by intheknow72

Want to get someone rubbed out in the state of Florida? Looking to make someone “go away”? It’s simple. Just suggest that someone opposes Urban Meyer and the Meyer mafia will take your foe to task. Like the thugs, they’ll show up at the door and you’ll likely never hear from that person again.

Maybe we live in a state where we’ve just been conditioned to accept critical media outlets, especially critical of the home team. But the Florida media is taking brown nosing and lapdogging to a new low.

First, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando News Sentinel attempted to crown Meyer as king of college football history by suggesting he has replaced Bear Bryant as the greatest coach who ever lived. This comment at SEC Media Days last week was the vocal shot heard around the world, as Finebaum took him to task about it. Apparently eight years as a head coach in the 21st century equals thirty-five years as a head coach in the twentieth, with six national championships and thirteen SEC championships (ten outright, three shared) in the bag.

Then the same writer covered for an unfortunate incident that happened at a University of Florida football camp last Friday. In his blog, “Open Mike”, Bianchi reported on July 25th that last week a player at the camp who had made an oral commitment to the University of Miami was sent packing, reportedly with a Gator coach filling his ear with profanity on the way out. There was some jawing between players at the camp (imagine football players talking smack!), and after a drill the player flashed the Miami “U”.

According to the article, “In a statement, Florida team spokesman Steve McClain said: “He (Tavadis Glenn) was asked to leave during the last drill period of the camp because of potential safety issues to other campers.”

What, were there burning fuses coming out of his fingers? “Potential safety issues to other campers?” Was he like Edward Scissor Hands, with knives protruding from his fingertips as he flashed the sign? Safety issues? Seriously?

Can college coaches not handle high school football players? But here’s what struck me most.

According to (Orlando Sentinel Jeremy) Fowler’s story, Glenn said he flashed the ‘U’ after successfully blocking a defensive lineman to show Gators recruits “what Miami can do” after they taunted him throughout the night. Glenn said that’s when a Florida coach booted him from the camp.

Notice the words, “after they taunted him throughout the night.” So this 17-year-old kid is getting an earful from Florida fans turned campers at this football camp, he makes a great play, makes a legal gesture in all 50 states, and he’s escorted from the football facility under a barrage of profanity from a paid University of Florida employee and someone supposed to be able to act like an adult in that situation.

Can you imagine if this happened to an Auburn verbal commitment this summer in Tuscaloosa?

Says Bianchi, “UF did the right thing by escorting Glenn from the camp to avoid any escalation of tension.”

And come to think of it, whatever happened to trying to turn a verbal commitment? It is just a verbal until next February.

As Bama fans, I know we’ve been accused of worshipping the Bear. And I’ve said it before, I’m not sure how he would have reacted in today’s head coach fishtank/oversaturated sports media market, with a different blog, magazine and writer trying to make a name for himself popping up somewhere every five minutes.

But the unadulturated love fest for and protection of the University of Florida and Urban Meyer is getting downright disturbing.

If there is a Mrs. Bianchi, she better be worried. One wink from Urban and Mike Bianchi is gone.

20 thoughts on “Meyer Worship Alive and Well In Florida”

  1. Urban isnt all that different from Saban….As far as worship goes , Bear is still worshiped 25 years after he died. I doubt that will be the case wirh Meyer.

  2. I no idea how you could compare the Bear to Urban Meyer. Clearly, Meyer has achieved more than the Bear did in his first 4 years. Furthermore, Meyer didn’t have to cheat to get where he is.

  3. Agreed that booting a kid from camp for this is ridiculous.

    I don’t think comparing Bear and Urban is even a remotely fair comparison, though. Maybe one day Gators fans will look at Urban like that. But Spurrier was the man, and he isn’t put on a pedestal by UF in the way that Bear is by UA.

  4. And @3: Come on, now! Urban isn’t cheating!?!? He called Nu’Keese Richardson while he was on Tennessee’s campus. That’s a violation right there, and I’m going to turn Urban in right here in front of you …. wait, WHAT?!?!? That’s not a violation?

    (SIGH)

  5. gatorAzz, meyer couldn’t wear the Bears dirty socks, Bryant would jerk a knot in his ass so fast he would have meyer wimpering like a little school girl, thats what you dont understand about him, you know of his legend, you know of his records, but have you ever read about his life? there is a reason why the coach of the year award is named after him, he was more than a great football coach, he was a piece of Americana, and all of this comparison talk is simply a diversion of what is really going on, the fact the gaytors fans will and have elevated the pressure so high that meyer will be happy to take the dream job

  6. I fail to remember UA being under NCAA scrutiny while Bear was coach. In Meyers first 4 years at Florida his record was 44-9 with 2 NC’s. Bear’s first four years at Alabama his record was 31-7-2 with one NC and an undefeated season (ie. no home loss to Ole Miss). That is a 83% win percentage for UM and a 78% win percentage for Bryant. Bryant’s worst loss was by 14 points to Georgia in 1959, Meyer’s worst loss was a 28 point beat down administered by the gridiron legend known as Mike Shula. The 4 years preceding Meyer UF went 33-17, the four years preceding Byrant UA went 8-29-4. So Bryant had almost as good a record as Meyer and not near as much to work with. Call me back after 20 more seasons at Florida, 11 more SEC Championships and 4 more NC’s.

