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Let's be honest about who we are.

Discussion in 'RayGator's Swamp Gas' started by HisDoc, Dec 7, 2023.

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  1. Dec 7, 2023 #1
    HisDoc

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    The University of Florida is an elite academic insitution with a world class athletic department and overall sports program. We do NOT, however, have a good football program. We are not a football school.

    College football is becoming something that is hard to enjoy. The changes over the last few years have been the death knoll for team pride, loyalty, and team-first mentalities. The NIL is disgusting and out of control. The transfer portal is creating teams full of mercenaries. Almost all of us, as fans, agree about those things. And our beloved university has shown it is not willing to tread deeply in those waters. I'm not sure that is wrong. It may even be applaudable. But it does mean we won't ever have sustained football success in this environment, esp in this conference.

    I think we will have pockets of success, now and then, in men's hoops and maybe even football. But we're more Stanford or UNC than Bama or Georgia - great academic schools with great athletic programs with a lot to be proud of, even if it is mostly in sports I don't enjoy or really care about.

    So, as a fan, if we expect the football glory days to return or if we expect championships, we are setting ourselves up for misery. However, if we can enjoy the game for the game itself, without lofty expectations, I think that type of fandom is reasonable and profitable. Ricky's "catch" and the comeback at Carolina this year - those were great moments that I enjoyed, even in the middle of a terrible season.

    A&M fans still like to root on their team. So do South Carolina and Kentucky and Mississippi State and Arkansas and even Vandy fans, even though none of those teams have sniffed even a conference championship in decades. Success, when it comes to them, is a pleasant surprise. Mediocrity is the norm.

    That is who we ARE and have been for 13 years. The odds of that changing are slim. For me personally, I'll either learn to embrace that and have joy, or I'll need to find a new way to spend my precious free time. Because football greatness, especially sustained, will not happen in Gainesville. Our athletic department and University have different priorities than the ones that can do that. That is the reality. And it's probably a good thing. Expecting it, when it is unattainable, is the mistake I've made. And the fruit has been terribly frustrating as a fan.

    Moving forward, I purpose to read less, cheer more, and expect little. Those midling SEC schools have it right. And I think we would all be much happier fans if we did that.

    Go Gators.
     
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  2. Dec 7, 2023 #2
    ThePlayer

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    Last edited: Dec 7, 2023
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  3. Dec 7, 2023 #3
    Gatorrick22

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    Sounds like something Foley would say even when we were a great football program.
     
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  4. Dec 7, 2023 #4
    stabnburn23

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    I'm still in the depression stage, but I'll probably be joining you in acceptance this time next year
     
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  5. Dec 7, 2023 #5
    freedomgator

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    Let's be honest about the fact that I ain't readin all that.
     
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  6. Dec 7, 2023 #6
    Mikog8tor

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    UGA not that far behind us in academic rankings, so it can be done.
     
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  7. Dec 7, 2023 #7
    believer

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    I joined a pool league to fill the void. At least I can affect the outcomes of our matches and it’s a great way to care a little less about football.
     
  8. Dec 7, 2023 #8
    Mikog8tor

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    Summary: We aren't a football school, we are more interested in education. Reminds me of that Dr. Pepper commercial every time I see it now.
     
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  9. Dec 7, 2023 #9
    gbranton

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    As a Chicago Bears fan from 1982-2014 I am mentally equipped to watch losing.
     
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  10. Dec 7, 2023 #10
    Gatorrick22

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    Limit the total transfers to one without sitting... the next one you have to sit one entire year, not matter if it's family related... you sit for that next year.

    I seem a bit more indifferent at this point in time. If the NCAA ever gets off it azz and limits the portal... Like if you sign with a team out of high school you cannot simply enter the portal until after one full year has passed.

    And like I said above the second transfer you have to sit one full season. That would not impede your ability to get NIL, but it would impede total wild west "free agency," for lack of a better term.

    The NIL is making a mess of college football and it can easily be fixed with smart/fair NCAA regulations.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2023
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  11. Dec 7, 2023 #11
    MarineG8R

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    I accepted that awhile ago it's why I usually just joke around on here. It it is what it is.

    Hell I said UF should leave the SEC and join the BIG.


    Kidding, kinda!
     
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  12. Dec 7, 2023 #12
    duggers_dad

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    I’d like to suggest that the best thing we can do now is to shadenfreude FSU as hard as we can.
     
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  13. Dec 7, 2023 #13
    Gatorrick22

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    But the ACC fans took a vote and we were the biggest, most favorite team to join them by a huge margin... Lol.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2023
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  14. Dec 7, 2023 #14
    MarineG8R

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    Yeah, but we would have to take back all the mean things everyone says about the ACC being weak.
     
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  15. Dec 7, 2023 #15
    KronoGator

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    Go all out one way or the other, start spending like others do, or move to the pioneer league, no scholarships at all, and set up a rivalry with Stetson.
     
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  16. Dec 7, 2023 #16
    sierragator

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    In that case BHG will have lots of empty seats over the long haul. #sad
     
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  17. Dec 7, 2023 #17
    gainesvillegreen44

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    Omnipresent

    Stricklin? That you?
    I kid, but this may be the best post I’ve seen on here. I think this is the way to adjust our expectations. We got a taste of championship football and KNOW it can be done here. But it takes someone with elite gameday scheme OR they have to swim in the water with the NIL sharks … they are doing neither. I would be a fan of doing both but they have picked neither. So I’ll have to adjust me level of hope
     
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  18. Dec 7, 2023 #18
    filamg8torfan

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    [​IMG]
     
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  19. Dec 7, 2023 #19
    Diesel350z

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    All I heard was a bunch of excuses to why we aren’t even a winning program.
     
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  20. Dec 7, 2023 #20
    paidinfull

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    That’s pretty much already the rule. You’ve been allowed a free pass as a graduate since pretty close to the Kresser era. The new rules allow one free transfer as an undergrad, the next one would require you to sit a year (unless you graduated). I don’t think situational exemptions are the problem. I think the initial free pass is the problem. I’d prefer the old rules, you graduate, or you sit.

    Making them stay for a season won’t really change anything, because if they want to leave before the first season, the school will simply release them from their LOI. No portal needed.
     
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