The Gators’ spring “game” on Saturday was boring.
Trust me. I know. I had to be there.
Most fans went to Saturday’s “game” with reasonable expectations. But an irate few were upset after watching just a regular old practice on Saturday in The Swamp. Several aired their grievances via social media.
What? Did the lack of an ultimately meaningless football game bother you?
You had plenty of advance warning.
Coach Will Muschamp first addressed the possibility of a format change to the Orange and Blue Debut on March 26 — 11 days before the “game.”
“It may be more of a practice-like atmosphere for what we’re going to do,” he said.
Since only six Florida offensive linemen were healthy enough to practice, Muschamp decided not to make six guys man the offensive lines of both the Orange and Blue teams.
That would mean 70 snaps in the Gainesville heat for six guys who have to hit somebody on every play. If I were in Muschamp’s shoes, I would have made the same decision.
So not only did Muschamp make a perfectly rational decision, but he gave fair warning.
But just in case his first warning wasn’t enough, Muschamp decided to make it official on April 2 — four days before the “game.”
“It’s not fair to go in a spring game situation and ask [the offensive linemen] to take 60, 70 snaps in a row,” Muschamp said Tuesday. “That’s not healthy. It’s not good. It’s not good for our football team.”
There’s your second warning. The lack of a game wasn’t news on Saturday.
After 38,100 attended last year’s Orange and Blue Debut, Saturday’s “game” could not have drawn much more than 15,000 people.
Roughly 23,000 folks got the message and stayed home.
And for those who did show up, the UAA was extremely generous. Admission was free. For those who bought advance tickets, money was refunded.
Muschamp got on the microphone and talked the crowd through the phases of Florida’s practice. It was boring as hell, but at least they were trying.
The Gators could have easily canceled the Orange and Blue Debut and just had another closed practice. That’s probably what I would have done.
Instead, Florida catered to its fans and tried to make its final spring practice as entertaining as possible. If you ever wanted to see Dominique Easley do his thing with some mindless Pitbull song playing, Saturday was probably Christmas morning for you.
Spring games exist entirely for the fans. The team could do just fine without them each year.
Granted, players love the crowd, too, but they get the payoff of adoring fans during the regular season. Spring is a time for work.
I’m sure Muschamp would have loved to simply hold another closed practice. But even though it was a hassle, he went ahead with Saturday’s “game” at The Swamp. For you.
“We’ve got the greatest fans in the world,” Muschamp said Tuesday. “To be able to perform in front of them is important for our guys.”
Undoubtedly, the spring “game” sucked. But for you football-starved fiends out there, it was better than nothing.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Coach Will Muschamp watches drills during the Orange and Blue Debut on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Muschamp altered the event’s format due to multiple injuries affecting the Gators’ depth.
