Florida Football: The city of Jacksonville is why we can’t have nice things

One of the hot topics of debate over the past couple of seasons is whether or not Florida football should continue to play its annual matchup against Georgia in Jacksonville or move to a home-and-home series. Kirby Smart has been adamant about switching, while Billy Napier has been a bit more reserved.

But after the Gators just lost Shemar James for the season thanks to the ineptitude of the powers that be in the city of Jacksonville, why exactly are we treating the Gateway to Florida as a Holy Grail of college football?

Florida Football: The Turf That Broke The Camel’s Back

During pregame warmups, James planted awkwardly and went down in a heap. He tried to power through the game with a knee brace on, but he reaggravated the knee during the game. It was revealed this week that James dislocated his kneecap and will be out for the rest of the season.

It could be chalked up as a freak accident, except it was revealed during the game that brand-new turf had just been laid down before the game. The city of Jacksonville is in charge of the field maintenance at EverBank Stadium, and it was very apparent to anyone watching the game that the turf was a rushed job that was nowhere near ready for a game of football.

https://twitter.com/JimMWeber/status/1718353036580463062

You had one job, Jacksonville. One job. And you failed miserably.

For a city that keeps throwing more and more money at Florida and Georgia to incentivize them to keep the game a neutral site game, perhaps more effort should go into making sure the single most significant component of the game is usable.

We keep hanging onto Jacksonville because it’s a convenient site to host one of the last actual neutral site games left in college football. There is tradition and history, and as college football actively tries to throw away every last shred of tradition, it’s nice to have reminders of what the sport once was.

That’s fine.

And this isn’t a dig at the people of Jacksonville. Like all the fine folks of Florida, y’all continue to represent Gator Nation as well as any pocket within the state.

But time and time again, Jacksonville is an Outback Steakhouse at best where the leaders act like it’s a Flemings while serving up $9 microwaved Applebee’s Wednesday steak specials.

And like any relationship, if they can’t do the bare minimum to host the game, like provide a playable field that won’t rip open kneecaps, then it might be time to look for greener pastures.