College football: Meyer’s dream a slap in the face to Florida
Commentary
By Mike Bianchi
Comments 
27
Published: December 21, 2008
The Florida Gators are a couple weeks away from playing for their second national title in three years.
Florida coach Urban Meyer says his ‘dream job’ is one he doesn’t have: head coach at Notre Dame. AP photo
Multimedia
They have the hottest coach in college football.
They have a quarterback who is a rock star.
They have an athletic budget bigger than the GNP of
Liechtenstein. They are the largest, richest university located in a state filled with stud football recruits. At the behest of
Urban Meyer, they just spent $30 million to renovate the football offices.
And so what does Meyer have to say about all this?
"Notre Dame is still my dream job. That hasn’t changed.”
Ah, just what Florida fans want to hear from the coach they are paying $3.5 million a year.
That’s right, Meyer actually told a South Florida radio station last week that Notre Dame remains his "dream job.” And no matter how much he has tried to backtrack on those comments this week, the damage has been done. The only question now is who is more worried —
Charlie Weis or
Jeremy Foley?
So, Gators, how does it feel to be playing for No. 1 in the nation and knowing you’re not even No. 1 in your own coach’s heart?
Not that I blame Meyer for Notre Dame being his dream job; I just think it’s a slap in the face to UF for him to admit it publicly. Hey, it’s one thing for your high school sweetheart to always be the girl of your dreams, but you don’t go and tell your wife about it, do you?
How well would this go over? "Hey, honey, I love you, but she’s the one I fall asleep thinking about.”
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, "Bianchi, you moron, are you trying to say college football is as important as the sanctity of marriage?”
No, I’m not. I’m saying it’s statistically more important than the sanctity of marriage. How do I know this? Because I have a number of friends who’ve dumped their spouses, but I’ve never known one person who dumped their college football team.
Here’s what you need to know about college football fans: Whether it’s true or not, they like to foster the idealistic illusion that their football coach is as loyal to the school as they are. Even though
Steve Spurrier eventually left UF for the
NFL, you always knew UF was, in fact, his dream job. And say what you will about
Ron Zook, but he would have spent his entire career at Florida if given the chance.
Be honest, do you get that same feeling about Meyer? I know I don’t.
Florida fans obviously are happy he’s their coach, but can they truly love him when they know he falls asleep at night and dreams of waking up the echoes?
Don’t get me wrong, I totally get Meyer’s infatuation with Notre Dame. He grew up a Catholic kid in the Midwest. His mother named him after a pope. In fact, there were eight popes named Urban, including Blessed Urban V (1362-70), who once arrogantly said when his papacy was trying to recruit bishops and cardinals, "We only take the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent.”
But Meyer is one victory away from winning his second national championship in three years at Florida. He might be the best recruiter in college football.
He is dominating his rivals and could conceivably establish a mini-dynasty at UF. Why would he want to leave?
Maybe it’s because, as
Bear Bryant once said when asked why he would leave
Texas A&M for a downtrodden
Alabama program, "Mama called.”
Nothing against UF, which is one of the premier programs in college football, but it will never have the storied tradition and national prestige of Notre Dame. You win a national title at Florida, you go to the NFL. You win a national title at Notre Dame, you go to heaven.
So, Gator fans, enjoy Urban Meyer while you still have him.
There may come a day real soon when you’re swaying and singing "We are the boys from old Florida” and he’s off in dreamland shaking down the thunder and cheer, cheering for old Notre Dame.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
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Oklahoma plays in a league where defense is an extracurricular activity. Oklahoma would not put upt those numbers in the SEC because you don't have the personnel to do so. That's why I named all of the names. You can't. Your games were not even competitive. OU does not even know what it is like to compete in a game. Oh I forgot except for the game against Texas and they are ranked 50th in defense nationally.
FL'll Win
throwing around on a chat board. moron
throwing around on a chat board. moron
The people of the state of Illinois resoundingly voted for him for presidency even though it necessarily meant that he would have to resign his position as senator of the state.
Likewise if and when Meyer decides to pursue his ultimate dream of coaching at Notre Dame, Gator Nation will embrace it and move on. Spurrier is still a revered hero at the Swamp and always will be.
You need to focus on the task at hand - dealing with the team that Meyer is currently coaching. This whole thing has been more of a distraction for you than it has for us. It is as almost as if you wish that somehow we will lose focus on our goals because we have the most sought after coach in college football history.
Quite the contrary- we respect and are humbled by the fact that we have been blessed to have a coach of his caliber. The bottom line is come January 8, 2009 he will be our coach and Harvin, Murphy, Cooper, Thompson, Nelson, Moore, Hernandez, Tate and James will be our WRs, Rainey, Moody, Demps, James, Harvin, Moore and Tebow will be our RBs, and Tebow the 2007 Heisman winner will be our QB. That's what you need to worry about.
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GO SOONERS! WIN THE BCS!!!!