Bay County’s Biggest Gators Fan – Steve Wilson
BY VAL SCHOGER PHOTOS BY KATIE DESANTIS
“HE BLEEDS ORANGE AND BLUE”
says Sandra Wilson about her husband Steve. He has accumulated a vast collection of Gators memorabilia throughout the years and relatives and friends eagerly add to the collection at any given occasion such as birthdays or Christmas celebrations.
Steve and Sandra Wilson are the owners of Wilson’s Funeral Home, a business that has been family owned and operated for more than 100 years, spanning four generations. Like the family business, the passion for the Florida Gators was passed down from father to son.
“My father, Wilbur Preston “Buck” Wilson, played football at Bay High, and he liked football. He and a friend of his, Karl Wiselogel, hitchhiked from here to Knoxville, Tennessee to see the Florida Gators play in 1928. They rode in the back of a rumble seat to the Tennessee River, and said it was so cold they could hardly stand it. It was so cold that the field was frozen and they had warmed it up over night and it made the field slippery. The Floridians were not used to that and Tennessee ended up beating Florida 13-12. It was the only game that the Gators lost that season.”
“The first game I remember my father taking me to was a Florida-Georgia game, I guess the year was 1947 or so. I was eight or nine years old.” Steve Wilson rarely missed a game since then and kept many of the tickets to prove it. “I had this straw hat and started sticking the tickets in the hat band. After a while they were that many tickets that I had to start putting them on top.” One of the tickets reads 1975 – the game was Auburn against Florida and the price was $8, with tax included. Another ticket is from 1980 – Louisville played against Florida at a ticket price of $10. Yet another ticket he pulls out of the hat is dated November 15, 1969 – Kentucky vs. Florida, the game was in Gainesville.
Faith and football – both play big roles in Mr. Wilson’s life. “Tim Tebow and Danny Wuerffel are my favorite players. They are role models and a great influence on a lot of people, especially younger players. They are fine Christians. It is unbelievable that Florida had three Heisman Trophy winners. Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, Tim Tebow, and all of their fathers were preachers.”
With an impressive collection of fan gear, fan wear and Gators memorabilia in all shapes and sizes, Steve Wilson is truly the biggest Gators fan. And he stays true to the Gators, even when they play against the Seminoles and even if some of the family, friends and neighbors pull for the Florida State Seminoles.
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