By Bob Redman
There has been a lot of talk about the new Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) that is part of college sports now. It’s a way for student athletes to make money because of who they are and even the playing field a little in terms of all the money that they generate for college sports. Even though they aren’t affiliated, the Gator Collective is an organization set up to make sure things are done the right way for the University of Florida and its athletes. In doing so, they are really into reaching out to the community and the many fans that are the very ones supporting the cause. We saw that on Saturday.
At the Touchdown Terrace, an area at the north end of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium that hosts thousands of people on football Saturdays in the fall, the Gator Collective hosted a fan fest that brought well over 200 people to the event. It was to raise more money for the collective and in attendance were a couple of dozen football players, and athletes from the Florida men’s basketball, gymnastics and volleyball squads.
The athletes were there to meet and greet the nearly 200 fans in attendance in an atmosphere set up by Gator Collective boss lady Jen Grosso. Food was served, music was cranking, and athletes were everywhere signing autographs, getting selfies with fans, and playing games of corn hole set up for the many kids in attendance.
The tickets weren’t cheap because of the cause, but funds were collected by many fans to bring in the local Boys and Girls Club group to also mingle with the athletes. Over $700 was raised for that cause and the event was a big success with the children really getting a chance they likely wouldn’t have.
“This was a phenomenal opportunity,” Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County director Jason Wells said. “I appreciate Jen for reaching out. The Boys and Girls Club, one of the things we are really driven to do is open the experiences of young people. Most of our clientele are of a different socio-economic group. What we’re here to do is just build that village that opens up exposure. It crosses over for math, robotics, and culinary programs that we do at the club. Then of course being able to come here at the Touchdown Terrace, meet some of their idols, see some of the guys that have made it, especially for these young men that have come with me today.”
Wells brought about three dozen boys that are the local champions in various groups around the Gainesville area that compete in football.
“This was kind of their reward for being champion,” he said. “They all have football aspirations, so to be able to meet these guys, hear some of their stories, resonates with them. It’s huge for them to just be able to push that hope of what could be.”
The players understand that the fans are the ones that drive the ship and fund college football as a whole and are certainly the ones that push the collective. This group of Florida players also seems to really enjoy being around the children.
“It’s a great experience to be out here and meet some of the kids, some of the families, and some of the supporters that support the team, so it’s a great event,” Florida sophomore cornerback Jason Marshall said.
Getting close and personal with the fans is something special for these players.
“It’s always fun getting to meet the fans… to meet them up close and personal,” sophomore guard-center Richie Leonard said. “There were a lot of little kids, a lot of pictures. It’s always a really good time for everybody.”
Wells knows all too well what it meant for the kids he brought to the event to be a part of it and that comes from personal experience.
“I was a college athlete and played college football at Georgia Southern,” he said. “It was always an honor to be an Eagle. I love Jesus, that’s part of who I am. That platform as an athlete to be able to go out to churches, youth groups, and lock-ins and tell that story and talk about my Lord and Savior, that was always a drive for me as an athlete in college.
“You know it’s healing. From an athlete’s perspective, for them to be able to hang out with the little guys, it’s a joy, because you remember being there. Especially in college athletics, it’s a grind, it’s a job. To be able to go back and meet some of these young kids and have an opportunity to hang out and remember where you were in the love of the game. That’s a huge thing for the Gator athletes.”
Florida sophomore linebacker Derek Wingo gets that part of it as well and not just with the kids, but for the adults that were running around the room with a Sharpie marker and a t-shirt or football to be signed.
“I think for the Gator Collective to come in and be able to do this and be able to interact with the fans and meet us off the field, talk to us, interact with us, and to sign autographs and take pictures, I think that’s great,” Wingo said. “It only builds your fan base more. It encourages them to go out to the games and to be there and support us. Every school should have this, I think it’s amazing.”
That encouraging focus on the willingness to please others shows up when the kids and athletes mingle in a comfortable setting designed to make that happen. And these kids that don’t normally get to meet athletes of this caliber and some that they would like to emulate someday will go home maybe likely wanting to achieve more.
“For our players it just drives home what it takes to get to the next level,” Wells said. “It just drives home the hope of who they could be one day. We hope that carrot is enough to not only work hard in their sport, but also understanding that you have to be a student athlete. You gotta do the right thing all the time if you’re going to get to this level. I think both relationships go both ways of just inspiring one another.”
And it all comes back to the opportunities. The fans stepped up with the collective and made this opportunity for themselves in some instances, but also the opportunity for the kids from the local Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County.
“We were so happy to give them that experience,” Ms. Grosso said afterward. “The athletes enjoyed interacting with the kids, playing games, and sharing stories.”
It’s about a game, but it’s about much more than a game as well. That was evident on Saturday.