Buddy Martin Blog: On Football Eve, It’s The ‘Temporary Place Holders’ That Are Killing Our Joy

'The season that awaits Florida fans is intriguing, but also possibly exciting and rewarding. Grab ahold of a few positives and see where The Land of Possibilities can take you.'

THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT, BUT WHAT IS IT?

By BUDDY MARTIN

GatorBaitMedia.com

Far be it from me to spoil Football Eve, that final weekend before merriment and jubilation emancipate us from summer doldrums and launch us into full celebratory mode of what was once Our Greatest Game. But I’m a little nervous about who’s minding the store – if, in fact, anybody is minding it.

As that great gatekeeper/philosopher Steve Spurrier would say, however, “Here we go!” It’s coming up on August, the “Talkin’ Season” is over and the “Playin’ Season” starts with the arrival of Florida Gator practice on Tuesday.

I promise -- if you’ll stick with me just a minute here – I’ll get back to the baptism of Billy Napier and the fortunes of his Florida Gator team. But just this one last expression of concern about The State of The College Football Union.

It looks and feels like The Headless Horseman.

Let’s leave that aside for the moment, however, and attend to family matters. Greg Sankey’s house is in good order. The SEC has never been stronger. It’s some of these inhouse squabbles that concern me. And in particular these throw-out-the-baby-with-the-bath-water renegades who won’t be satisfied until every last meaningful tradition has been torched.

Which brings me to this: As a committed fan of college football, what do you most treasure?

I keep coming back to that quote I once read in the London Times about dilletantes who “know the price of everything, but the value of nothing,” believed to have originated with Oscar Wilde in a script defining the meaning of “cynic.” Yes, I am afraid that we are leaning in that direction.

In particular, it comes to mind today because of a recent narrative about why the Florida-Georgia game should be moved out of Jacksonville and become a Gainesville/Athens home-and-home series. Rather than answer that, let me ask another question: Why?

I spent the better part of an afternoon on a deep-dive research of Florida-Georgia with perhaps the best source on the planet, a high-level executive who has been directly involved in the Fla-Ga rivalry for more than two decades – on BOTH sides. He can understand both points of view, but he also reminds us that this is now a $10-million game with deep roots that has been embraced as much by Bulldog fans as Gators. Pretty much, it ain’t broke.

And please don’t use the feeble Kirby Smart excuse of “it hurts our recruiting.” Seems to me that system has worked fairly well for Georgia recently – unless his goal to sign every last 5-star on earth.

We will save that argument for another day, since there are at least two more years to go on the Jax contract, and maybe four. There are 12 more weekends before Florida-Georgia game number 99 (or 100, says Georgia) is played. (By the way every game but two since 1934 has been played in Jacksonville.)

However, don’t sleep on it -- don’t ignore the warning signs or dismiss them as saber-rattling. Florida-Georgia in Jax is somewhat in peril. Mainly because Kirby Smart says they lose a recruiting weekend due to the silly NCAA rule that disallows the courting of prospects on neutral sites.

Let me see here … it’s OK for players to be paid … they are allowed to hopscotch from school to school … but they can’t get an expenses-paid trip to be hosted by a school? Seems to me that needs to be revised.

Maybe because there are just three so-called “neutral site” regular season games left, counting Texas-Oklahoma in Dallas and Army-Navy in Philadelphia.

(This just in: Kirby Smart suggests Christmas be canceled because it interferes with recruiting.)

It just reminds me of how obsessed coaches have gotten. It also reminds me of the phrase used by my source as we talked about the careless treatment of our legacy. Who are these people?

“Temporary place holders.”

Exactly, and therein lies the danger. We’ll call ‘em TPHs. They are the true enemy. They will have blood on their hands if CFB dies. I have full confidence our Great Game will prosper despite them.

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UAA GRAPHIC

The season that awaits Florida fans is intriguing, but also possibly exciting and rewarding. Grab ahold of a few positives and see where The Land of Possibilities can take you. Here are a couple:

As far as we know, there were no major off-the-field casualties for Napier – such as PEDs or credit card scandals. There was a roster “adjustment” with three deletions, including Florida A&M transfer Fenley Graham. There was a minor brush with the law over a speeding ticket for Anthony Richardson.

Meanwhile there were some recruiting whiffs, but none that will show up this season and there is also some well-placed optimism over Friday Night Lights & Cookout. Insiders expect a spate of commits, including several flips.

After three months of interviewing 19 football players with my colleagues Ben Troupe and Franz Beard, we have concluded that all but one (a transfer) have bought into the refreshing new program engineered by Napier and his “army.” It is a cursory look and small sample, but based on 30-minute-or-more conversations, we detected an upswing. I guess in economics that would be called consumer confidence.

It is conceded by numerous sources around the SEC that Billy Napier is poised for a breakout campaign that could lead to a solid “era” at Florida. But it is also a startup romance for former Dan Mullen suitors whose mantra heeds them, “don’t fall in love on the first date.”

There needs to be a reminder, however, that this is Florida – not Tennessee, or Kentucky, or South Carolina – and I’m not ready to concede second place in the SEC East just yet.

I was looking at a list of the top records of SEC teams in the last 10 years the other day and remembered that despite the downturn of Gators’ fortunes, they still have the fifth best league record behind Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas A & M. And three of those teams won national titles in the last decade.

SATURDAY DOWN SOUTH GRAPHIC

Also, while you’re at it, the last time UF had back-to-back losing seasons was the final year of the Doug Dickey Era (4-7) and first year of Charlie Pell (0-10-1.)

Prior to that you’ve got to go back to the mid-1940s if the so-called “Golden Era” when they spit up six straight losing campaigns.

Lest we forget.

Another positive note: Six of the first seven Gator games this season are played in The Swamp,

Most of us agree that while championship aspirations this year are unrealistic, Napier should have his team ready to compete for an SEC title soon. If not this season, then perhaps next. And whatever cast of players he shapes and molds for 2024.

May I also remind you that all three Florida nattys came on even years. Make of that what you will.