Intramural team is flagged as national champions

February 12, 2008

Titletown has struck again.

Even though the University of Florida is the proud winner of two NCAA basketball championships and one football championship in a little more than a year, a group of students decided that simply wasn’t enough.

For the first time since 1989, the University of Florida intramural flag football men’s team has earned the national championship and added another title to the university’s pantheon of sports achievement.

Fox College Sports filmed a documentary of the New Year’s Eve victory in New Orleans and will be airing the film at 7 p.m. on Feb. 19.

Under the leadership of quarterback John Cox, College of Journalism and Communications senior, the Gator Escort Service beat the University of Central Florida 20-18 to win the American Collegiate Intramural Sports tournament.

“I had always figured that if we weren’t good, people could still laugh at our name,” Cox said, “but when we did well at the regional tournament, we knew that we had to try for the title.”

On top of winning the championship, the team also boasts five of the 24 All-American Players awards and Most Valuable Defensive Player, Adam Langston.

Gator Escort Service played for the regional title in Pensacola, Fla., on Nov. 11. The team lost to the SU Jags of Southern University and A & M College, but as the runner-up, UF Gator Escort Service won free entry to the national competition and a $750 travel stipend.

“It wasn’t a bad drive for the guys from around Gainesville,” Cox said, “but one guy drove 18 hours from South Florida and brought his whole family with him.”

The team had overwhelming support during their championship game, with more fans in attendance than players, Cox noted.

“We had a lot of girlfriends there,” he said.

After posing for pictures with their championship t-shirts and jackets, some team members watched the famous Gumbo Pot Drop at midnight in New Orleans’ Jackson Square before going to sleep.

“We were going to go out and celebrate after that, but after that game, we were all pretty exhausted,” Cox said.