Buddy Martin: Has The Swamp Lost Some Steam? Mullen Says No and Florida Gator Fans Are Ready To Rock
Updated: Mar 19, 2021
Stadiums don’t win football games. But there is an almost pithy spiritual-like quality that tethers the souls of college football disciples to the brick-and-mortar, especially down here where it matters more. In Gainesville it’s the Church of the Gators with Rev. Dan Mullen. In Alabama, Nick Saban is Pope. It’s Kirby Smart’s pulpit in Athens. Over the years, some intensity in these hallowed places has waxed or waned, but there are still remnants of sacred ground in Baton Rouge, Knoxville, Auburn, College Station, and maybe even Oxford.
The amphitheaters for college football are almost held sacred Down South. The question is, when all of those “churches” are reopened and the veil is lifted on the Pandemic, will the congregation return in full form? And if they ever do, will the fire and brimstone still be there?
As we were saying in 2020 before we were so rudely interrupted…
There were times last fall year when battle fatigue almost won. Look no further than Florida, which saw an SEC East-winning squad stumble and fall with three consecutive season-ending losses. What happened? Was it a trend or was it an anomaly? And did it blunt the enthusiasm of the fan base?
New habits change commitments. They say if you stop eating meat that you don’t miss it so much after a while. Can you lose a taste for fine Scotch? Or does absence really make the heart, and the taste buds, grow fonder?
Furthermore, our family budgets have taken a hit. As we approach the season of 2021, the financially strapped must choose whether the in-stadium experience is critical to support of the team. Is buying tickets more important than tithing to the real church … or saving up for college tuition … or paying for braces or prom dresses?
Hollering and screaming and throwing things at the 75-inch TV set just wasn’t the same, but there was also the realization that Zoom calls and slimmed-down remote sports broadcasts piped in like Muzak were better than Australian Rules football. To be sure, human interaction is very much a part of the game. Forevermore some things have changed, like working at home -- definitely here to stay for some.
Nothing trumps human-to-human. Dan Mullen was reminded of that while strolling the fairways with his family as a member of the gallery at TPC Sawgrass. Here’s how he reacted when I asked about the possibility of semi-disconnection by some members of Gator Nation:
"I don't know. I was up at Sawgrass this weekend at the Players, got to go up there one day and see that. I think you can feel the energy and the excitement of people wanting to get back into being fans and being there and being live. There's nothing like being in there in person to see it. There's nothing like being in the Swamp on a Saturday. There isn't. You watch on TV, it looks cool. It's exciting, it's fun, it's easy to watch. But it doesn't have the same energy, it doesn't have the same effect. Everybody when they talk about sports, 'I was there when this happened.' You don't always hear many people say, 'Oh, I remember seeing that. I was there right in front of my TV when this happened.' It's much bigger to say, 'I was there. I was in the stadium. I saw that play.'”
Two things happened: He was re-baptized by the exhortation of a few good “Go Gators!” And the sheer joy of seeing his son Canon, an aspiring competitive golfer, eliciting a “hi” from Bryson DeChambeau, who almost won the Players. No doubt that goes in Canon’s unforgettable memories scrapbook.
Mullen sees this is a sign of fans’ pent-up demand and is confident the fans are anxious to return. Still, will there be any leakage of steam in The Swamp?
”So I think hopefully we're able to get back to some normalcy in the fall when we hit the field again and I think all the Gator Nation is going to be excited,” Mullen responded “Everyone I see is like, 'Boy, I hope we can pack the Swamp. I hope we get there, I hope to get it back to where we want it to be as the fans!' They're desperate to get back into the stadium and to go experience Saturdays in the Swamp. And so, hopefully through all the precautions and everything going on we’re able to stay safe and we’re able to fill The Swamp this fall.”
As spring practice wraps up, almost entirely under the radar with no Orange And Blue Game, Gator fans are pretty much in the dark as to what they should expect in 2021. The usual themes of questioning by media have yielded very little. And now it’s time to take the show on the road as Mullen begins the usual round of Gator Club visits. I suggested two of the most asked questions would be:
1. Can the Gators beat Alabama on Sept.18, game three of the season, in The Swamp?
2. What’s the progress on Emory Jones as Kyle Trask’s replacement?
He answered:
1. “Well, we were six points short of beating Alabama last year. So that’s a possession away.”
2. “The quarterbacks are, you know, they’re growing, they’re developing. Our job is to make sure we highlight their strengths of what they do well. We’re teaching, we’re installing a lot of things. There’s stuff we’ve installed that I wanted to look at, I want to see, I want to see how it fits. There’s some stuff that we installed that you look at now that you thought we would definitely do this and we’re not going to. And there’s stuff that you didn’t think you would do that you’re probably going to do. That’s just something that we keep moving forward with and we’ll evaluate again.”
Let me unscramble No. 2. Jones is the quarterback. He is just fine as a passer, but his feet will play a bigger part in games where the passes he throws may number under 25. Anthony Richardson will likely get a series or two in games. With five good running backs and a more experienced offensive line, the ground game will become more of weapon. And it may take pressure off the defense.
Much will depend on the development of Jones and Richardson over the summer – not to mention players staying safe from Covid and out of trouble with the law. Mullen always says the most important time for quarterback development is the end of spring ball to the start of training camp, “and I’m not on the field with them – how they handle that is critical.”
Wisely, Mullen is awaiting the NCAA’s decisions on regulations before establishing full summer protocol. But it looks like his decision to go early with spring practice and use the rest of March, April and May for meetings and conditioning could maximize the time – setting up a summer of voluntary important workouts to prepare for fall. He is poised to see what’s ahead after spring ball.
“It’s obviously a very different calendar still with the NCAA rules this year,” said Mullen. “We’re still adapting to all of that. How we kind of work and set our schedule and our work schedule and how we define what we’re going to do over the next couple of weeks, couple months really, from Saturday, spring ball ends. I still don’t know when we’ll be on the field (next). I think there’s a lot of discussion about that, if they’re going to make changes to all the rules over the summer and then we kind of focus on what that next step is going to be as development and the quarterbacks will be a big part of that.”
Despite those critics who whine about recruiting and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and not winning the SEC since 2008, Gator football is in the capable hands of the most successful Gator coach since Urban Meyer. Which is a long time, of course. But they have to admit that with a record of 29-8 after last season’s four losses, things look fairly bright at Florida. Even if it’s going to require renewed energy and fresh mojo after less-than-happy ending in 2020. Of course, outside of the state of Alabama, nobody can be happy about 2020 – except when it’s in the rearview mirror.
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