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MsippiRattler
August 30th, 2010, 05:40 PM
Originally published August 29, 2010
Ammons, Taylor give Rattlers' fans jolt
By St. Clair Murraine
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

During a two-hour football kickoff, Florida A&M President James Ammons declared Saturday afternoon that the Rattlers will return to their title-winning ways. Ammons proclaimed South Carolina State's dominance of FAMU will end.

"They have been around here all summer, they've performed in the classroom, they are working out and they've done everything coach and his staff have told them to do," Ammons said. "Now it's time to shake, rattle and roll."

Through all of the celebration of another season being here, the crowd took 10 seconds to be silent in memory of former band director William P. Foster, who died earlier in the day.

Ammons delivered his pep talk in front a large, sold out crowd in a huge building at the Leon County Fairgrounds, where the Rickards High School band adequately filled in for the touring Marching 100. The crowd also got a glimpse of the greeting each of FAMU's opponents will get on the jumbotron.

None fired up the audience like the one that featured a bulldog roaming FAMU's campus to the backdrop of a reporter with a breaking news report of a loose bulldog, which is South Carolina State's mascot. Out of nowhere came a gigantic rattler crawling beneath very cloudy skies, backing the bulldog up before devouring it.
The Rattlers' spirit was definitely high.

"Now it's Joe Taylor's moment," Ammons said of the FAMU football coach. "This is a defining time in the life of Florida A&M athletics."

He singled out SCSU specifically, the two-time defending conference champions. The preseason prediction is that FAMU will have to beat the Bulldogs in order to have a shot at the conference crown.

"This is the end of South Carolina State winning against Florida A&M University," Ammons said. "It's time for all that to stop, Coach, and we are going to be right there with you. … It's on."

The onus was clearly on Taylor and his team, which finished his first two seasons at FAMU with winning records.

"This place was kind of dormant. The spirit had left a little bit, but I think there has been a lot of excitement the last couple of years," Taylor said. "There is a feeling that the pride is back."

While boosters and other supporters of the FAMU program were getting hyped up, the football team listened from behind a black curtain that divided the room. What they'd heard was inspiring, said quarterback Martin Ukpai before the team made its way out to meet its fans.

"It's really exciting to know that you have people thinking of you," Ukpai said. "It makes it easier to go out and do our job. I'm really excited about what is about to happen. I'm real excited listening to Dr. Ammons talking about how we're going to do this year.

"I think our team mentally is almost there. Physically we have the talent to make it happen. We will be all right."

http://rattlernews.tallahassee.com/article/20100829/FAMU03/8290323

Big Dawg
August 30th, 2010, 06:28 PM
The Rattlers are gonna surprise a lot of people this season...this is gnna be a pretty good team.

blackcaesar3k5
August 31st, 2010, 05:28 AM
I believe this is finally season where Rattlers will win MEAC.... Upaki kinda remind me of young Randall Cunnningham...