O-town Gator
Gator Fan
"It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
De things dat yo' liable to read in de Bible
It ain't necessarily so"
Dearly beloved Gator Nation:
To paraphrase George and Ira Gershwin in that verse from "Porgy and Bess", don't believe everything you read and hear.
I felt it was necessary to say something about all the silly rumors and innuendo floating around cyberspace right now, especially in response to the Charlie Strong to UCF threads on many message boards and in response to something I read about a quote by Urban Meyer replying to a question on Notre Dame taken way out of context and blown out of proportion by some chicken-little Gator fans who are reading too much into things.
Based on what I've read at the Orlando Sentinel, the rumors about Strong leaving for UCF are untrue, and no statement has been made about their head coach, George O'Leary, being terminated as of this date. There is an ongoing investigation into the recent incident involving a player, and there will also be a review of the training program being used. Mike Bianchi, who many Gator fans know can be a very controversial and sometimes irritating sportswriter (and believe it or not, he's a UF alum) has called for O'Leary's firing in a recent article - but nowhere does he even hint at Strong as a replacement. In her Sentinel blog, Iliana Limon had stated that O'Leary's position will not be made mention of in a news conference later today. Still, somebody decides to spin a story as they seem fit or interpret it, and then all this silliness gets started.
Then to top things off, some clown over at Gator Country starts a rant thread over the following statement Urban Meyer made during a radio interview:
"Host: I think a lot of people were fascinated that you were looking at Notre Dame and the University of Florida and you turned down, what at one time was your dream job. Take us through that again and what was behind your thinking.
Urban: Well, Florida was already in the 11th hour. We met twice with Jeremy Foley and my wife, we were very drawn to Florida. Notre Dame is still my dream job and that hasn't changed. It's just that the time in my life that, to be the head football coach at Notre Dame, you're on the plane recruiting because you recruit San Diego as hard as you recruit New York as hard as you recruit California, Florida, Texas, Ohio...it's a national recruiting base. I recruited there for 6 years and I spent every night in a hotel, in an airport and I'm going to be a good father first.
Once my kids are done, maybe some day I'll go coach. I don't know that, that's way down the road. Being a father and being able to recruit the best athletes in America within a five-hour radius of my home, that's why I came to Florida and I thought we could have a great chance at success."
Meyer was only being forthright and honest in his answer - how can this be viewed as insulting to Gator Nation? I for one (1) see no subtle nuances in what he had said nor (2) have any reason to question Meyer's loyalty and dedication to Gator football; if his committment to the excellence of our program was doubtful, would we be where we are right now? Of course not. As I see it, if Meyer was that gung-ho about pursuing his "dream job" without carefully weighing the pros and cons as he had done back in the fall of 2004, he'd be in South Bend instead of Gainesville right now. I think the world of Coach Meyer and always will; after putting up with three years of mediocrity and disgust under Ron Zook I welcomed the Meyer hire with enthusiasm, and am more than pleased with what he's accomplished over these past four years in Gainesville - they're phenomenal, to say the least. I wouldn't want to see the same thing happen to Meyer that compelled Steve Spurrier to suddenly resign after the 2002 Orange Bowl due, in part, to some of the absurd expectations of the Gator fanbase, and then see another fiasco follow like we experienced with Zook. Still, somebody decides to go spastic in his interpretation of a simple statement, and that's when things go overboard or get blown way out of proportion.
The way I see all this, I'd swear that some of our fanbase, as well as others, are in need of a remedial course in reading comprehension and/or listening skills.
Folks, this is a time when Gator Nation should be in a state of near-rapture at the thought of our heading into another shot at the National Championship after only two years. But, because of all this nonsense floating around, I as well as others are in a rather ornery mood right now. I'm not begrudging anybody to freely state his or her opinion on any topic or issue; however, it only takes a few to spoil things for the rest of us and it doesn't have to be this way.
Fellow Gator fans, enough is enough!
Let's all take a deep breath, and remember: IT'S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR!!!!!!
