You sound like a blast to hang out with. I'm cool with your views...I am sticking to mine though. Thanks.
Living in reality taught me to be VERY cautiously optimistic about the Gators, and I always assume something will not work out. When greater things happen, it is a joyful surprise, not an expectation. Fact: Since 2013, Florida has gone 75-51 (.595), with a conference record of 45-37 (.549), four losing seasons and four head coaches. I am rooting HARD for Billy Napier, but I am not expecting him to be the next Urban Meyer. Coaches like that are hard to come by. What you said is perfectly fine, and I hope you are 100% right, but being a Gator has been difficult for most of the last 13 years... assume
I can't remember if was here or over at Read and Reaction, but a few years back David Wunderlich wrote a great piece on player rankings. His conclusion: Stars matter. For UF no 5 stars this year and dramatically less 3 stars. This class is a step in the right direction.
"Go sell crazy somewhere else, I'm all stocked up here" Never ceases to amaze me how pessimistic people are. One day I'm guessing I'll just accept it.
Football success is generally cyclical among top tier programs. That applies to EVERY TEAM. The issue is the period in between. Great programs do not stay static in poor performance mode very long. Of course some programs have brief periods of success followed by long periods of being down. IMO UF is one of those programs that have enough resources and quality recruiting grounds to cycle to the top eventually. Hopefully the "good cycle" resumes soon for the Gators.
But they tried to cut corners with their nose in the air and found out their shit does stink. Hope they are fully committed now.
UF has the resources, land, and fan base to stay in a good cycle 9 out of 10 years. What we have lacked is motivation and desire on the part of admin. I would like to say that they learned their lesson but they will need to earn that trust back. 15+ years is a lot to earn back in a year or two.
Most of the people on this board see the glass half full rather than half empty. This is the gator board so this is what we should do. When I was a student at UF, our football motto was wait til next year. But after the Vandy lost I saw no glass.