I have not forgotten what some have said about us.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: You're what's wrong with Florida football, Gator fans
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wed, November 05, 2008 4:32 am
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mr Bianchi:
Do you understand now?
What was wrong was - we understood that this team was not playing up to
their expectations - not playing up to their potential. In the LSU,
Kentucky, and Georgia games - we finally played at the level we are
capable of. We finally are playing at a level we were sold by the
Sports Information Department. A level that we were told to expect.
Do you want to retract your statement?
Do you want to apologize to all the Gator fans that you were wrong
about?
Keith
You're what's wrong with Florida football, Gator fansMike Bianchi
SPORTS COMMENTARY
October 8, 2008
When did it happen, Gator fans?
When did it reach a point where you became so persnickety and such
perfectionists that you sucked the joy out of winning football games
like a boa constrictor squeezes the life out of small rodents?
The reason I bring this up is because of all the conversation and
consternation about Florida's offense and quarterback Tim Tebow in the
aftermath of Saturday's embarrassing, humiliating 31-point, um, victory
over Arkansas.
That's right, Florida went on the road, ran up more than 500 yards of
offense and destroyed Arkansas 38-7 in a tune-up for Saturday's
monumental Southeastern Conference showdown with No. 4 LSU. And you know
what everybody's talking about?
What's wrong with Tebow and the Gators?
I'll tell you what's wrong with Tebow and the Gators: You're what's
wrong. Florida fans who actually think it's their birthright not only to
win but to win by 50.
Former UF coach Steve Spurrier left, in part, because of what Gator
Nation had become -- a fussy, finicky fan base filled with constant
complainers. You wonder how long Urban Meyer will hang around until he,
too, gets sick of it.
On the day he announced his resignation at UF, Spurrier revealed that
the joy of winning at UF had been replaced by the fear of losing.
"Do you realize how big a favorite we are all the time?" Spurrier
lamented. "It's nobody's fault. It's just the way it is. We're
double-digit favorites over everybody. Anytime we lose, it's us coaches.
We screwed up. 'Look how huge a favorite the team was and they didn't
win.' That wears on you a little bit.
"It's a relief when we win. . . . It's almost a disgrace when we lose."
And it's not just the fans, either. It's the players, the former
players, even the media who covers the team.
Case in point: After Florida's 38-7 victory over Arkansas, the big
headline in the Orlando Sentinel was, "Score Isn't The Story." Below the
headline there were two articles. The first paragraph of one article
began with, "If the Gators play like this next week, they'll lose to
LSU." The first paragraph of the other article began with, "Something's
missing."
Yes, something is missing all right: Elation and exhilaration after a
victory. It's reached a point, according to the Gainesville Sun, where
even one of UF's most beloved former players -- ex-UF quarterbacking
great Shane Matthews -- regularly goes on his Gainesville radio show and
picks apart a UF offense that led the nation last year and was third in
the country.
Even Tebow, the ultimate glass-is-half-full guy, has been sucked into
the abyss created by the legions of the miserable.
After Tebow fired a 21-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin in the fourth
quarter Saturday to give Florida a 24-7 lead, Tebow moped off the field
without celebrating. Meyer saw his quarterback's dispassionate reaction
and ran out to give Tebow a chest bump.
"I wanted him to enjoy it," Meyer said of his quarterback.
The coach might want to send the same message to many of his fans, who
seem to believe Tebow really is Superman. They think he should complete
every pass, convert every third down, score every time he touches the
ball.
They think Tebow should duplicate the incredible statistics he compiled
last year when he won the Heisman Trophy. The problem is that was a
once-in-a-lifetime season when Tebow accomplished things never before
accomplished in college football. Hey, Russell Crowe is a great actor,
but he'll probably never again make a movie as great as Gladiator.
The fact is, the Gators lead the SEC in scoring offense and Tebow leads
the league in passing efficiency. But, apparently, that's not good
enough to satisfy the many spoiled, self-indulgent fans who inhabit
Gator Nation.
You get the idea some Florida fans are going to be miserable no matter
what. They could be married to Halle Berry and complain because she
spends too much money on lingerie.
"It's almost a disgrace when we lose."
Those were the words Steve Spurrier uttered on his way out the door
after the 2001 season.
Who knew that seven years later, winning would become a disgrace, too?
Mike Bianchi can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
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