Welcome to the best school in the nation, Coach Frost!
I am one of 62,000 students. You’ll never know me, but I first started here when our Knights went to the Fiesta Bowl. Telling people I went to UCF always meant I got a lot of comments about being an underdog, people naturally care more about the Seminoles and Gators when it comes to Florida football—the teams with legacy and history. Our football program has always been unappreciated and underrated. No one thinks twice about UCF and how much future our school holds. I can’t wait for that to change.
That year we proved something though, and we made history—I’m happy to say I was a part of it. I watched as everyone jumped on the UCF bandwagon, and we finally earned the national recognition we deserved as a school.
2013 was exhilarating because I wasn’t attending an underrated school, I was attending THE University of Central Florida. We were back-to-back conference champions, and I knew this relatively new university I was attending was only going to show more promise, and my next couple of years here would only get that much more exciting.
As two years passed by, and our star players graduated (yeah, I’m talking to you Blake Bortles, JJ Worton, and Breshad Perriman), I watched as my peers lost faith in our football team. The sold out stands deteriorated into a handful of loyal fans who still cheered on our defeated football team, and it was sad. I was one of the fans who sat surrounded by empty bleachers and disappointed fans. People left after the first quarter, if they even made it to the game, and they would predict that we were going to lose before we even lost. There was no hope in regaining the crazy atmosphere that was the era of Blake Bortles this football season. But Blake shouldn’t have to be here for the Knights to be awesome!
I didn’t get to see our team win not ONE game this year, but I still stayed because there was a part of me that still believed in our Knights, and thank you for believing in us too.
As I know George O’Leary did amazing things for UCF, and was there for our most successful moments in the program’s history, we were waiting for a coach like you. UCF needed a coach who could restore the fight, the spark, and the hunger for a W in our football team, and the motivation to go to games for students. I do believe you can do that for us. So welcome to UCF!
You could have went anywhere, but you chose the right school. UCF is filled with opportunity, diversity and a young football team that needs you. (Not to mention our beautiful campus, but I digress.)
I hope you’re welcomed with open arms, and next year—and for all the years to come—you can look up into the stands and see a packed stadium filled with students, alumni, and future Knights who can’t wait to attend the amazing school YOU will be making history for.
You’re going to love it here Coach Frost, because I sure do.
-An eager UCF football fan