Jan. 2, 2002

By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

MIAMI -- The Orange Bowl had a decidedly red tint Wednesday night.

More than 20,000 Maryland fans filled Pro Player Stadium to see the Terrapins face Florida. Hours before the game, a sea of red covered the parking lot.

Then, after the tailgating parties disbanded, the red-clad fans poured into the stadium.

Maryland sophomores Ryan Ferrera and Cleve Bryan each used a can of red body paint to cover their bodies from the top of their shorts to the top of their heads. They were not wearing shirts.

"The feeling of winning will keep us warm," Ferrera declared.

The teen-agers drove down from Maryland on Tuesday, taking turns at the wheel during the 18{-hour drive. The fact that the Terrapins were heavy underdogs did not temper their enthusiasm.

"I came to see them win. At the beginning of the year, no one thought we'd be 10-1," Ferrera said. "Now, no one says we can win this game. I think we will."

Donald Black, 46, wore a red plastic turtle on his head. Even though it appeared to pinch his ears, he said the turtle would remain in place for the entire night.

"I first wore this back in '84, when Boomier Esiason was here," Black said. "We won the Sun Bowl that year, and this year we're going to win the Orange Bowl."

Jogie Lockhart might have disagreed. Wearing a full-length bathrobe with blue and orange stripes (Florida's colors), Lockhart was amazed to see that Gator fans were heavily outnumbered in their own state.

"I think there's 10 Maryland fans for every Gator fan. I don't know why," she said. "I guess it's a big deal for them."

She had a point. This was Maryland's first bowl game since 1990, while Florida was making its ninth straight appearance in a January bowl game, and they would have preferred to have been elsewhere.

"They'd rather be in Pasadena, playing for the national championship," said Lockhart's son, Perry.

Not everyone at the Orange Bowl was wearing red or blue or orange. Bob Lowery, 16, wore a green University of Miami jersey and carried a sign that read, "MD FAN 4-A-DAY."

"I can't stand (Gators coach) Steve Spurrier," he said. "I got a free ticket, and for tonight, it's `Go Terps!"'