- Sep 4, 2014
- 21,405
- 80,011
This isn’t about tonight. It’s not about the Mullen hire, about which I had reservations, like many of you. Or Grantham who brought this pos defense to us. It’s more.
This is so much deeper. It predates Stricklin and certainly predates the recent hire. It’s what we’ve become. We stopped demanding the best back in 2010. The best from our coaches. The best from ourselves. The best from student athletes.
As fans, we’re done. We just are. Let’s call a spade a spade. We don’t show up. We aren’t loud. I don’t blame anyone. It’s been a horrific decade. But bottom line...we don’t show.
Let’s delve a little deeper into why...no offense to the younger crowd but playing a different rap song between every play and/or timeout isn’t part of UF culture. And to be frank, as much as some may hate hearing this, singing Tom ******* Petty after 3 isn't part of our culture either. It’s a momentary distraction that makes people feel good despite being down two scores. Nothing more. If anything, I’m not sure we’ve won a single game since we took on that new tradition.
To be clear, I don’t blame the fans. I think across the board, the notion that anything is ok has permeated the whole program, and started from the top down.
I grew up an hour away and attended games my whole life, plus 2-3 away games a season. It was an event that involved some stress, commitment and a desire to see the Gators win. And we loved it. I see none of that any more. We’re a weak mixed group of enablers who stopped caring, and sidewalk, t-shirt alums who only pretend to when the moment strikes.
I was there in the 80s when we were content to win 7 games and make a bowl appearance. I’m not sure we’re terribly drifted from that spot now.
We can blame Muschamp. We can blame McElwain. We can blame Foley and his stooge. But if we actually cared, instead of just shrugging our collective shoulders and assuming everything would be ok, it would’ve never reached this point. Now that we’re here, I’m not sure we ever come back. And that’s just being honest. My son will be 10 in January, and he’s never seen a good UF team, and probably won’t for the foreseeable future. At what point do you accept the trait for what it is and stop caring?
This isn’t about me and my feelings of frustration. This is about recognizing what we have ALL become and, against every grain of my body, giving up on something I care so much about.
Personally, I don’t see us recovering from this, largely because I’m not sure from the top down, truly we have the desire to any longer. I was fortunate enough to be a kid in the 90s when Spurrier was running things, and a young adult for the Meyer era. But as much as it pains me, and as much as I’d love to argue to the contrary, I feel like those days are gone for good and we are back to what we once were.
This is so much deeper. It predates Stricklin and certainly predates the recent hire. It’s what we’ve become. We stopped demanding the best back in 2010. The best from our coaches. The best from ourselves. The best from student athletes.
As fans, we’re done. We just are. Let’s call a spade a spade. We don’t show up. We aren’t loud. I don’t blame anyone. It’s been a horrific decade. But bottom line...we don’t show.
Let’s delve a little deeper into why...no offense to the younger crowd but playing a different rap song between every play and/or timeout isn’t part of UF culture. And to be frank, as much as some may hate hearing this, singing Tom ******* Petty after 3 isn't part of our culture either. It’s a momentary distraction that makes people feel good despite being down two scores. Nothing more. If anything, I’m not sure we’ve won a single game since we took on that new tradition.
To be clear, I don’t blame the fans. I think across the board, the notion that anything is ok has permeated the whole program, and started from the top down.
I grew up an hour away and attended games my whole life, plus 2-3 away games a season. It was an event that involved some stress, commitment and a desire to see the Gators win. And we loved it. I see none of that any more. We’re a weak mixed group of enablers who stopped caring, and sidewalk, t-shirt alums who only pretend to when the moment strikes.
I was there in the 80s when we were content to win 7 games and make a bowl appearance. I’m not sure we’re terribly drifted from that spot now.
We can blame Muschamp. We can blame McElwain. We can blame Foley and his stooge. But if we actually cared, instead of just shrugging our collective shoulders and assuming everything would be ok, it would’ve never reached this point. Now that we’re here, I’m not sure we ever come back. And that’s just being honest. My son will be 10 in January, and he’s never seen a good UF team, and probably won’t for the foreseeable future. At what point do you accept the trait for what it is and stop caring?
This isn’t about me and my feelings of frustration. This is about recognizing what we have ALL become and, against every grain of my body, giving up on something I care so much about.
Personally, I don’t see us recovering from this, largely because I’m not sure from the top down, truly we have the desire to any longer. I was fortunate enough to be a kid in the 90s when Spurrier was running things, and a young adult for the Meyer era. But as much as it pains me, and as much as I’d love to argue to the contrary, I feel like those days are gone for good and we are back to what we once were.
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