Hope is a dangerous thing

I posted this over on Gatorcountry - thought I'd share it here too since it took me so long to write: It's long. Enjoy, or not.


It took me a while to organize my thoughts for a written reaction to the Florida vs LSU game which I was able to attend and watch in person last weekend. I didn't understand, at first, why I was struggling to formulate a reaction; it's not like this was the first tough Florida lost that I've witnessed in my time as a Gator football fan, especially at the hands of LSU and Les Miles.

But I was finally able to put my finger on it late last night. Hope. The problem is hope.

One big reason why the Will Muschamp era has been so particularly painful for Gator fans is because no matter how bad things get, and just when you tell yourself, "I'm done," the team gives you a reason to hope again.

Against LSU on Saturday night, with a 17-7 lead, and a stadium that was about 10,000 seats below capacity, Florida fans started to hope again. UF had put together 2 scoring drives, they had been electrified by great special teams, and it seemed that UF was maybe, finally, after 3 and a half painful years, turning a corner. And even in a stadium that was obviously on the declining side of greatness, filled with a now cynical fan base, hope was alive and well, and Gator Nation let their voices be heard.

Then the Florida that we have come to know all too well, the Florida Gators that do almost enough to win and just enough to lose, Will Muschamp's Gators, made an appearance. And suddenly the boo birds were out in force and it was 20-17.

I think, had UF simply faded away at that point, the loss wouldn't have been as tough to stomach. But each time UF would look dead in the water, they would do something fantastic, and be right back in it. But for each renewal of hope, there was a crushing, total failure that stole the life out of everything and everyone. The high-highs and low-lows of the fourth quarter were truly remarkable. The final, bitter pill came when it appeared that Florida might actually steal victory from the jaws of defeat, when Muschamp, a coach well known for his consistent and much maligned conservatism, was anything but conservative, and had his team, once again, poised on the precipice of a program defining win. And then quite fittingly, that lack of conservatism, that one lapse in his otherwise consistent late game philosophy, cost him the game.

And although I felt great sorrow for the players, and anger at the coaches once the initial shock faded, I realized that it was still impossible for me to fully pull away from Will Muschamp. Why I asked myself? Because of HOPE.

UF is still inexplicably in the race for the division title, despite the fact that they are two amazing buzzer beaters away from being 1-4 and winless in the SEC instead of 3-2 and still somehow in the running for Atlanta. But because the rest of the SEC east is such a disaster, people can still say the words - UF realistically controls their own destiny. Win out, and they go to Atlanta (unless UK wins out, which I seriously doubt). I laugh even as I type this.

It's this kind of false hope that firmly entrenches the Gators as the most painful team to cheer for in the entire country. The close losses, the almost-maybe shoulda-coulda type games that have defined the program now for 3 years. And then there is the hope in recruiting. UF is a hot name for so many top prospects, and the fans tell themselves, "Help is coming. If Muschamp stays, the recruiting will fix everything." And we believe it. And then national signing day comes along and fans are left, once again, trying to explain away big-time recruiting misses. But that's the thing, it's not that recruiting is a disaster at all, it's actually been quite good. But it's that UF is always seemingly one impact player away from being special again, and can't quite get that one player that makes all the difference. But we all think it may happen soon... Just one more season... We Hope...

I think it's something that Jeremy Foley is ensorcelled by as well. He truly believes that Will Muschamp is so close to turning the corner and being a special coach. But I'm not under that same spell anymore. Not after another game where Gator players were completely incapable of making a single critical, winning play on offense or defense, even when given multiple opportunities by an LSU team that was begging for Florida to win the game. Not when I had to watch yet another gut-wrenching game of always being 1 yard short, 1 man out of position, 1 dropped pass, and 1 bad QB decision away from winning. It's time to move on. Because if we don't, this program is going to be driven into the ground. Not because the team is so bad, because it isn't, or because the coach is so bad, because that's not true either...

But because, "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane." And those scraps of hope are making UF football sad to watch. Because everyone can see that there's a chance for greatness with this team and this coach. And no matter how bad things have become, that hope persists. But that is all it is. Hope. There is no basis in reality supporting it any longer. And it is slowly strangling the UF fan base and its football program.

It will be interesting to see if this team has now completely surrendered, or if they are able to keep hope alive for a few more weeks. My guess? No. Not without a change or an infusion of energy. And although Treon Harris might be that infusion, my guess is that it will, once again, come up just short. And I will be there to cheer the Gators on, because despite my better judgment and knowing that in all reality UF will have a new coach soon after another disappointing season, I grasp futilely for that last ray of hope. Go Gators.