What Was The World Like The Last Time Ole Miss Beat Florida In Football?

The battered Florida Gators will limp their way into Oxford sporting a 3-6 record as they take on the mighty 9-1 Ole Miss Rebels this Saturday.

The Gators have been on a bit of a downturn since the turn of the decade, sporting only one winning season since their roller-coaster 2020 season which featured two Heisman finalists and an SEC Championship Game berth.

Conversely, the Rebels have been rolling since the COVID shortened season of 2020, with multiple double-digit winning years under their belt and one of the hottest coaching commodities in the country in Lane Kiffin.

So, of course, the Rebels have owned the Gators in recent history, right?

Well, that's where you would be wrong.

You see, despite Florida going through their worst stretch as a program since Hitler was in power, the Rebels just can't seem to crack the code on how to beat these guys.

For context, the last time Ole Miss defeated Florida was 2008, a game which spawned the now-famous "I Promise" speech from Tim Tebow.

For fun, let's look back on what the world was like 17 years ago when the Rebels upset the eventual national champions in Gainesville.

Politics

The year 2008 may not seem like that long ago (especially to both Gators and Rebels fans), but a fresh-faced Barack Obama with nary a gray hair in sight tells us otherwise.

Check out this campaign ad from 2008, where the future leader of the free world tells us he hasn't been bought by Big Oil or D.C. lobbyists.

Ah, simpler times!

(Not pictured: George W. Bush dodging a flying shoe that same year.)

Movies

It's hard to imagine a time when superheroes weren't completely ubiquitous at the box office, but you could probably trace the origins of the comic book movie craze back to 2008.

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight had a stranglehold on theaters everywhere and a little Marvel property called Iron Man outperformed all expectations.

The MCU was just a twinkle in Kevin Feige's eye and DC was still soaring high around this team, long before its wax-coated wings burned up from flying too close to the sun.

Oh, and a movie called Twilight was released too, but I'm sure no one remembers that.

Music

The last time Ole Miss secured a victory over Florida, Katy Perry was kissing girls, Flo-Rida was getting low, and Lady Gaga was singing about poking some chick's face.

2008 was a more innocent time for many in the music industry, as guys like Kanye West and Lil Wayne were just starting their ascent to superstardom, while mainstays like Britney Spears and Mariah Carey clung to their last vestiges of relevancy.

All the while, a young girl from Nashville named Taylor Swift had a few songs crack the Billboard Hot 100.

Good for you, Taylor! I hope you make a name for yourself sometime in the future!

Sports

Most importantly, what was going on in the world of sports back in '08?

Well, the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series over the upstart Tampa Bay Rays.

Kevin Garnett gave us the now-famous and infinitely lampooned "anything is possible speech" after beating Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in The Finals.

And notable winners like LeBron James and Drew Brees still had not won a championship in their respective sports at this time.

The year 2008 was a very long time ago, practically a lifetime in sports.

The Rebels may very well eviscerate the Gators on Saturday, but it was still fun to see just how long it had been since a powerful program like Ole Miss took down the sisters of the poor in Florida.

You would think in any of the three meetings since Barack Obama took office, that the juggernaut Rebels would have squeaked at least one win out.

But alas, time makes fools of us all.

Good luck to Ole Miss this weekend, because history isn't exactly on your side.