Pat Dooley’s Back Nine: Olympics Fun Over, Now Onto Football

The Back Nine comes at you after a weekend that included pop-up storms and the end of a fun 16 days of watching the Olympics.

10. I think 16 days is perfect for the Olympics because it was a blast and I also was ready for it to be over. I remember the year I covered the Summer Games in Atlanta and I was so happy to be there and also to be going home. While I wasn’t a fan of the opening ceremony in Paris, everything else was high drama set up beautifully by the different announcing teams. Well done, NBC. Everybody take a day off, get cleaned up and get ready for football.

11. My favorite moment will be Grant Holloway’s win because it means more when you can text an athlete after he wins a gold medal. But the two gold medal basketball games and the gold medal soccer game were must-see TV and I rarely say that about soccer. That women’s game has so many storylines I was jealous. And Steph Curry? That was ridiculous.

12. In all, 41 athletes with Gator ties won 11 medals and we aren’t even counting Katie Ledecky. That’s 156 total medals for Gators on the biggest stages in the world. By the way, I had no idea Phoenix (the band) was from France. It was a great closing ceremony that included Tom Cruise cheating death again.

13. We are changing our focus to football, especially college football and especially the Florida Gators. Another injury hit the Gators with Jamari Lyons leaving the Saturday scrimmage with an air cast on his leg. I like to say that your depth is only as good as your injuries. We will see what happens with this team, which really could use a break or three. All we know for sure is that there are college football games being played in less than two weeks. I am fired up. I’m ready for it.

14. So, Jim Harbaugh will serve as an honorary captain for the Wolverines in their opener? Man, does Michigan just think the NCAA is so toothless it won’t get back at these guys? I mean, there is another pending case that could result in a postseason ban. Right?

15. You know, as this season gets closer, I change my feelings daily about what Florida is going to be in 2024. I do believe Billy Napier has everything headed in the right direction and it’s his best roster. But the man has to figure out how to win some games against the most difficult schedule in the country. Call me in an hour and I’ll give you a totally different feeling. This is what happens when the countdown gets real. I miss the Steve Spurrier days when you knew the Gators were going to be really good and play in a lot of huge games.

16. I did take in a few of the NFL exhibition games over the weekend and there were some interesting things that happened. The new kickoff rule doesn’t appear to be as important as it was made out to be. I got to see Jeff Driskel play for his seventh team. That was pretty much the highlight. Although I did enjoy watching the Cowboys lose.

17. Not sure I have ever seen what Max Greyserman did Sunday at the Wyndham. Have you ever seen ANYBODY go eagle, snowman, birdie, four-jack in your life? For the non-golfers out there, that’s a hole out from the fairway, a quadruple bogey, a two-putt birdie and a four-putt double bogey. It was painful to watch. I’ve never seen an amateur post 2-8-4-6 to blow a big lead let alone a PGA Tour player.

18. As we get closer to the start of another football season, I will remind you that one of my guideposts is to enjoy it all. And also this playlist:

• The song that should be the theme song for the mighty Gators this season, “Let’s Win!” by Alex Ebert.
• “Cold Cold Man” by Saint Motel.
• And for an old one, “Shapes of Things” by The Yardbirds.

WRUF.com sports columnist Pat Dooley can be heard on “The Tailgate” along with Jeff Cardozo from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday on 98.1-FM/AM-850 WRUF.