UF Baseball Superfan Burleson Still Bringing The Noise, Passion At 85

From the time Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan stepped foot on campus in 2007, Gators fans could expect two things: championship-caliber baseball and the unwavering support of a boisterous superfan named Gordon Burleson.

If you’ve been to a game at Condron Family Ballpark, you’ve certainly seen – or, more accurately, heard – Burleson. With a gray beard and a booming voice, Burleson single-handedly tries to get the home crowd going before every game.  

“Gators! Are you ready?” Burleson bellows to the crowd. “Are you ready for some Gator baseball?”

With his homemade signs in hand and passion for the Gators in his voice, Burleson leads the crowd in UF’s famed Gator chomp just minutes before first pitch, replicating the theme from Jaws – da-dum, da-dum, da-dum – with just the sound of his deep voice.

“Naaaaaaaa, na-na-na-na,” he shouts into the mic, with the crowd yelling the traditional ‘Go Gators’ in response.

It’s a routine originally started at McKethan Stadium, Florida’s old baseball home, then moved over to the new ballpark when it opened in 2021.

“I love hearing his voice getting people excited before the first pitch,” O’Sullivan said. “I usually hear him when I am setting the lineup card. Gordo is awesome.”

A Consistent Presence

The 85-year-old Burleson, who graduated from Florida in 1962 with a civil engineering degree, has attended so many home UF baseball games that he does not remember the last one he missed. He also makes his way annually to the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. And if the Gators manage to go to the College World Series, the superfan will travel to Omaha, Neb., to support his team.

He comes from a primarily Gator family. Burleson’s parents both attended UF, as did his two daughters. He has one brother who is a Gator, but another who is a Seminole.

But the story of Burleson’s devotion to the sport goes back to his childhood, when he learned the game from his grandfather. Burleson says his passion for baseball originates from his grandfather, who played minor-league ball for DeLand in the Florida State League in the 1930s.

Burleson and his late wife, Janet, moved back to Gainesville in 1997, and together they went to every home game and SEC baseball tournament possible. Janet died in 2020 after a battle with cancer.

“We would go to all the games,” Burleson said. “She was a great woman. She was the only wife I know of who would go to all the sporting events. I have friends who have wives who don’t go to anything.”

One of Burleson’s fondest memories is watching the Gators game during that 2020 season when the program paid tribute to Janet on the video board at McKethan Stadium.

“During the COVID season, I had a picture of my wife on the back of my clipboard and put it next to my seat,” Burleson said. “The next thing I know her picture was on the JumboTron.

“I was on the verge of tears.”

Usually donning one of his few personalized Gator baseball jerseys, Burleson sticks out in the crowd. The Gator alum has drawn comparisons to the late George Edmondson, aka Mr. Two Bits. Edmondson, who was an insurance salesman by day and amateur cheerleader by night, helped pump up Gator football crowds for close to 50 years. But despite the similarities, Burleson says there’s a difference between the two Gator superfans.

“He did it because people were booing [the football team],” Burleson said. “And [his presence was] much bigger than what I do.”

Edmondson stopped doing the Mr. Two Bits routine in 2008 at age 85 for health issues. But Burleson continues to go on.

Changing the Mentality

Moving back to Gainesville and going to Gator baseball games, Burleson and his wife realized someone needed to spark the fans’ energy.

In 2000, Burleson and his wife looked around and saw “a bunch of old people.”

“The fans were waiting for the team to do something to get excited,” Burleson said “That’s not right. The fans have to be excited … and said, ‘I have to do something.’”

So he made a sign and went to the section to start the cheers, Burleson extended his voice but still went section-to-section to hype up the Gator crowd, and from that game on, he has done his pre-game crowd motivation.

After the first three games at Condron Family Ballpark, Burleson couldn’t extend his reach like he could at McKethan Stadium, so he got a microphone from the staff.

The microphone is just one of Burleson’s props. Burleson carries a large poster board with a self-drawn cartoon alligator. On the back side is another cartoon alligator drawn by Burleson … and also a cutout to fit a small stuffed animal of the Gators’ opponent. He says he has a stuffed animal for every SEC team – except one.

“Except for Vanderbilt,” Burleson says. “They do not have a Commodore.”

Burleson’s Typical Gameday

For early games, such as Sunday matinees, Burleson wakes up, grabs his coffee, reads the comics in the newspaper and leaves for the ballpark. But on night games, Burleson does his routine and arrives at the ballpark when the gates open.

Even at 85 years old, Burleson tries to be the first one to enter the ballpark. At the games, Burleson is doing one of two things, keeping score on a scorecard that he fills out for GatorCountry.com or pumping up the crowd for Gator baseball.

After the game? Burleson says he winds down with bourbon and water. But depending on how the game goes, it’s either one glass or three.

“If the Gators lose,” he was asked, “is it one or three?”

“Three,” Burleson said with a smile.

Relationship with O’Sullivan, Players

O’Sullivan and Burleson have a history dating to O’Sullivan’s introductory news conference in June of 2007. The then 69-year-old Burleson was the president of the Gator Dugout Club. The two have built a relationship through O’Sullivan’s 17-year stint in Gainesville.

“I like coach [O’Sullivan], he and I get along very well,” Burleson said. “He calls me Gordo.”

Burleson’s presence every game is certainly noticed by O’Sullivan and it never wavers for a moment.

“Gordy? Oh, I love Gordy,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s been here since day one [of my tenure]. He’s an incredible and energetic person. The energy he brings to the field is awesome.”

It is not just O’Sullivan whom Burleson created relationships with. Starting second baseman Cade Kurland and his family knew Burleson long before the sophomore stepped foot on campus. Past players also come up to Burleson and ask “You still do your thing?” and ask him how he is doing. 

UF two-way superstar Jac Caglianone stopped Burleson when he was with his family at a football game during the fall. All the players are friendly with him and gravitate toward his energy and enthusiasm about the program, according to Burleson.

“We love Gordo,” sophomore center fielder Michael Robertson said. “It’s special having him at the games. We hear him every day. It’s a special tradition we have going on here. I know all the guys enjoy hearing him and it fires us up.”

But it’s not just the players who feel a connection with Burleson year after year. Joe, a season-ticket holder who has been sitting behind him for almost two decades, shares a longtime bond with Burleson. Through thick and thin, these two have been with the Gators – and they were even on the field together in Omaha after the Gators won the 2017 national championship.

“He’s as useless as an old stubborn mule, I tell ya,” Joe said as the two men laughed.

“They gave him a microphone, he must mean something to this program,” Joe said. “People look up to him for his rallying ability. He was with Noah on the ark, that’s how old he is.”

“I try to pick up Joe when he is sleeping back there,” Burleson joked back.

One of a Kind

The regulars, ballpark employees, players and coaches all know the name Gordon Burleson and have shared moments at Condron Family Ballpark and McKethan Stadium with Burleson since 1998. The story of Gordon Burleson is not finished and will not be forgotten by those who have heard his echoing voice at the ballpark.

When Mick Hubert, the legendary voice of the Gators who retired in 2022 at the age of 68 after 33 years of working for UF, was down at the Condron Ballpark field when Burleson sparked a conversation with the soon-to-be retiree.

“Everyone is gonna miss you,” Burleson said to Hubert. 

But Hubert reminded Burleson how much he means to this team.

“Everyone is going to miss the voice,” Hubert said to Burleson. “If anything happens to you, the people here will miss you a lot more.”