BUDDY’S BLOG: The People In The Arena Are Ready For Stricklin’s Game Of Florida Hold ‘Em

It's almost time for Billy Naper to show his hole card. (GatorBait Photo)

“…the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls.

--Teddy Roosevelt, “The Man In The Arena.”

In the pantheon of the competitor, winning is exhilarating. Losing sucks. There is no such thing as a tie. The problem is that winning is addictive. Losing becomes unbearable. Good fortune may feel like an entitlement, but it can never be owned. It is cyclical. When the reality of fluctuation sets in, it feels like a betrayal.

Despite the powerful mantra, it is not always great to be a Florida Gator. Another way of saying it: Everybody needs a mulligan sooner or later. Especially after a shank, which golfers know as a sudden, painful and unexplainable erosion of their motor skills, an errant shot way off target. There was a recent shank in Hogtown.

I love that Gator fans recklessly wear their emotions on their sleeves and care so deeply. They’ve got blood and money in the game. Their passion drives the program.

They are coming off a 33-year run of prosperity with six different national championships called by Mick Hubert. What else should be expected of them? They feel like they’ve been riding shotgun with “The Man In The Arena.” And while a reality check might soon be in order, may it never blunt their enthusiasm.

Believe me, I grew up in Church of Orange and Blue, so I sing from the same hymnal and get their deep conviction. They must dig deep about now, however.

Coming off that recent shank, in these trying times of promiscuous matriculations and legal cash transactions – egad, that even sounds a bit unsavory! – athletic directors are challenged way beyond their skill set. So are the coaches. And the fans.

In Scott Stricklin’s game of Florida Hold ‘Em, this is the hand they are dealt. Things are trending upward, but at this moment, only trending, with about 100 days before the first card on the river is turned.

“Trending” is the operative word here. The players appear to be buying into the new football program as we’ve heard from multiple sources.

Scott Stricklin has doubled down on his coaching choices. (UAA photo)

Somewhere around October 2021, things began to trend downward for the Florida Gators. By the end of the year, Florida had lost its football coach -- shortly thereafter its men’s basketball coach. The women’s basketball program was being run by an interim. The soccer coach was fired. And even the Voice of the Gators was about to be silenced, or at least put on hold.

Stricklin has filled all but one vacancy, replacing everybody but Mick Hubert. Stricklin's chips are pushed to the middle of the table. He has teed up his mulligan and the odometer is set at 000000. These next 100 or so days will be like testing laps at the Daytona International 500, with Billy Napier and Todd Golden at the wheel. What's their top speed?

That’s why it felt like a command performance Thursday night in the doubleheader media event at Ben Hill prior to the Fightin’ Gators Touchdown Club gathering. The first Napier-Golden public twinbill. A little peek behind the curtain, perhaps, before you decide to buy UF stock in the auction?

Both coaches also expressed concern for the impact NIL has had on the college sports landscape since being implemented. “We’re finding ourselves like an NFL free agency scenario,” said Napier. “We’re living in a land with no walls.” But Napier went on to acknowledge while a solution needs to be put in place, he is confident that, in the end, NIL will be a “slam dunk” for the Florida Gators. Napier and Golden also expressed their excitement for the summer programs they have in place, along with optimism for success. Football has just begun its summer regimen phase while basketball will begin its first half of summer workouts starting next week.

Good news? While there is a temptation to chase sunbeams in speculating about the future -- maybe even buy a MFGA cap? -- take a cue from Napier and measure twice, cut once. In other words, buffer those expectations a bit before The Big Reveal on Sept. 3. But never stop being your Gator Self.

Even I can see reason to wax optimistic about what appears to be progress, but without any data applicable for analytics to back it up yet. The odometer still says 000000. Yet there is hope and hunch.

How do we measure progress? Against past performances, both recent and historically. Unfortunately, Florida is still a member of the nouveau riche, having achieved virtually all its success since 1990. That coordinate puts us right on the precipice of what I shall call “The Platinum Era” of Gator sports.

It started with Steve Spurrier in 1990 which led to his six SEC titles and national championship and the sparkling 122-27-1 record. So impressive they put his name on the stadium, after placing his statue out front. Even more impressive was his ridiculous 68-5 home record.

He'd just returned from the training room to pick up some stickum for his golf glove Thursday and, in the process, ran into a guy named Anthony Richardson whom he met for the first time. I find it remarkable that such a meeting took so long to happen. ("Nice young man. I told him how much I thought of his potential as a quarterback.")

I asked Spurrier what it was like in the early days of “The Platinum Era,” winning all the time at Florida. "Well, you expect to win," Spurrier said matter of factly. "You win a game. And you play another one and you win. And you just keeping winning." Until you don't. And then you become an ambassador/consultant and open a restaurant.

Is the HBC passing along some secrets to winning? Probably not. (GatorBait photo)

Beginning as a 29-year-old baby-faced coach the same year of that football natty, 1996, tacking on multiple SEC titles, countless trips to the NCAA (two national championships, four Final Fours), Billy Donovan racked up a record of 467 wins 185 losses before leaving for the NBA on 2015. And they put his name on the floor.

Overlapping in those back-to-back national championships, Florida reached the pinnacle of football/basketball supremacy with the two football national titles under Urban Meyer sandwiched in between, while he was carving out a 65-15 record.

The music died after 2008, so it's been a minute since those days of glory. That’s coming up on 14 years. The expectations of a championship legacy don’t die easily, however.

You knew all that. But there are promising signs. That change we talked about could be impactful if you choose to believe the players. I’ve been talking to them directly for almost three months. And I’m hearing encouraging updates. I believe them. At least I believe that they believe.

The narrative of those 14 players with whom I have conversed has been how they feel they are being heard, treated well, coached hard, properly conditioned and nutritioned properly. Excellence is preached and attention to detail is demanded.

The flip side of that is what was revealed by one player about the previous regime under Dan Mullen -- but even that offers hope.

According to a piece by John Carosiella, with whom I talked, defensive back Mordecai McDaniel came out strong with his feelings. McDaniel said he and his teammates have already felt the positive impact of Napier’s staff after reeling from what they felt was benign neglect and disingenuous conduct (my words) by the previous regime.

“Man, you should see us at practice! We got guys flying all over the place now.”

He went on to say they are being taught to “master the fundamentals.” And that this Gator team is much closer to each other.

There were other tales of inner strife and disillusionment In the Mullen era. I fought hard against the kick-a-guy-when-he’s down syndrome because Mullen has already gotten his share of the blame for the Humpty-Dumpty fall. But one cannot ignore what sounds like new truth. And perhaps new beginnings.

Another reason to put a little credence in what the players are saying? Yes.

Does that mean they’ll win more games than expected? Perhaps. Too early to tell yet.

But does it feel a little better to be a Florida Gator? Yes. It’s certainly trending that way.

Deal the cards Scott Stricklin.

GatorBaitMedia reporter Kyle Curtis contributed to this blog.