About UF's Loss to Mississippi

The Florida Gators lost unexpectedly to the Mississippi Rebels 31-30 last Saturday in college football. Immediately after the defeat, quarterback Tim Tebow, who actually played quite well in the game for Florida, tried to take the blame for the loss and then promised Gator fans that things would be much different with the team in future games. Huh?

Tim Tebow is not the whole team. He is an extraordinary athlete whose performance has meant the difference between victory and defeat in many games, even during the National Championship season when he was only the second-string quarterback. And, yes--as quarterback, he is the leader of Florida’s offense. But he is not the other players’ coach, nor is he their mommy or daddy. And he is definitely not responsible for the performance of the defense or special teams. Most of the UF players, although technically amateurs, are in essence adult professionals due to their athletic scholarships, which translate indirectly into huge money awards. Each of them is just as responsible as Tebow for playing at their best level on game day. Tebow is already doing what he can to lead the offense and inspire his teammates. Let them pull their own weight!

Three other observations about the Mississippi loss. One, Urban Meyer tried to pin the loss on bad officiating, claiming that Mississippi players were illegally hurdling across the line of scrimmage to block kicks (???). To me, that kind of talk is indicative of a poor loser and a bad sport. Two, I’ve been listening a bit to the local sports talk radio shows, and it’s gratifying to hear some fans finally feeling free to express some constructive criticism about the team and its coaches. So in that respect, this defeat did help a little. Three, why not have Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, the rest of the UF players, and their many fans stand up for just a moment and applaud the extraordinary performance of their worthy opponent, the University of Mississippi Rebels? Now that would be true sportsmanship at its finest!