Ouch!! I'd love to complain that Bianchi is just another in a long line of Sentinel writers who carries a grudge for Florida, another Gator Hater. But, Bianchi is a Gator! And... He's right!
Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI Real Estate Broker Bob Parks, LLC 1517 Hunt Club Blvd Gallatin TN 37066 615-972-4239 615-826-4040 Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > From: Helen Huntley <[email protected]> > Date: September 2, 2012 6:17:35 PM CDT > To: [email protected] > Subject: [gatornews] Bianchi: Spoiled Gator fans can't even sell out season > opener > Reply-To: [email protected] > > poiled Gators fans can't even sell out season opener > Mike Bianchi, SPORTS COMMENTARY > 9:20 p.m. EST, September 1, 2012 > > > > > GAINESVILLE — Now we know what that empty chair was that Clint Eastwood > talked to at the Republican National Convention. > > It was one of the vacated seats from Florida Field. > > Or, wait, maybe it was the one reserved for Florida's starting quarterback — > because that seat is still unoccupied, too. > > If the Florida Gators keep playing as they did in their sloppy, choppy, > jalopy of a 27-14 season-opening victory over Bowling Green on Saturday, that > nonsellout gathering of 84,000 fans will seem like an Indianapolis 500 crowd > by the end of the season. > > As it was, the Gators played the opener in front of their spoiled-rotten fan > base, and a Jacksonville Jaguars crowd broke out. What next? Tarps in the > upper decks and home games in London? > > Poor Will Muschamp. Now all the second-year Gator coach can do is tune out > the deafening "noise in the system" former coach Ron Zook used to rail > against. Despite the victory, the message-boards assassins will ravage > Muschamp with criticism about the offense's third-down-conversion rate, the > defense's poor tackling, the 14 penalties and the uncertain quarterback > situation. Even though Jeff Driskel was on the field for the first snap and > played the entire second half, Muschamp claims he doesn't know whether > Driskel or Jacoby Brissett will start next week against Texas A&M. > > There will be no Gator fan love for UF running back Mike Gillislee's 148 > yards and two touchdowns. There will be no consideration that Muschamp > admittedly tried to force the running game on third-and-short to establish a > physical mind-set among UF's offensive line. There will be no regard that > Muschamp and new coordinator Brent Pease held back much of their offense in > preparation for next week's SEC opener at Texas A&M. > > That's not what Gator fans do. > > They just complain a lot. > > Muschamp has said all week that he wanted the opener to set the tone for the > season, and he claims that's exactly what happened Saturday. > > "We're 1-0," he said. "I like this football team. Are there things we need to > work on? Yes. ... But I certainly feel a lot better than I did a year ago — I > can tell you that." > > Of course, UF fans don't want to hear that. They wouldn't be satisfied unless > the Gators won 60-0 over Bowling Green — a team from the Mid-American > Conference. They will point to what former UF coach Urban Meyer's Ohio State > team did when it played a MAC opponent Saturday (a 56-10 win) or what UCF did > when it played a MAC team Thursday (a 56-14 win). > > Muschamp's mission is not only to rebuild the roster, but to re-energize a > once-passionate fan base quickly losing interest. He and his team certainly > did nothing to invigorate Gator Nation on Saturday. Muschamp has closed > practices to fans and media, but if his team puts together a few more > lackluster performances, he might want to consider closing games, too. Then > again, he might not have to worry about it because fans might just quit > coming on their own. > > In fact, they already have. > > What happened to that old Gator arrogance and adoration? > > Where is that old Gator devotion and emotion? > > Have you ever felt less of a buzz for a UF season than this one? Just goes to > show that Florida fans might be the most fickle in all of college football. > They are four years removed from a national championship, three years removed > from an undefeated regular season, and The Swamp is drying up. > > > Ads By Google > Delight Your CustomersTransform your customer service. See how top companies > get social. www.salesforce.com/service-cloud > Florida's last two non-conference home games (other than FSU) — Bowling Green > on Saturday and Furman last year — are the lowest-attended since the last > home game before Zook got fired. And it's not just the high-dollar seats that > are going unsold. For the first time anyone can remember, the Gators didn't > sell out their allotment of season tickets or student tickets. > > "It's not fun when the Gators aren't winning," UF student Magdala Joseph told > the student newspaper. "If it becomes a season where the games are worth > watching, I'll go." > > Can you say spoiled? > > Can you say faithless and fickle? > > I think it's time for Florida fans to change the words of "We Are the Boys" — > the traditional old song the UF crowd sways to at the beginning of the fourth > quarter of home games. > > The old verse says, "In all kinds of weather, we all stick together." > > The new one should say, "In only fair weather do the fans get together." > > If you don't believe me, just ask the empty chair. > > [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BianchiWrites. Listen to his > radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on 740 AM. > > -- > Helen Huntley > (727) 823-3801 > www.helenhuntley.com > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
