid to show he’s religious,” Long said.
Long has had the opportunity to meet Tebow several times, even before he was able to take in a Gators football game.
“I first met him in 2008 at Florida Football Fan Day at the campus in Gainesville,” he said.
Long waited in line for almost four hours that day and barely made the cutoff to be able to meet Tebow. Long met him again at fan day in 2009 and even camped out at for his book-signing last year at an Orlando Barnes and Noble.
Among his many pieces of Florida memorabilia, Long’s favorite piece is a mini helmet signed by Tebow.
Long said he still supports Tebow in his NFL career and has followed his progress with the Denver Broncos and now the New York Jets. He wishes the Jets would use him more.
“I hate how his time ended in Denver,” he said. “I don’t think they gave him a fair chance to prove himself there, and now with the Jets, it’s even more frustrating, because they have Mark Sanchez as their starting quarterback and aren’t using Tebow that much. I personally wish that they would trade him to a team that would let him show his true potential.”
Long said he would love to see the Gators win a national championship in person, and it would be a dream to take in an NFL game with Tebow playing, something he never got to experience when Tebow was at Florida.