The weird thing is, the most passionate thing I’ve seen the man say was when he called the gator fanbase basement dwellers. Maybe if he had the same disdain for some of our rivals…
Why is that bad? He's sticking his neck out there saying what nobody at the University is willing to say publicly. And he wasn't harsh. Just said "do something different" several times. But yeah.. I don't think these comments are made unless Napier is basically already fired, barring a miraculous turn of events. I think this was good from Spurrier. Someone at the University needs to break the ice and just say it.
Who the hell does Spurrier think he is? Just another guy in central Florida giving interviews from his basement.
Napier probably doesn’t have the respect of the team to even tell them to run laps. They’d probably laugh at him
Crazy I figured he would have at least yelled at the unopenable water bottle. BN probably spent 14 minutes of the halftime with a pair of channel lock pliers trying to open that bottle while he was mistakenly tightening it.
The article linked below covers what Napier actually said. He was not attacking the "Gator fanbase" or "people" in their basements. He was referring to what the article calls "an onslaught of criticism on the social media." Napier said that the players and staff need to concentrate on the field and not on what "some guy" (not "people") says in his basement "on the social media." The article notes that Zook, before “the age of social media,” called fan criticism “noise in the system.” (Did he think Gator fans are just noise?) It appears that Napier has some disdain for the social media. I share that disdain. I don’t know how many times I see a news headline online about some avalanche of criticism (think of the public outrage in Israel against Netanyahu) only to find that it’s quoting people, in their basements or wherever, on the social media. Boy, what news! The closest thing I come to the social media is this forum, which unless I’m mistaken actually predates the social media (which I assume got its start with a social disease called Twitter, and has exploded to all kinds of platforms that cause young people to commit suicide). I consider the social media to be the antisocial media, and I have no problem with what Napier said. Florida football coach Billy Napier discusses fan criticism after blowout loss to Miam
No doubt, he’s frustrated with us because he sucks. He should be apologizing to the guys in the basement for taking their money and not earning it. He is clueless as to where he stands. Is he going to realize he the dumbest man in the room or just look at his bank account and believe that makes him smart.
Nothing in that article gives me any hope he has had a come to Jesus moment. He doesn’t see any issues with playcalling or scheme, just better “execution” by the players.
I'm not saying he's worth a damn as a coach. That's not what my post was about. I think it's unfair to say that he was insulting the Gator fanbase. He was expressing some disdain for the so-called social media, and I don't blame him at all. It's antisocial and a curse on society.
Yes, I didn't duplicate the entire quote. Shame on me! I wanted to point out that he said "some guy" and not "people" as misquoted in the OP. And that he was referring to the antisocial media, not to all Gator fans in rural Central Florida or elsewhere.
I don't disagree that the comment itself was relatively mild, pretty understandable, but has been latched onto for sharp pushback. But under the circumstances it didn't need to be said and only gives fuel to the fire. Mention that the players need to ignore social media and concentrate on work? Not only descriptive but no one would be bothered. Add a needless passive aggressive dig at "basement dwellers" and "rural Central Florida" and you're just making it worse on yourself and insulting your frustrated fanbase further for no good reason. It's already a hole. Stop digging.
Yes, he could have used better language. I'm sure there are times when you and I have said things in an unfortunate way. At least I have.
Normally I would agree but commenting about social media at all in that context is a huge red flag. He should be saying there is no excuse for that performance and fans have a right to be upset. Dude is totally clueless of the opportunity he just missed. Fsu is down. Miami was playing in the Swamp. It was a statement game and a chance to put distance between us and the state programs with a ton of recruits present. He could have extended his leash with just a decent performance. Meyer would have had the ream frothing at the mouth thinking about Miami for 9 months. That's the approach Mario took. Mario is a douche. His chomping at the crowd was douchey but football coaches are sort of Neanderthal douchebags to begin with. Mario mocked the Gators. Their players mocked our recruits and told them to come to Miami, while in our house. There is a reason Homers like Dooley said this is the lowest point in his time covering the Gators and our coach is heaping praise on Mario and calling out social media for being unhappy? Id rather have an unlikable douche with a pulse than what we have now. I don't think I've ever pulled a 180 on a coach like I have with this one. Mullen is the closest but that took time. This one as damning a performance I can recall given the timing and circumstances.
For sure. I think under particular circumstances, though, our imprecise or impolitic language can cause an outsized problem. And this was one of those times. If you don't take your medicine and move on, don't be surprised if your unnecessary misspeak or gaffe bites you back hard.
Mentioning the basement in rural central Florida is intentionally going out of his way to disrespect his own fan base. It’s a fair point to say he needs to ignore criticism and focus on improving but he is just alienating himself further and losing what little support he had left. He’s gone
I agree that Napier's days as HC are numbered, just like the serial numbers on his millions of dollars. Boy, has he got a payday coming! That may be just what he wants. He may not be as dumb as he appears to be. Anyway, my main point is that I share his disdain for social media. I even have disdain for some posters on this forum, referring specifically to some posters at Too Hot, which is why I've quit setting foot there. And the worst part is, they're Gator fans.
Can't disagree with that at all. I just don't think it's as relevant here. Guy needs to take his medicine after clearing out our home stadium during an opener against a rival. I also think he's genuine and don't believe the money is the biggest deal to him at this point. He's made a lot already. Buyouts are a stupid thing today to instill confidence for recruiting. They need to have stipulations based on performance though and they don't.