It ain't necessarily so
De things dat yo' liable to read in de Bible
It ain't necessarily so"
Dearly beloved Gator Nation:
To paraphrase George and Ira Gershwin in that verse from "Porgy and Bess", don't believe everything you read and hear.
I felt it was necessary to say something about all the silly rumors and innuendo floating around cyberspace right now, especially in response to the Charlie Strong to UCF threads on many message boards and in response to something I read about a quote by Urban Meyer replying to a question on Notre Dame taken way out of context and blown out of proportion by some chicken-little Gator fans who are reading too much into things.
Based on what I've read at the Orlando Sentinel, the rumors about Strong leaving for UCF are untrue, and no statement has been made about their head coach, George O'Leary, being terminated as of this date. There is an ongoing investigation into the recent incident involving a player, and there will also be a review of the training program being used. Mike Bianchi, who many Gator fans know can be a very controversial and sometimes irritating sportswriter (and believe it or not, he's a UF alum) has called for O'Leary's firing in a recent article - but nowhere does he even hint at Strong as a replacement. In her Sentinel blog, Iliana Limon had stated that O'Leary's position will not be made mention of in a news conference later today. Still, somebody decides to spin a story as they seem fit or interpret it, and then all this silliness gets started.
Then to top things off, some clown over at Gator Country starts a rant thread over the following statement Urban Meyer made during a radio interview:
"Host: I think a lot of people were fascinated that you were looking at Notre Dame and the University of Florida and you turned down, what at one time was your dream job. Take us through that again and what was behind your thinking.
Urban: Well, Florida was already in the 11th hour. We met twice with Jeremy Foley and my wife, we were very drawn to Florida. Notre Dame is still my dream job and that hasn't changed. It's just that the time in my life that, to be the head football coach at Notre Dame, you're on the plane recruiting because you recruit San Diego as hard as you recruit New York as hard as you recruit California, Florida, Texas, Ohio...it's a national recruiting base. I recruited there for 6 years and I spent every night in a hotel, in an airport and I'm going to be a good father first.
Once my kids are done, maybe some day I'll go coach. I don't know that, that's way down the road. Being a father and being able to recruit the best athletes in America within a five-hour radius of my home, that's why I came to Florida and I thought we could have a great chance at success."
Meyer was only being forthright and honest in his answer - how can this be viewed as insulting to Gator Nation? I for one (1) see no subtle nuances in what he had said nor (2) have any reason to question Meyer's loyalty and dedication to Gator football; if his committment to the excellence of our program was doubtful, would we be where we are right now? Of course not. As I see it, if Meyer was that gung-ho about pursuing his "dream job" without carefully weighing the pros and cons as he had done back in the fall of 2004, he'd be in South Bend instead of Gainesville right now. I think the world of Coach Meyer and always will; after putting up with three years of mediocrity and disgust under Ron Zook I welcomed the Meyer hire with enthusiasm, and am more than pleased with what he's accomplished over these past four years in Gainesville - they're phenomenal, to say the least. I wouldn't want to see the same thing happen to Meyer that compelled Steve Spurrier to suddenly resign after the 2002 Orange Bowl due, in part, to some of the absurd expectations of the Gator fanbase, and then see another fiasco follow like we experienced with Zook. Still, somebody decides to go spastic in his interpretation of a simple statement, and that's when things go overboard or get blown way out of proportion.
The way I see all this, I'd swear that some of our fanbase, as well as others, are in need of a remedial course in reading comprehension and/or listening skills.
Folks, this is a time when Gator Nation should be in a state of near-rapture at the thought of our heading into another shot at the National Championship after only two years. But, because of all this nonsense floating around, I as well as others are in a rather ornery mood right now. I'm not begrudging anybody to freely state his or her opinion on any topic or issue; however, it only takes a few to spoil things for the rest of us and it doesn't have to be this way.
Fellow Gator fans, enough is enough!
Let's all take a deep breath, and remember: IT'S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR!!!!!!
unk: