Henry Russell Sanders said it first.
While speaking at a physical education workshop at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1950, Sanders, who was the football coach of UCLA from 1949 to 1957, told the group: “Men, I’ll be honest. Winning isn’t everything. Men, it’s the only thing.”
Since that first utterance, those words have become a staple in American sports lingo. The phrase has changed slightly, and it is often attributed to former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, but the premise remains the same.
“Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.”
Those words have been shouted in pre-game huddles, plastered to locker-room walls and printed on T-shirts.
But is it true? It doesn’t seem to be.
At least not when it comes to the Gators.
After two downtrodden seasons in 2010 and 2011, Florida flipped the script last year. UF methodically bludgeoned LSU at home, thumped the Ol’ Ball Coach’s Gamecocks and dropped only one game during the regular season en route to a Sugar Bowl appearance against Louisville.
The Gators crapped the bed against the Cardinals in embarrassing fashion, but any UF fan with common sense should have been happy — thrilled even — to see Will Muschamp right the ship so drastically in just his second season with the program.
Look at other historically successful programs to see how truly difficult it is to escape mediocrity once you are stuck in it.
Miami, Florida’s opponent on Saturday, has averaged 5.7 losses per season during the past seven years. Southeastern Conference foe Tennessee has lost seven games in four of the past five years. The Volunteers lost six games in 2009.
But suddenly, simply winning isn’t enough to satisfy the Gator Nation.
Instead of accepting the wins that piled up last season, fans and media alike complained about how they were earned.
“Florida’s passing offense was 114th of 120 teams nationally,” they cried.
“No receiver caught 50 passes,” they crowed.
The clamoring has started back up already this season. No. 12 Florida won its season opener against Toledo 24-6, but questions arose about the UF offense and its inability to stretch the field.
On Saturday, the Gators accumulated 262 rushing yards compared to only 153 passing yards. Sure, balance is desirable, but Florida proved last year it is not a requirement to win games and have a successful season.
However, it does seem to be a requirement for Florida to be fully embraced. Just look at the attendance numbers if you don’t believe me.
The Swamp used to be considered one of the most intimidating locations in college football. Heck, it might have even been the toughest place to play for a solid stretch of time when Steve Spurrier was coach.
But fewer than 84,000 people came out for the season opener. The heat probably kept some people from going, but low attendance has become a trend in 2012 and 2013 to the point that Ben Hill Griffin Stadium might not sell out when Tennessee comes to Gainesville on Sept. 21.
Maybe the offense is vanilla. Perhaps the games aren’t as thrilling to watch as when Tim Tebow or Danny Wuerffel were running the show.
But Florida fans should be giddy with the recent results. There are far worse alternatives than winning in boring fashion.
Follow Phil Heilman on Twitter @phillip_heilman.
Will Muschamp walks toward the locker room following the first half of Florida’s 24-6 victory against Toledo on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin stadium.
