Steve Russell - Fair Weather Fans

Thick&ThinG8r

Member
Lifetime Member
Aug 21, 2014
2,601
4,262
I had a fascinating conversation with a longtime Bull Gator last night. He's a good friend that I've known for 30 years. He's been in for 100k a year for a long time. He has his own box. Has since they built the things.

He told me last night that he's out. Giving up the box. No season tickets. Out. No bitterness or anger. He said it has just come to feel like an obligation. It's not that much fun anymore. He has a hard time even giving away the tickets to fill up his box. There have been games when it sat completely empty.

Sign of the times I guess.
This is why I laughed at all the suggestions of how to fill the stadium, like take away student tickets. You literally can't give tickets away. Trust me they've tried.
 

BMF

Bad Mother....
Lifetime Member
Sep 8, 2014
25,399
59,222
Foley should start a book on "How to destroy a major college football program":

 

biggator6

Junior Member
Oct 2, 2014
609
470
I guess it's also fair weather to have a family and make it your priority. Hell, I've had to listen to gator games in the car recently and watch the recording later (or in the case of the last two.. don't bother). Why? Because I have my own athletes who travel across multiple states every weekend for sports.

Yep.. fair weather.
 

Gern Blanston

Banned
BANNED
Aug 27, 2018
103
-63
Steve Russell right now on WRUF is arguing that any fan living anywhere in the US that decides not to go to games because of the product on the field is a fair weather fan. Guy called in challenging it talking about Travel and Hotel expenses and the need for the money to be with it. Steve said that guy is a fair weather fan.

As he is one of the top 5 mouthpieces for UF Athletics with a daily call in show and the post game call in show, what do you make of these comments? Is he right, is he wrong? Discuss.

Personally, I don’t miss home games, UGA and FSU, but I know I have been blessed in that regard. However, I don’t think people not traveling to Gainesville to watch a 100+ ranked offense the last few years are fair weather.
 

Gern Blanston

Banned
BANNED
Aug 27, 2018
103
-63
Steve is an idiot . Gator fans have sat through 10 years of worse than garbage offensive offensive football . It's like an actor that makes a sorry movie and then gets pissed off no one goes to it . This program was run into the ground by King Jeremy Foley with bad hires not keeping up football facilities and calling loyal fans " noise in the system " Muschump is getting his last check from uf for over 700,000 this month . Foley giving extensions to 2 year coaches and large buy outs was beyond mismanagement bordering on a criminal waste of money . That foley is still on the payroll ( 500,000) for doing nothing is sickening ! Gator boosters have done a horrible job monitoring the abysmal job Foley did with the program also . Stricken has the program headed forward thank god .
 

SavannahGator

Founding Member
Behind Enemy Lines
Jun 13, 2014
758
538
Founding Member
One of the big issues I have is UF has changed...It wants to be Elite. It has an IVY League Prez.

We'll you want to be Vandy, Harvard, Duke...You attract those students and produce those Alumni.

Y'all make fun of LSU yet they fill 100K Stadiums and pack Omaha during the CWS...Who does that? It's baseball.

I could not get research done at UF for under $100K. So, we went to UGA. We have a PhD student for 3 years.

I love the Gators but I am discouraged with UF. If I were a student today, I'd probally have not gone to UF. Many of my Gator Buds now have kids NOT going to UF...Could not get in.

You wanted Elite...You get elitist fans. Heck just look at what the younger Alumni post.

That "Ivy League Prez" graduated from arch-rival Miami Killian Sr High the same yr I graduated from Southwest Miami Sr High. I am proud that UF is now a Top 10 academic public univ. I also love Gator sports. But as a professor of Cybersecurity at Georgia Southern University, I know what comes first. Go look at UF's mission statement to find out.
 

stephenPE

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Jul 20, 2014
20,385
15,395
This is why I laughed at all the suggestions of how to fill the stadium, like take away student tickets. You literally can't give tickets away. Trust me they've tried.
The dude never asked me to sit up there. I would run him over getting in a sky box.
 

stephenPE

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Jul 20, 2014
20,385
15,395
I guess it's also fair weather to have a family and make it your priority. Hell, I've had to listen to gator games in the car recently and watch the recording later (or in the case of the last two.. don't bother). Why? Because I have my own athletes who travel across multiple states every weekend for sports.

Yep.. fair weather.
good points bigga. It drives me NUTS that pop warner plays on Saturdays but I guess the have to.
 

stephenPE

Senior Member
Lifetime Member
Jul 20, 2014
20,385
15,395
Steve is an idiot . Gator fans have sat through 10 years of worse than garbage offensive offensive football .
Cry me a river GErn.........Gator fans before you were born sat through fckn decade after decade after decades pulling for teams that were left at the alter every year. We had more almosts than God had a right to give us. We had a guy once throw a ball out of bounds to stop the clock on FOURTH DOWN. We had QBs that make the last 6 look like all SEC. We had Georgia stomp in our face for decades to keep us from winning that FIRST sec title. We only won four last year? Try this on for size........:pe: We went year after year after year and stood up when Two Bits came by. We pulled for the boys cause they were OUR TEAM............When SOS finally came home to exorcise all those ghosts we knew our wait was worth it...........
 

alcoholica

Founding Member
I'm what Willis was talking about
Lifetime Member
Jun 11, 2014
16,754
20,381
Founding Member
Someone should send him these on behalf of the fair weather fans

FullSizeRender_2_f35350ee-af4f-40ba-989e-eae11cf0e52a_large.jpg
 

Durty South Swamp

Founding Member
doodley doodley doo!
Lifetime Member
Jun 19, 2014
21,279
47,535
Founding Member
Steve is an idiot . Gator fans have sat through 10 years of worse than garbage offensive offensive football . It's like an actor that makes a sorry movie and then gets pissed off no one goes to it . This program was run into the ground by King Jeremy Foley with bad hires not keeping up football facilities and calling loyal fans " noise in the system " Muschump is getting his last check from uf for over 700,000 this month . Foley giving extensions to 2 year coaches and large buy outs was beyond mismanagement bordering on a criminal waste of money . That foley is still on the payroll ( 500,000) for doing nothing is sickening ! Gator boosters have done a horrible job monitoring the abysmal job Foley did with the program also . Stricken has the program headed forward thank god .
you had me in my feels up till Strickland.
 

MADGator

This space intentionally left blank
Jan 28, 2015
1,079
1,220
I’ve always hated the way he comes across on the air, an imperious douchebag that talks to his customers like they’re idiots, so his thoughts about the fans is right in line with what I think about him.
 

PastyStoole

Founding Member
Man, there's no boundary line to art. ~Bird Parker
Lifetime Member
Jun 12, 2014
2,090
5,801
Founding Member
I take this sh*t pretty seriously. Yes there are good reasons not to go to a game: time, money, travel costs, family obligations, are all more important than Gator football. But if the reason you don't go to games is because of some lame "product on the field" excuse, you sound legitimately like some whiney, nasally, half-assed New York Jet or Miami Hurricane fan, who'd rather be at the goddam air-conditioned mall carrying their man-purse than watch "their" team lose in the Florida sun. For the record, "Through all kinds of weather we'll all stick together..." means something. Gator football is more than a "product." School spirit is more than wins and losses. The kids on the field can't help who their coach and athletic director are. They play their hearts out and show pride in their school most of the time. You should too.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Help Users

You haven't joined any rooms.

    Birthdays

    Staff online

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    31,643
    Messages
    1,615,735
    Members
    1,642
    Latest member
    fishermb