Hail Florida Hail
Fansided

Florida Football fans are left supporting the emptiness machine

Gator fans continue to try and do their part, but there has been little to cheer about the last four years

By Benjamin Henderson

Sep 14, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) throws the ball under pressure against the Texas A&M Aggies during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Sep 14, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) throws the ball under pressure against the Texas A&M Aggies during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
facebooktwitterreddit

It's not often The Swamp empties like it did on Saturday, but Florida Football fans had seen enough. Even though the final score was 33-20, it was a mirage padded by two late touchdowns while the Aggies milked the clock all the way to zero.

If the Miami game was an awakening for Gator fans that Billy Napier isn't the guy to lead Florida to anything relevant, Texas A&M was a full-blow breaking point for the fanbase. And now even the most loyal of fans are left to wonder how much energy to pour into the remainder of the 2024 season.

Florida Football: I'm About To Break

Football, at the end of the day, is an entertainment product. Fans show up to The Swamp because they like watching football. If fan support was based on pure meritocracy, track and field would have every meet filled with 90,000 fans while Napier and crew would be relegated to Lake Alice Field.

But the message was clear by the fourth quarter on Saturday that fans were no longer entertained and sought a better way to spend their afternoon.

Those who stayed ran the risk of being ridiculed on national television.

Much of the vitriol that has emerged over the past two weeks stems from the fact that a decent-sized portion of the fanbase still wanted to believe in Napier heading into 2024. He kept selling a dream that the slow-moving process Florida was following was going to come together this season.

It took about two and a half quarters to blow up nine months of optimism and perhaps Linkin Park sums up best how most of the fanbase is feeling.

"Let you cut me open just to watch me bleed

Gave up who I am for who you wanted me to be

Don't know why I'm hopin' for what I won't receive

Fallin' for the promise of the emptiness machine"

By the fourth quarter against Texas A&M, fans were done hoping. They wanted to be part of something, but it was clear most had become numb. The danger for Florida isn't when fans are angry and want to burn it down; it's when they have given up.

So, while in the end Saturday brought Florida one step closer to firing Napier, most fans were breaking their habit of waiting for the end of the game.

Don't be shocked if the enthusiasm level inside The Swamp by season's end is faint.

feed

Home/Florida Gators Football