There’s one Gator fan in San Antonio that is as excited as anyone while he constantly says, “My pleasure.”
SAN ANTONIO — You’ll find plenty of Houston Cougars, Auburn Tigers, Duke Blue Devils and Florida Gators fans around San Antonio this week as we count down to the NCAA Men’s Final Four inside the Alamodome on Saturday followed by the National Championship Game on Monday night.
But there’s one Gator fan that’s as excited as anyone while he constantly says, “My pleasure.” He told us the ‘Gator Chomp’ speaks for itself.
Ryan Roberts is the owner and operator of the Alon Centre Chick-fil-A location, and he’s also a University of Florida graduate, and that meant a house divided in the Elite Eight last week.
His wife Emily is all about those Texas Tech Red Raiders.
I asked him if she’d let him back in the house yet (LOL)?
“Yeah we watched the game separately, but we came back together,” he said. “We’re good.”
The Final Four plays out Saturday night in downtown San Antonio, and we asked Roberts how was feeling about things.
“I’m feeling very confident,” Roberts said. “The Gators have had a great season. They’ve won several games in a row and I feel like they are peaking at the right time.”
You can feel the excitement all around the city this week as San Antonio hosts yet another Final Four.
Roberts, however, told us he also feels the butterflies in advance of Saturday’s big game against the SEC rival Auburn Tigers.
“We’ve been close a few years since we won back-to-back, and this may be our chance since so we’re excited,” he said.
Roberts is part of the Alamo City Gator Club where fans meet to watch games and raise money for scholarships for local students planning to attend the university.
“It is really fun to watch games with fans that are cheering for the same team,” he said.
Roberts told us he is confident after Florida won the last meeting between the two, which was on the road at Auburn, but acknowledges beating any team twice in the same season is difficult.
***And make sure you watch the video clip to the end***
An Auburn fan, totally unplanned, came into the store while we were setting up to interview Ryan. He agreed to have some fun with us and Ryan, to cap the story. It was a funny moment!
The Final Four tips off Saturday night with Auburn facing Florida and Duke facing Houston with the two winners advancing to Monday night’s National Championship Game.