Tim Tebow Proves to Michael Irvin That Gator Nation Owns Florida

Michael Irvin is one of the wildest speakers associated with football, be it college or the NFL, but he may have met his match. As the Hall of Fame receiver learned, former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow is still the top man in the Sunshine State. When he calls on Gator Nation to make a statement, they listen.

Saturday afternoon, Irvin recorded a video of him and Tebow on the set of College GameDay, arguing about whether or not the Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators would be victorious during the season-opening battle.

Entering the game, Tebow’s alma mater is favored, but Irvin believes that this will be short-lived. He fully expects Miami to easily cruise to victory on Saturday night.

As the video shows, Irvin is taking the entire rivalry game far more serious than Tebow. He was screaming about how “they were going down,” which only prompted Tebow to ask, “the Canes?”

From that point on, the argument was all over the place. Irvin said that Gator Nation stops at Orlando, which is situated between Gainesville and Miami. However, Tebow said that the Gators fanbase rules all of Florida, to the point that it reaches Coral Gables.

To emphasize his point, Tebow had Irvin turn the camera around and examine the crowd of football fans standing behind the set. The majority was decked out in Gators gear, and Tebow only saw “16 Canes fans.”

Of course, this interaction follows the rousing speech that Irvin gave during the University of Miami pep rally. The former Hurricanes standout was caught on camera shouting into a microphone about how the Canes were going to stomp on the Gators neck and rip out their heart. He even wore the turnover chain to emphasize his point.

With 2,423 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns in three seasons, Irvin became one of the school’s most popular athletes. However, that paled in comparison to the effect that Tebow had on the University of Florida.

In his four season-run, the future first-round draft pick accounted for 88 passing touchdowns and 57 rushing touchdowns while becoming the youngest player at the time to win the Heisman Trophy. Tebow also led the Gators to a National Championship victory over the Oklahoma Sooners and the seemingly unstoppable Sam Bradford.

Tebow may have seen less success in the NFL than Irvin, but he remains undefeated in the battle between schools. So far, Gator Nation is showing up better than the Hurricanes fans.