Starbucks with Shelley

Even though I dont agree on a few things with this writer, its worth reading if you are a gator fan..

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Starbucks with Shelley -- looking into a bright Gator future

For Gators everywhere (please feel free to forward to any of your Gator friends throughout the Gator Nation) ---

Because (no matter how diverse our everyday lives) we all bleed orange and blue, I want to share with all of you an hour I was privileged (there's no other word for it) to share with Shelley Meyer just after noon on New Year's Eve.

For any non-Gator fan on earth, it would have been no big deal, just a couple of serendipitous acquaintances, new friends, going to Starbucks and doing that girl-talk thing about our families, jobs and the events and challenges of everyday life.

But for Gator fans, that family, job, events and challenges are those of our new coach's wife, and they shed a LOT of light on the future that's in store for all of us. And in spite of some stupid snarking on the part of a local self-aggrandizing sports columnist in the paper this morning, I'm here to tell you that the Meyers will brighten our collective future, bringing desperately needed dignity, discipline, competence and confidence back to Florida Field.

First, the nutshell. These people are really smart. Intellectually and personably. Good with ideas, good with people. They have both strength of character and depth of decency, and they're totally down to earth and vibrantly enthusiastic about the opportunities life presents (ranging from ensuring the Utes' perfect 12-0 season to becoming heart-and-soul Gators).

You all may have read about Coach Meyer's ability to put his strategic and tactical vision into action and his ability to mix the Marine-quality demands of his tough, no-nonsense discipline with depthless compassion and support for the individual development of players battling their personal demons. And you may have read about his brilliant introductory press conference a few weeks ago in Gainesville where he won over both the fans who yearned for the return of Steve and those who ached for Zook with a few insightful tributes to the accomplishments of each and some well-chosen words forecasting the future of the Gators.

But a man's choice of life partner says even more. Shelley is a Master's trained psychiatric nurse who -- in addition to being a world-class mom of their three kids -- does intake and evaluation of developmentally disabled kids (autistic and others) at Utah's University Medical Center as well as teaching in their College of Nursing. (Note: The moment Shands and the UF College of Nursing got wind of her credentials, they wisely started recruiting her with the kind of intensity Jeremy was investing in Urban.) Shelley also runs and works out in the gym, teaching spinning (that's sort of like an exercise bike, not a textile production device) as the current activity of choice. She's down-to-earth, direct, strong and doesn't miss anything.

Except, much to her chagrin, any telltale signs a few weeks ago that her husband was plotting a surprise 40th birthday for her; for the first time ever, they caught her utterly unaware -- it was a massive success. (I told her it wasn't her fault; it was ours: that all of the distractions about UF recruiting Coach Meyer, the hassles of planning to move, etc., were just a diabolical Gator plot to re-direct her attention, to help her husband pull off the deception.)

But think for a moment what kind of man, intensely embroiled in the last quarter of his icon-shattering team's so-far perfect season and unprecedented march on the BCS, would take time out to plan a huge surprise party for his wife, and who could successfully do so without missing a beat in his performance on the job. It was a preview of his grasp of what's truly important in life, as well as his ability to guide the Utes to their final victory while making effective inroads into Gator Country. This is multi-tasking at its best, an ability any Gator coach will need desperately in order to reverse the disasters portrayed so painfully in the Peach Bowl.

We have heard a lot of chatter from Gator fans who hadn't absorbed the significance of Coach Meyer's consistently stunning track record, fans who thought he was not ready for the big leagues. I'm hoping that the Fiesta Bowl has silenced those concerns, or at the very least, given those naysayers reason to open their minds to possibilities that others of us have long perceived as probability.

But we've also heard chatter from the other end of the spectrum, fans who say Coach Meyer is only using Florida Field as a jumping off point to go to the pros. One final reassurance from my meeting with Shelley -- that's not an issue. The Meyer family is tired of moving: they really feel they've earned the ideal location for a career. They're coming to Gainesville for good.

So Gator fans out there everywhere: Reacquaint yourselves with the idea of Gator supremacy, first in the SEC, then the nation -- If you thought life with Steve Spurrier was good (and I did ! ) you "ain't seen nuthin' yet." It won't happen overnight; as every one of us who suffered through the Peach Bowl knows, we have a long row to hoe before we get where we want to go. Thank God that Coach Meyer likes a challenge, because he sure has one to deal with. (After seeing that game film, any lesser coach would be u-turning back to the Wasatch Mountains at mach 4.) But these folks are serious about teaching the Gators to be winners, so our road is only rising before us.

Happy New Year -- and Goooooooooooo GATORS ! ! !

-Desert Gator