[azuquita8]

Last night I took some time out to attend the Gator Gathering the Central Florida Gator Club holds every year, and once again Urban Meyer came to speak at the event.

I was one of the lucky few to get there early and into the autograph line; by the time my turn came I looked Coach Meyer in the eye and said, "We're gonna have a great season, Coach". He responded with a huge smile, and as things turned out his request for fan enthusiasm toward Gator football would be one of the topics he'd be speaking about.

The Cap One Bowl loss this past January was a hard one to swallow, and I'm sure his being in Orlando immediately brought that game to mind. He admitted to being "disgusted" after that loss, but it also was a poignant reminder to never take anything for granted; in his own words he alluded to perhaps a little too much complacency after the 2006 National Championship win that led to a less-than-desirable result after the 2007 season. He went on to talk about giving 100% effort, enjoying the things we do and never losing interest in them whether it be our careers or sports, and even appreciating the struggle to reach our goals and achieve results. To emphasize his point he played a Converse commercial featuring Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat and tied each part of the commercial into what he was talking about.

He also discussed the renovation taking place in the football complex and the improvements being made; his aim is to illustrate Florida football from past to present and give due recognition to those who helped pave the way to where our program is right now. I also appreciated the fact that he gave Charley Pell credit for starting to raise the bar in the 1980's (In spite of the fact that Pell would later be fired for NCAA rule infractions that led to probation, he set the foundation that would lead to UF eventually winning championships in the 1990's.) and to Steve Spurrier for the accomplishments of the 1990's. Based on what Meyer talked about last night he has a vision for Florida football and as I see it he's intent on taking things a step further - we could be looking at more championships down the road.

He later went on to talk about the academic improvement of our players with the overall team GPA going up and our graduation rate being the best in the SEC, then talked about his players for 2008 and improvements he's seen over 2008. He also mentioned a couple of former players who've kept in touch with him (Orlando's own Brandon Siler, now with the Chargers and Ray McDonald who plays for the Niners). In closing he stressed fan enthusiasm and support as being crucial to the success of our football program as well as participation in events such as the one I went to last night.

What should have been a fun event for Coach Meyer was marred earlier by his having to dismiss a player from the team (Jamar Hornsby; he was charged with credit card fraud and theft stemming from last year's tragic loss of walk-on QB Michael Guilford and a girl he was giving a ride home to from a party who happened to be the girlfriend of CB Joe Haden and had stolen her credit card) as I learned from chatting with Gator Bait's Marty Cohen at the end of the event. This ruins our record of no player arrests that we had going for the year prior to yesterday, but it also was a reminder to our players that if they break Meyer's core values (tell the truth, treat women with respect, no drugs, no stealing) they're no longer wearing Gator Orange and Blue.

As I see things we're in good shape for 2008 and are a legitimate contender to be back in Atlanta this coming December for the SEC title - if spring practice was any indication of that there are good things ahead for the Gators if they can stay healthy, stay out of trouble, stay together as a team and stay focused. It's all up to them.

GO GATORS!!!!!!