Gator fans, we’ve been beat up a lot the past few weeks. It seems like you can’t turn on sports news shows without people talking about how the Gators could miss the National Championship, or how Alabama is really the #1 team in the country. On top of that, the citizens of Titletown have to live with several superstitions and curses that seem to follow them around all year. What’s worse is that many of you out there know nothing about the Hell mouth you live on and all the horrible scariness that goes on around you. Too many spend only their college years here and don’t know what lies sleeping in the dark corners of Gainesville, or the bad voodoo that bedevils the football team you all know and love.

So, with Halloween and the Georgia game coming together in one perfect nightmare, we have for you some of the more interesting urban legends and “curses” that you may not even know of.

We’ll start on a lighter note, with something scary for the image it creates in your mind more than the actual: FSU’s athletic director, Randy Spetman, once said that Steve Spurrier, once a Gator, now a Cock, deserved a spanking… I don’t have any more information on this really, but do you actually want to know more about this?

Moving on to less creepy things, you students should be aware of the urban legends that have sprung up around the campus you call home. We’re not talking rituals to reawaken pagan Gator gods, or attempts to reanimate the dead to go to class for you (that would only work if you looked like a Georgia fan anyway), but UF does have its share of eeriness.

Popular myths about the campus go from the ridiculous to the maybe it’s true. For those of you looking to rest up in the dorms this Halloween, it would be best to avoid Broward Hall, as it is a campus legend that being in H-shaped buildings on Halloween, like Broward, is dangerous. How dangerous? Well, for one, being cooped up in your dorm instead of partying with the costumed Gator faithful or out watching the Georgia/UF game well most assuredly kill your social life, as well as murder your dedication to the team. Don’t stay in on the 31st, Broward residents, as your life may indeed depend on it.

Thinking of taking a stroll to Lake Alice in the dead of night? Ever wonder the reason for the name? Apparently, according to local Gainesville gypsies, two lovers were sitting on the bank of the lake, which was unnamed at the time for some reason, when a gator, Albert’s granddad perhaps, leapt from the water and dragged the guy into the lake. The University named the lake for the young lady that survived traumatized yet now the proud mother of her own lake of death. Bet she was just pleased as punch to be associated with that her whole life.

Century Tower is home to two superstitions, the first being that there used to be an alligator pit around it. I know, not too scary, but just think if you were that Alice girl from the lake story. The gators probably laughed at her and made lip smacking noises every time she walked by, so no wonder the supposed pit is no longer there. More interesting, though, is the story that bricks fall from the top section of the tower if a virgin graduates UF. Did anyone happen to mention this to Tebow, because graduation is coming pretty quick for him and I’m just hoping the whole tower doesn’t come a-crashing down when a campus football legend tests that one? I’m just saying, if you’re going to graduation for Tim, make sure you’re as far away from Century Tower as possible.

Oh, and look for the ghost on the second floor of Gator City, what used to be the Purple Porpoise. I guess he/she’s still waiting for those oysters, or maybe has been wandering drunk through the building wondering where the bathroom is… for eternity.

And what about the Florida Gators?

We’ve got just a little bad juju here and there in the football program, so we at GatorTailgating feel that we should warn the world- It’s the right thing to do.

The Gator Chomp, long associated with the John Williams’ famous opera music from the art film Jaws, has been a local favorite at Gator games since 1981 (October 10, 1981 by the Fightin Gator Marching Band for all those who wondered). However, did you know of the curse? It has long been believed that an opponent using the Chomp to mock the Gators is a curse akin to walking under a ladder or spilling the salt or being locked in a room with an incontinent 90 year old; to do any of these things would be bad luck and lead to some horrible consequences. Just ask Sebastion Janikowski, who, after kicking the go ahead field goal to put FSU up 29-25, Chomped at us in arrogance, to show us, to rub it in. So UF took the ball and scored three plays later. Nice job Jani. (Now, many say that Byrum for Auburn did the same thing with no backlash in ’07, but considering their 2-6 SEC record last year and the barn burning 2-3 they’ve amassed this year, I’d say Chomping is best left to the professionals at the Swamp).

Gatortailgating.com has an already published article addressing the curse of the UF wide out in the NFL, tracing the history of the curse back to the Timuca Indians of 1514, but this year may finally see the end to that miserable run. Percy Harvin has managed to remain relatively healthy, shoulder problems aside, and has started to carve out a nice niche in Minnesota, grabbing two TD’s from Favre, as well as returning 2 kickoffs for TDs. Even Louis Murphy has seen a modicum of success on one of the worst franchises in the league, getting almost 300 yards receiving and a TD from former LSU great and opponent Jamarcus Russell. While the jury is still out, for even Jacquez Green and Jabar Gaffney managed at least one season of decent numbers, Meyer’s wide receivers may be able to break the curse that Zook and Spurrier somehow placed on the wide receivers in their time. Or was it the TImuca Indians?

Finally, we come to Coach Meyer’s SEC West curse. The man hasn’t yet hit double digit losses and can already count six from the west alone. 2005 saw him lose at LSU and at Alabama, followed by his one loss in 2006 at Auburn. In 2007, Meyer lost as a 17 point favorite when he invited Auburn to the swamp, then dropped one at LSU the following week. We all know about Ole Miss in 2008, where we were favored by 22. Six SEC West losses, two of them at home, and this season has seen us escape with wins against LSU, Arkansas, and Miss St, making me all the more nervous about this SEC Championship game. Fact is, Meyer has dropped at least one game to the SEC West every year he’s been in Gainesville and I’m hoping that two National Championships in three years has finally given Urban the opportunity to break the curse. Perhaps whatever evil spirit that was taunting Meyer was blinded by the glare of the Florida sunshine off of those two massive championship rings, or maybe Tebow’s purity finally drove back the darkness, or maybe the curse only had a four year lifespan, but here’s hoping that Meyer finally kicks that curse to the corner and gives Gainesville it’s perfect season and it’s second sport to win back to back championships..

Enjoy your Halloween this week, get back to Gainesville safe after the massacre in Jacksonville, and remember ladies that you should never be scared that your costume reveals too much.

Go Gators and keep an eye out for the spirits of those pesky Timuca Indians.

Josh Bauer is a columnist for GatorTailgating.com