Dan Mullen Talks Gators Season Opener, Excited for Packed Swamp
It will have been 644 days since The Swamp was packed full of 90,000 screaming fans in attendance. Due to the coronavirus pandemic last season, the capacity was changed, allowing just 17,000 fans in attendance.
It was a ghost town by comparison throughout the year. Now, with full capacity back in order, it's time for the 90,000 fans to return to The Swamp, and Gators head coach Dan Mullen can't be more excited about it.
"I know our fans did a great job last year, but to go get fans back in the Swamp and create that atmosphere, create that home-field advantage, the energy, the excitement," Mullen began yesterday, "whether you're going through the Gator Walk to running out in front of 90,000 fans in the Swamp, to hearing that energy and excitment they create for the players.
"I know the school is excited to honor Leonard George and Willie Jackson this weekend, so there's a lot of special things happening here in the Swamp and can't wait to have everyone come be involved in it."
The Gators are honoring George and Jackson, two trailblazers in Florid football history, the first Black scholarship football players at UF when they signed their papers in 1968.
It certainly will be a special moment for the Gators and its fanbase this weekend against the Florida Atlantic Owls, but even more so for the football team, something that Mullen is prepared to show off after months of preparation, finally able to go up against another team.
"I'm excited to see these guys go out," Mullen said. "All the hard work they've put in, to get to see them go play and go play in front of a packed stadium and go play in front of fans, just can't wait because I know these guys are excited to get out there to go."
Last season, Florida finished with a 9-4 record overall, losing its final three games, but winning the SEC East for the first time under Mullen. The team would face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game, coming ever-so-close to victory, but ultimately losing 52-46 in a thriller near the end.
This year, the expectations for Florida couldn't be higher, even with a change at quarterback. The team will need to show that last season wasn't a fluke, and that it can build moving forward. Mullen has high expectations for the program himself, wanting to make sure his team comes out and capitalizes on every opportunity to be on the gridiron.
"I don't care when we're playing," Mullen said frankly. "I want us to come out and play at an extremely high level. That's kind of our expectations. We've had a lot of time to practice, so we should be prepared to go execute."
The crowd will certainly be yet another motivator on Saturday against the Owls, allowing the team to actually feel the crowd, Mullen says.
"You feel the crowd. You don’t just hear it, but you feel it. And I think that’s something that can really draw out things inside of you that you don’t get through last year, when your self-motivation and desire to go play," he said. "When you can feel the energy of a crowd, it lifts you up even more.”
Now, it's time for Florida to go play. Play in front of one of the loudest crowds in the nation, and give the fanbase something to get excited about moving forward. Florida football is back, and It's been a long time coming.
