The Villages Daily Sun

Marie Humphries was surprised by the request from the other end of the phone line.

The Village of Sunset Pointe resident was talking to her grandsons, Dustin Koby, 11, and Dalton Koby, 6, of Circleville, Ohio — 30 miles south of Columbus, in the heart of Ohio State’s Buckeye country — and Marie was stunned when the boys asked if she could find them some Florida Gator shirts.

“My grandson Dustin said, ‘Grandma, I don’t ask you for very many favors, but can you find me some Gator T-shirts to wear to school?’” Humphries said.

The boys complained they could not find any of the shirts in Ohio.

Luckily for the Koby boys, Grandma moved to The Villages two years ago from Toledo, Ohio, and found shirts for them at Bealls. She sent the orange-and-blue Gator apparel right away — just in time for the BCS National Championship Game on Monday.

So, why are the boys Gator fans?

Dustin and Dalton come from a family with loyalties to the University of Michigan, Marie explained. Since Michigan was not in the big game, the boys were cheering for the team opposing Ohio State.

“On Monday, game day, the boys were dressed in their Florida Gators attire,” Marie said, grinning. “I’m sure they were the only two boys in their school wearing orange and blue.”

Marie got a chuckle over what happened next.

“The next day, after the Gators won, Dustin went to his mom and said, ‘Mom, I know I wore my shirt yesterday, but can I please wear it again today?’” Humphries said.

Mom said OK.

Marie talked to Dustin on Tuesday night and learned his teacher handled it well.

“She explained to the class that somebody has to lose and somebody has to win. She was teaching them good sportsmanship, and I thought that was pretty cool,” Marie said.

The class celebrated with a party, too.

“Dustin said he was king of the hill because he had the winning team,” Marie said, grinning.

Now thousands — maybe more — Gator fans are flocking to stores for the latest Gator attire boasting of the national football championship win.

Bealls assistant manager Molly Travers says she is stunned by how fast Gator merchandise is selling.

“We sell out the minute we get them in the store,” Travers said Thursday. “We got a shipment this morning and there was a mob of people. We got another shipment in at 10 a.m., and there were 48 hats and they were gone in a flash. Now, we’re waiting for another shipment, hopefully, this afternoon. People are just asking — like crazy — for them.”

The Gators’ win is great for the store, Travers said.

“It is bringing in a lot of business,” she said. “Of course, they’re buying other stuff with those Gator shirts. They’re buying multiples; we’re talking $70 to $80 worth of T-shirts.”

Travers says more Gator stuff is on the way.

“We have polo shirts that are due in, hats that are due in,” she said, “and far as we know, people can keep coming in for them. We also can order items on the computer system — if they can wait three to five days to get them.”

My husband — who absolutely detests shopping — was eager to shop when it came to buying a Gators championship hat, some T-shirts, pennants and other memorabilia.

We became Gator fans after moving to Florida in 2003. Our daughter Maria, 10 at the time, was asked to wear apparel of her favorite college team to school, and she couldn’t decide between the Seminoles and Gators.

The vibrant blue-and-orange colors caught her eye, but it was a store’s fuzzy green stuffed toy Gator mascot that really melted her heart.

Yep, we bought the toy, along with orange-and-blue clothing items, and became instant Gator fans.

The highlight since, of course, has been staying up late last April and again Monday night to witness a great moment in Gator history — the basketball and football teams’ national championship wins. Both are nights we’ll talk about for years to come — just like all other Gator Nation fans will do.

Theresa Campbell is a senior features writer with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9260, or theresa.campbell@thevillagesmedia.com.