Seven Decades Later, The Swamp Still Calls Me. I’m Thrilled To Be Coming Back!

PHOTO BY CHRIS SPEARS

Hhheeerrrrrree come the Gators! (And Buddy!)

By BUDDY MARTIN

GatorBaitMedia.com

Tonight, when the lights come on and the band cranks up and that first roar rolls across Florida Field, I’ll be there.

Again.

I’m now nearing my seventh decade of covering Gator football, which makes me either experienced, stubborn or a man who has misplaced the directions to retirement. Probably all three.

Yet here I am, as excited about an opener as I was when my notebook was new, my knees didn’t creak and you could cover college football without needing a law degree, an accountant and an expert in the transfer portal.

Making the trek from Ocala to The Swamp has been a blessing for me these past half dozen years because I get to go with my good friend Chris Spears whose photographs have graced GatorBaitmedia.com for quite some time. It is truly special have someone like Chris transporting me and guiding us back to our respectful positions at the stadium where we will log another 10-hour marathon — Chris out there on the field braving the elements while I sit smugly in a press box with all the amenities. Chris is a little younger than me – but we both love this.

The Gators open tonight against Florida Atlantic as a 26.5 point favorite. And I can already feel that familiar tug.

College football has changed. The money is bigger, the rosters are more temporary and the coaches swap addresses faster than a traveling salesman. But on opening night, the old magic still works.

The helmets still shine. The grass still glistens. The band still punches you in the chest. And for a few hours, everybody in orange and blue is undefeated.

Even at my advanced age, that’s enough to get the blood moving.

I have also made myself a preseason promise: I will not allow Lane Kiffin and his latest batch of shenanigans to spoil my football season.

I’m serious this time.

Whatever Lane says, posts, hints, denies, leaks or launches into cyberspace, I will remain calm. (Sometimes!) I will not take the bait. I will not allow him to rent space in my head.

At least not until halftime.

I already know one thing will be missing from my Saturdays. Laura Rutledge is no longer the host of “SEC Nation,” and I’m going to miss her.

Laura is one of those rare television people who can be polished without becoming plastic. She understands the SEC, handles the chaos and knows when to talk and when to let the moment breathe. Now she’s a swirling superstar at ESPN, juggling assignments, crossing platforms and making it all look easy.

Good for her. She has earned every bit of it.

But Saturdays will feel a little different without her steering the SEC Nation bus through the smoke, noise and occasional livestock of a college football campus.

Another treat for me is working with my son Brenden, our company president and producer extraordinaire, who grew up a toddler screaming “Go Gators, not you Georgia!” at the TV screen. He’ll be there on the sideline doing video today for yet another season — maybe 14 or 15 previously. What a privilege to work side-by-side with your son!

As for these Gators, I believe they’re going to be interesting. And fun.

Those two words haven’t always traveled together around Florida football lately.

Jon Sumrall has already created a stir, and that’s not a bad place to start. Florida football needed a jolt. It needed some edge, some urgency and somebody willing to shake the dust off the furniture.

Sumrall looks and sounds like a coach who understands that Florida is not supposed to apologize for wanting championships. There is pressure here, of course. There always has been. The pressure is not a design flaw. It is part of the privilege.

If you don’t want the heat, don’t take the keys to the Swamp. (Note USC fans who barely showed up last week.)

Sumrall’s two coordinators may prove to be two of his most important recruits.

Brad White is going to be special. He has experience, imagination and a defensive temperament that ought to play well in Gainesville. Florida has spent too much time lately trying to tackle people with good intentions. White’s defense should be more aggressive, more disciplined and much harder to move.

He also has players.

Jayden Woods, LJ McCray, Cormani McClain and Kamran James are only the beginning. There is size, speed and enough talent on that side of the ball to make Saturdays uncomfortable for somebody besides Gator fans.

Last season, Florida simply could not stop people often enough. Third down became an invitation instead of an obstacle. Too many opponents stayed on the field, extended drives and drained the life out of the stadium.

That has to change.

I believe it will.

Then there is Buster Faulkner, the offensive coordinator whose stay in Gainesville may be productive but brief. If Faulkner does what I think he can do with this offense, some athletic director will eventually arrive with a wheelbarrow full of money and a head-coaching job.

That’s the way this business works. If nobody wants your assistants, you probably hired the wrong assistants.

For now, Faulkner has Aaron Philo at quarterback and a toolbox full of playmakers. Eric Singleton Jr. can fly. Vernell Brown III has the talent and bloodlines to become a star. Dallas Wilson, Jadan Baugh and the rest give Florida enough weapons to make the field feel crowded.

Philo does not have to be Superman. He needs to be accurate, decisive and smart with the football. Get the ball to the people who can run, stay out of third-and-forever and let Faulkner work.

It sounds simple because football always sounds simple in September.

So tonight I will make that familiar trip, find my seat and open another season.

Almost seven decades of Gator football have taught me not to predict too much, trust too quickly or declare anybody the next Steve Spurrier before the first commercial break.

But they have also taught me never to surrender the excitement of opening night.

The Gators are new. The coaches are new. The possibilities are new.

And this old sportswriter will be there, still watching, still wondering and still believing that something unforgettable might be waiting beneath those lights.

That is what football does to us.

Thank goodness it still does.