I think I’m out….

NIL is making the gap between the haves and the have-nots greater than ever.

 

Between the portal and NiL my zest for college athletics in general and Gator Sports to be specific has definitely wained

 

I just now decided to ignore the crap and keep basking in the glow of an amazing season and title. And looking forward to a fun year in the fall. In other words: stay hot Gator fans!

 

The students did not bring the Alligators to the O'Dome. These papers were placed in all the student courtside seats.
I attended most home basketball games in 1985 and 86. We'd arrive the O'Dome 1.5 hours before the doors opened to assured the we'd get the first-come, first-seated court side student section. Every game there was a student newspaper placed in the seat location. I ended up on TV several times. These were the best of times. Go Gators

 

Would it change your mind if we could get Cincinnati/Tupac back on board?

 

So my memory is of actually doing that as a student. I graduated in '82, and I went to a bunch of the games but this is a memory that is hazier than many others from those days.

 

I agree about the good times, but there was no reason to wait 1.5 hours for the court-side student bleachers when you could walk up 20 min before game time and sit in them. I was amazed by the sparse support for those Gator teams when I first arrived at UF in '85, although it got better and better each year.

 

aka, you will get excited again like the dormant Gator Nation this year. I have grown up in N. Fla. and my dad started taking me to Aligator Alley by the early sixties. My fandom was rabid the first 10 years after graduating college, the my family started growing and after three corporate moves around the US, I tried to keep up through any media available. I love UF
And all the sports available and still do. Family and work has always been a priority and my views probably parallel with yours. I go to games when I can, but once a Gator fan, I will take to the grave all the great memories. Not only the national Championships, but all the great Athletes that have gone to Florida and moved on to great things in sports, business and life. Staying the course of a full college career, gaining life long friends and memories. Sad that at this time, it doesn't allow for players to garner the important things to go along with someone's money.
So enjoy family and downtime, this will charge you up for when the next team takes it deep into March. We have a coach who knows the kind of players we need and will work hard to get them there. I know you will come back fully charged again and to that I will say, if I am still above ground, I will still be at whatever forum gives us the best Gator news. So all us Gator hoop fans will gladly welcome you back. In the mean time, a lot of banter will be going round! LOL
bullish

 

I agree with this^^^. If coaches can move around, players should be able to as well. I also like the idea of players in over their head finding greener pastures elsewhere, and players that may have been overlooked in the recruiting process getting 2nd chances at bigger named schools. It's not even always clear if a player is leaving because of his own decision or if he's being run off.

To me, what messes all this up is NIL, not even saying player's don't deserve any of it, it's just not good for the product. The money isn't coming from where it was supposed to come from, and there's no clear cut rules involved with who is obligated to who and what the expectations are based on said contracts. It's always rumors and hearsay. The money keeps going up, but the value added doesn't keep going up (not just talking about our season last year, but college basketball across the board).

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

Is that just for the championship game? All of March Madness? Or the entire season?

I wish schools were required to post actual attendance numbers rather than ticket sales masquerading as attendance, I'd be interested to see how that plays out over time.

Go GATORS!
,WESGATORS

 

I arrived at UF on the faculty in 1982. When Georgia came to town (very good team with Vern Fleming that made the Final Four that year, And it was an ESPN game so somewhat of a big deal) my wife said lets go to the game. Coming from Illinois I thought that to be insane as the place would be sold out. Walked up about 15 minutes before tip-off and bought first row seats off the baseline.

Didn't get season tickets until Dwayne S's freshman year when I knew they were going to be good and tickets would get harder to get. Before then I was able to get level 1 seats to any game I wanted from the ticket office with the exception of UK tickets.

 

I graduated as you were arriving. We students were spoiled back in those days...and lousy sports fans. I may be wrong but students got into games free with their ID and Fraternity Row was very convenient for basketball and baseball and we often ate dinner and walked over to catch a game. It wasn't the "thing" it is today. Even football was mild compared to what we have now.

 

Zel's family is in a beachfront villa in Turk Caicos or some other amazing place off the money he got signing with UK. That offer/opportunity was not available from us, which is probably why he bolted. You can't blame him for taking advantage of his immense talent and benefitting from it in an environment that is willing to reward him commensurately with his skill.