My college football / biker parable

This is my little personal story from the '70s. It is a true tale, but I also offer it as a possible parable that relates to bikes and 'rivalries'.

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A long time ago, in a nice warm state far south of where I currently live, I graduated from high school, and selected a college based upon my desire to become an engineer. I became a proud Florida Gator.

My girlfriend also chose a college based upon her interest in becoming a teacher. She became an FSU Seminole. This arrangement led to many trips back and forth between Gainesville and Tallahassee for the both of us. And since I am an avid football fan, and she was becoming one... we attended many college games, both at her school and at mine.

Now, as I said at the beginning.. this is a story from the 1970s. Gator dominance over the laughable 'Noles was a fact. Not that there was anything noteworthy about that accomplishment, since FSU was officially a girl's school until sometime after WWII (and many Gators claim it still was up until the mid-70s...).

Now...wake up... here comes the parable part. When I attended games at FSU, there was a persistent cheer that was popular with the students. I heard it every game, and took it as a compliment. "Go to hell, Gators... Go to hell". Over and over. Didn't matter that the team on the field was the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, or the Mississippi State Bulldogs, or whomever... the students had their favorite chant... "Go to hell, Gators... Go to Hell!" Visiting teams would turn around on their bench... look up into the stands quizzically... as if to say "Umm, you realize we are the TIGERS who are currently kicking your ass, don't you?"

Then came the 1980s... Florida was found guilty of LOTS of NCAA infractions and got slapped with many penalties and huge losses of scholarships. FSU snapped up some excellent football talent, and built up a tradition of winning. They were no longer the easy whipping boys for the Gators, and the many wins by the 'Noles narrowed their overall win/loss record against the Gators. The Seminoles won a National Championship. They had arrived. And, they no longer were obsessed with the Gators... cheers during an FSU game began to focus on the actual opponent they were playing.

So... the point of this tale: We are on a VTX website. We enjoy our Xs, or perhaps we aspire to own one. But there are frequent threads that inevitably appear and reappear... making repeated slaps at the manufacturer of another American motorcycle. To me, it seems like a parallel and a sad reminder of the Gator-obsessed cheers and the inferiority complex suffered by those 1970-era Seminoles.

Just let it go. We all need to face up to a simple fact; No other manufacturer overshadows Honda. But that doesn't mean that other choices by others bikers are wrong. Fine... compare features, discuss differences and preferences... but there is no reason for bashing.

And maybe...just maybe... this parable won't be banned to the OTB.

Best wishes and happy riding to you all. (And, GO GATORS!)