Saturday's game against USF was the conclusion of a three-game set that the Florida Gators scheduled with the Bulls. The two teams squared off in 2021 at USF before playing in The Swamp in 2022 and last night.
Adding insult to injury for Florida is the fact that the Gators also paid USF $500,000 to come to Gainesville and walk away with a program-crushing loss.
So that got us here at Hail Florida Hail thinking, rather than waste half a million dollars, what are some other things Florida could have spent that money on?
Who should have gotten the $500,000 instead?
At $17 a beer, Florida could have given away 30,000 beers to fans at The Swamp. At least that would have eased the embarrassment of having to watch Billy Napier be seemingly unaware he had timeouts to spend.
Rather than be forced to spend as much as $80 for parking at some spots around the stadium, the $500,000 could have been distributed to help make gameday more fan-friendly.
At a minimum, Florida could have taken the money and made sure the lights its their National Championship signage inside the stadium actually worked. Not like they had all offseason to figure that out.
Florida Basketball had an open practice before the game in the O'Dome. The Gators could have just held a 50/50 raffle at the practice with the starting pot at $500,000 to get butts in seats.
While we are at it, Florida should have just taken the $500,000 and given it to Todd Golden. He won a national title in his third season at the helm, while Napier has yet to finish a season ranked.
Speaking of coaches who should get the money, how about a lifetime achievement award for Mike Holloway? He has won 14 national titles during his time as the head coach of the track and field team, but expecting Napier to beat USF is just too much.
Or maybe, Florida could have spent the $500,000 on Powerball tickets and used those winnings to have enough money for Napier's buyout.