- Jun 24, 2014
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Founding Member
I haven't read every post in this thread so forgive me if somebody else already made this point.
In the Spurrier era, our facilities were better than FSU or Miami until FSU used taxpayer dollars to cement in that erector set and built Reynolds Hall (as in Burt Reynolds). We kept up with Springs and Keys. FSU didn't even have a hoops facility. They played at the Leon County Civic Center (still do). Miami doesn't have it's own football stadium (still don't).
We had a hiccup with the Zook era but then we got Urban. That's when the facilities arms race began. In many ways, we are a victim of Urban's (and Billy's) success.
Schools desperate to compete with us spent lavishly on jumbotrons, "athletic" dorms, dining facilities, locker rooms, training facilities, etc.
They were trying to compete with us. We didn't need to spend money on that stuff. We were FLORIDA. We had the weather, the stadium, the coeds, the best coachs in the country, the best teams in the country. Why blow cash on football Taj Mahal when we had Urban and Billy bringing in the best recruits and winning national championships? Gainesville was titletown. We were better than 'Bama at football and better than Kentucky at basketball. Oh, we did a few things. We remodeled the inside of the O-Dome a bit, built Urban a new "front door" for the stadium, little stuff.
Drunk with on-field and on-court success, we forgot how easy it was to fall from the top. Then we fell from the top. We plummeted. Oh, and something really bad happened to the economy in 2008.
We figured we'd be back right away. Just an off year or two. No need to panic and spend millions. We were still FLORIDA. Muschamp delivered a 12 win season and a BCS bowl. Donovan got some top recruits and made a Final Four run in 2014. Everything was going to be OK. No need to panic. Money was really tight all of a sudden so let's not do anything rash to compete with Mississippi State or South Carolina.
Then the damn bottom fell out.
'Bama is the team of the decade in football. Kentucky is the team of the decade in basketball. We're sniffing around the NIT and getting beat by GA Southern. And now FSU has better facilities. And the whole SEC has better facilities. And Clemson has better facilities. And those teams are playing for national championships.
We got too arrogant. Too complacent. We forgot the lessons Charley Pell taught us when he took over a Florida team with terrible facilities and upgraded them to make us competitive and (in part) usher in the success of the Spurrier era.
We rested on our laurels and figured we didn't have to compete. We were wrong. Now we need to shift this thing into high gear. I'd build a giant resort-style pool somewhere between Springs and Keys. Put in a damn lazy river and a couple of giant water slides, bunch of hot tubs, the whole bit. I'd build a new movie theater too. Forget matching what 'Bama did or Clemson did...we do them one better. **** them.
Alex.