Mullen's 'Gator Standard' Includes Fan Power

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Thirteen years ago, in his first season at Florida as the offensive coordinator on Urban Meyer's staff, Dan Mullen witnessed history at The Swamp.

A school-record crowd estimated at 58,500 – shattering the previous record by almost 20,000 -- turned out for Florida's annual Orange & Blue spring game, an event the Gators have held dating back to at least the early 1950s.

Gators receiver Dallas Baker, heading into his junior season that year, noticed a different vibe around town as soon as he left his apartment.

"When I woke up I went to McDonald's to get some breakfast. I saw people tailgating,'' Baker told The Palm Beach Post after the game. "Now that's different."

The Gators packed fans into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the spring game regularly under Meyer, including 45,200 in 2006 and 47,500 in 2007. In Mullen's final spring game prior to leaving to become head coach at Mississippi State, the Gators drew a record 61,000 on the day they unveiled quarterback Tim Tebow's Heisman sign in the stadium.

Mullen moved on to Mississippi State after Florida won its second national title in three years that fall, but when spring rolled around, Florida broke its attendance record again in 2009 with an estimated crowd of 65,000 in Tebow's final Orange & Blue Game. The atmosphere that day was as electric as it has ever been on an April afternoon at The Swamp.

The return of Mullen as Florida's head coach has rejuvenated a program that needed a lift following a 4-7 season and no bowl game for the second time in five years.

Mullen has worked tirelessly and smartly to re-energize the fan base. He has spoken to student organizations – Mullen made his second visit in a week to Sorority Row on Monday night -- community leaders, UF alumni, university faculty and Gators fans across the region to drum up support.

With few black-and-white answers expected this spring on the field, the hashtag #PackTheSwamp on social media relayed Mullen's mission to the masses.

.@CoachDanMullen is out visiting a few sororities tonight!#GoGators #PackTheSwamp pic.twitter.com/tmIxwjRIul
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 9, 2018

The University Athletic Association has backed Mullen's ambitious goal with support from all departments: marketing, communications, tickets, Gator Boosters and all others that encounter the football program.

In reality, Mullen's pursuit is about much more than packing the Swamp on Saturday. It would be great if 80,000 fans showed up on Saturday, but regardless of the final attendance figures, this is about trying to wake up a giant and starting fresh.

It happens every year in college and professional sports. Barring a franchise relocation or the opening of a new venue, very few happenings in sports – especially college athletics – renew optimism as much as a coaching change.

In this case, Florida's hire of Mullen is unique because he has been here before and experienced the highest of highs prior to leaving and raising the standards at Mississippi State in his nine seasons in charge of the Bulldogs.

Mullen shared a worthwhile analogy on Monday in discussing his real vision behind urging fans to #PackTheSwamp on a Saturday afternoon with so much happening in big-time sports around the state, including a pair of major league games, a Lightning home playoff game and three other spring football games (USF, Florida State and Miami).

This is about creating energy, a power source for the team to plug into.

"There's a process for us to get the program exactly where we need it to be, which to me is a championship-level program,'' he said. "I go back to when I was running the Boston Marathon a couple years ago. You go out on a training run on your own on a Sunday and you put some water bottles around town, you've got some music playing in your ear because you've got three hours to go on a 20-mile run.

"I tried not to even think about things, right, during the week, so I could have a lot to think about when I go on this 20-mile run by myself. Then you go run the race, and you don't think anything of it. I was at a way faster pace because you've got half a million people going crazy. The same thing happens in football."

Mullen continued, turning the focus from his experience as a marathon runner to the Gators when they take the field Saturday.

"It really starts with the student body creating the energy and the excitement,'' he said. "If you have all these people out there, as a player, you're going to play harder. You feel the energy from the stadium around you. It lifts up your level of play. It's easier to go harder. You just naturally go faster."

In addition to the current Gators, the atmosphere plays a huge rule for potential ones. Mullen is no dummy. He knows that with a large group of recruits scheduled to attend Saturday's game, the more fans they see in the stands the better for the future of the program.

"Whether it's this coming weekend or it's every weekend in the fall, we're going to have some of the best players in America coming to visit and see what game day is like in The Swamp,'' he said. "They're going to go to other top programs and compare the two. We want to make sure, when they walk out of here, whether it is our spring game or whoever it is we are playing, every single game, when you walk into The Swamp, it is the most electric atmosphere in college football. We want to get all the top prospects here, get them excited to get Florida back."

Ultimately, the score of Saturday's game means nothing. Some of the performances might stand up, most likely won't. An interesting tidbit from Mullen's first UF spring game: 17-year-old quarterback Josh Portis threw for 253 yards and four touchdowns, by far his best day in a Florida uniform.

What matters most to Mullen is the atmosphere and energy. Signs of a rebirth.

He has reminded everyone within earshot of what he calls the 'Gator Standard' since taking the job. That means competing for championships between the lines. Mullen has a vision of what that means outside the lines, too.

For starters, the biggest crowd possible on Saturday.

"We'll be there. We'll be going hard. We'll be giving relentless effort,'' he said. "The question is who else in the Gator Nation is going to be giving relentless effort on Saturday? That's their challenge."

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