Cox Cable should be ashamed of itself.
Because on Saturday afternoon, there must have been absolutely nothing worth watching on television.
That's the only way I can understand why 65,000 people showed up for the Orange and Blue Game - a spring-game record - to watch a scrimmage that didn't feature most of UF's best players.
The entire starting defense stayed on the sideline, including Brandon Spikes. Running backs Jeff Demps and Emmanuel Moody didn't play, and neither did the Gators' best pass-catcher, Aaron Hernandez.
The competition between the Orange and Blue teams was a joke, too. When Tim Tebow didn't return to the game in the second half, John Brantley became the quarterback for both squads.
The only thing I was remotely curious about was seeing UF run some plays from the I-formation, but with Moody, Hernandez and half the offensive line out, what's the point?
Outside of the Powder Puff game and 40-yard-dash competition, there was nothing going on that couldn't be seen at a regular spring practice.
I felt bad for Urban Meyer during the game. Knowing The Swamp would be about two-thirds full and with a roster at the same capacity because of injuries, he was faced with a dilemma.
How do you get some productive work in for your team without adding to the injury list, all while making it semi-interesting for fans?
"I don't want to apologize because it's not my job to apologize, but I just want to tell The Gator Nation that (the attendance) was something else," Meyer said. "We average more per spring game than most schools average per home game."
In all seriousness, I admire the dedication of the fans. They knew they wouldn't be seeing much of a contest due to the Gators' injuries, but they showed up anyway.
The spring game will always draw a crowd because this time of year, people are starved for football. So why not reward that dedication with a little fun?
My favorite parts of the game were watching the kickers try 62-yard field goals, punter Chas Henry taking on kicker Jonathan Phillips in the "Circle of Life" hitting drill (it was a push), seeing Aaron Hernandez run the 40-yard dash against students and watching receiver Frankie Hammond Jr. embarrass cornerback Adrian Bushell en route to a 50-yard touchdown.
The 40-yard dash competition is interesting because it shows how talented the football players are compared to the rest of us, and that idea could be expanded into a really fun day.
Run a quick scrimmage for one half, and then go into some skills competitions to show off what these guys are good at. Make the Pouncey twins commentate it.
Have Tebow and Brantley go head-to-head in accuracy competitions. Make them throw at flying dinner plates like former Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford did on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (Note: Stafford was great at it, all while wearing a sport coat). Also, see if one of them can throw a ball out of the stadium.
Hernandez dunked over the field goal post in practice last week, so have a celebration/dunk contest. Also, more Circle of Life drills. And Tebow and Spikes have to go against each other. Society demands it.
Run some one-on-one drills with receivers and corners, and see if Henry can punt into a kiddie pool from 50 yards away. Or have him kick at blindfolded teammates.
Kickers always get a bad rap for messing up, so line up Tebow and some other guys to try extra points and punt. Conversely, let Henry play quarterback for a series.
The Carl-Moore-to-Deonte-Thompson pass was cool, so divide the offense into two teams and have a trick-play competition. Involve Percy Harvin somehow. He could use the good publicity.
Finally, I love the 40-yard dash competition, but no one is going to beat Chris Rainey. I want to see him race a horse. Or a panther.
That format would allow the team to practice but still give the fans a good show. Also, it's guaranteed airtime on ESPN. Not that the Gators really need it, as the five minutes I watched of Alabama's televised game featured more Tebow/UF talk than anything about the Crimson Tide, but it couldn't hurt.
That would be something worthy of televising. And worth going to.
