It began with this year’s Miami-Florida football game. I was out of town for a board retreat and the scheduling universe was not aligning for me to watch the most hyped match for an opening game. My Gator buddy and UF alumna daughter was eight hours away as a graduate student in Birmingham trying to find a sports channel that showed anything other than Alabama or Auburn. And my Gator-fan husband? He was the lucky one donning orange and blue at Camping World Stadium ready for kickoff. Two out of three Mangan Gators were feeling out of sorts.

Adding insult to injury was the fact that an FSU graduate was the board’s CEO, responsible for the retreat’s calendar date. The game never entered her mind, she said! Of course it didn’t. Good thing she’s an exceptional human being and leader and we love her anyway in spite of her collegiate alliance. Our Seminole friend made things right by her Hurricane and Gator board members and rearranged the agenda while securing optimal viewing with a few flat screens at a hotel bar. Worked for me!

Meanwhile, back in Nick Saban land, Gilly connected with another Ocalan expat to watch the game in the privacy and safety of her friend’s apartment. In Orlando, Mike was doing the Chomp at the 40-yard-line, 10 rows up. And in a small coastal village from both child and husband, I was nervously sipping an adult beverage watching pre-game pundits predict their winner.

Okay, we were set. Well, not quite.

I was still feeling a little off without my football La Familia. Then some friends in Gator attire pulled up two chairs beside me. Gil and L.T. were excited. In the past year, we three became close through our involvement with the organization whom we had traveled to support. Two-and-half emotion-filled hours later, we had formed a bond like no other.

By the third quarter, things were looking bad for my team. I mean ugly bad. Too many self-inflicted defensive pass interference wounds were shoring up to be what looked like an imminent Miami victory. Gil, L.T. and I yelled, cheered, yelled, and cried a little more at the TV screen. A commercial break gave us a respite.

Then it happened.

L.T., an apparent optimist and soothsayer, channeled his inner prophetic intuition and uttered seven words that have now become legend. He turned to Gil and me and with a big smile and said, “We are about to have a reckoning.”

I thought this was the bourbon talking. What say you, oh Gator oracle?

Methodically, L.T. led us through his prediction for what would happen after the commercial. The Gators special teams will get a fumbled punt return from the Canes. This will give us short field advantage. We will score a touchdown and take the lead. We will continue our good fortune in the fourth quarter and will win by 3 or 4 points.

“It will be the reckoning,” L.T. emphatically proclaimed.

And that’s exactly what happened. As in that is exactly what happened. Every play L.T. predicted came true. Miami couldn’t score in spite of the penalty-and-interception-prone Gators. Each time, Gil and I would look at each other, shrug our shoulders in beautiful disbelief and shout “It’s the reckoning!”

After a rousing “We are the Boys of Old Florida” fourth quarter tradition, I sent a group text to Gil, L.T. Gilly, Mike and our mutual friend Derek, who was with Mike at the game.

“IT’S THE RECKONING!” I texted to which everyone would respond, “BRING ON THE RECKONING!” We exchanged photos of ourselves with incredulous looks reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”

Since that night, this same group opens up a text before each Gator game. And each time, I’ll be darned if there isn’t another Gator reckoning that one of us predicts – Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn, South Carolina, LSU. Okay, strike that last one.

I’ve even called a few reckonings. Gil is my witness. He and his wife were with us in Ocala watching the Kentucky game. We texted Derek, Mike, and L.T. throughout. Yes, Mike was sitting next to me on the couch, but we couldn’t break a good streak.

We’ll need some major reckonings for the remainder of the season. Georgia’s up next, then Vanderbilt, Missouri and FSU. Should we get to December heading to Atlanta, rest assured there will be some mighty reckoning banter burning up the cellphone.

Sure, it’s just a game. And the Gators are just a team. But, our “Reckoning Crew?” Well, they’re something special. My prediction is we will be Gator La Familia for a very long time.