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- The Florida Gators are charging basketball fans an absurd amount of money to do menial labor people are normally paid to perform
- The school is giving supporters the chance to spend $350 to help set up the locker room before a game as part of its “Swamp Moments” program
- Read more college basketball news here
Sports teams have a long and storied history of providing people who have some extra money to burn with plenty of chances to fork over their cash in exchange for a memorable experience; opportunities that usually include the words “V.I.P. experience” in the marketing material where kids can snap a picture with a mascot or middle-aged dudes can relive their glory days by playing alongside washed-up players at a fantasy camp.
The Florida Gators are no exception, as the school provides supporters with the chance to pay a premium for some pretty cool opportunities with its “Swamp Moments” program. This year, fans of Gators basketball can shell out $100 to step onto the court during pregame warmups or pay a cool $250 to stand in the tunnel when the team takes the floor, but its most expensive offering has left plenty of people scratching their heads.
On Thursday, writer Craig Calcaterra dedicated a section of his newsletter to a $350 package the Gators are using to lure in fans it hopes will leap at the opportunity to pay for the privilege of helping to set up the locker room before a home game, a fairly thankless task that graduate assistants and students with a work-study job are traditionally paid to do.
Tom Sawyer would be proud: Florida Gators want people to *pay* for the "incredible experience" of being a locker room grunt.
(Full article: https://t.co/wJZfwTGDE8)
(h/t Mike Chamernik) pic.twitter.com/zEAzbUvU0l— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 16, 2021
After news of this, um, opportunity (which doesn’t even include a ticket to the game) began to make the rounds, the Gators attempted to defend their honor on Twitter by pointing out anyone who purchases it will have access to perks most plebians can only dream of.
This "set up the locker room" experience is really about visiting practice courts, locker rooms, team benches and other unique areas not available to the general public. Our fans enjoyed "assisting" during football season and we anticipate the same for basketball.
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) December 16, 2021
Say what you will about the program, but when you consider the Swamp Moments website advertises there are “only 4 left!” as of this writing, I guess they’re doing something right.