  7. Taxman,
    I hate to be on the “Bear” bandwagon cause I am a dire hard AU fan, but good post. I agree CUM (supposed to stand for Coach Urban Meyer, is that why nobody does this acronym?) is only a small white stain compared to the Bear 🙂

  8. One more thing taxman,
    I do have to correct you. There was no SEC championship before 1991, so there was no real 11 SEC championships that you pointed out and alot of your criterion for NC that AL poses are from polls taken back in the 1930s amongst sportswriters, so AL does not have 12 NC that they claim. You legitimately have probably 5-6 depending on if you believe you still should be NC after Texas beat you in the Cotton Bowl in 1964.

    Most Alabama fans need to go to Wikipedia, look up the criterion of college national championship, and try to understand how saying “We won 12 NC” just demonstrates how delusional many AL fans are.

  9. BamaHate, by your logic, we didn’t really have a media before the mid 1990’s because the internet hadn’t been invented yet, so anything that happened that was newsworthy before that time didn’t really happen.

    And we didn’t have wars prior to the A-bomb and other advanced technologies, so all wars fought and won up until that time don’t really count.

    Yes, the means we have of determining our champion today are better than in years past, but still, what was used before was still legitimate in its day. No one argues with us about championships but the have nots. A.K.A., Abarn.

  10. Bamahate, my point was not to take a shot at Auburn. My point was it is impossible to compare a guy that has been at FL for Four years to a guy that was at Alabama for 25 years. By the way, I got most of my info from Wiki. I would take any NC that involved BCS, AP, UPI or before the 1950’s a Rose Bowl. So by my own count I come up with 1925 10-0 Rose bowl win, 1926 9-0-1 Defending champ with Rose Bowl tie, 1930 10-0 Rose bowl win, 1934 10-0 Rose Bowl win, 1945 10-0 Rose bowl win, 1961 11-0 Undisputed, 1964 10-1 undisputed, 1965 9-1-1 undisputed, 1973 11-1 UPI, 1978 11-1 AP, 1979 12-0 undisputed and 1992 13-0 undisputed. This does not count 1966 in which the 2 time defending champs were denied a NC based on racial politics. I come up with 11 legitimate NC’s. 1942 was bogus.

  11. Rumor has it that Bianchi thinks of Urban Meyer when his wife is facing the other direction…..

  12. You cant compare the two coaches. They come from entirely different eras of football. No coach in my opinion can do what Bear did in todays atmosphere. A coach has to have a unique school to stay employed in todays era. Take JoPa or Bowden….And Bowdwen has worn out his welcome according to Nole fans. For a coach to stay at a big school for 35 years is impossible in this what have you done this year CFB world. I seriously doubt that Bear would be as dominating now as he was then, but I can only give that as opinion. When the almighty dollar entered the world of CFB then the competition factor shot out of the sky. If you took Urban and put him against the teams of the 60s and 70s , with his intensity and ability to recruit he would probably mop the floor with every team in the country. You see CFB is an evolving process. Just like any other sport. Take MMA look at how the sport has evolved into what it is. The mid grade fighters of today would flat out kill the champs of the early 90s.

  13. I just wasted 3 minutes reading Finebaum’s version of event from 7/28…
    Way too many points in his story to criticize, ridicule and correct, so I’ll reference only a few:

    1- Of course Dunnavant yawned.. He’s a homer, brainwashed from his days in Tuscaloosa. His opinion is insignificant.
    2- Bryant is “a relevant part of the discussion about college football” because you people in Alabama are convinced he’s still alive, and won’t shut up about him.
    3- If you actually paid attention to the text from Bianchi’s column that was quoted in Finebaum’s, specifically “It’s happening in Gainesville, where Meyer is the closest thing the SEC has ever seen to cloning arguably the greatest coach in college football history”, you notice nobody actually referenced Meyer as “the greatest” anything. Go back to grammar school, and study that quote. It says “CLONING… the greatest coach in college football history” (IE-your beloved Bryant). In layman’s terms, it says he’s the closest thing to a copy of Bryant.

    Oh, and to compare the two when it comes to wins, NCs, etc etc is like comparing apples to microwaves… Completely irrelevant. Different eras. The days of a coach staying with one team, let alone coaching in general, for decades is long long gone. We won’t see any more Bryants, Paternos, Bowdens, et al, ever again. Losers in a debate will always reference statistics, because you can use the past as a crutch to defend your position, no matter how far back you have to go.

    Im too irritated to point out the many other errors and redirects in Finebaum’s editorial. But, I will say he is part of the problem here. For people like him to take the words and theme out of context is typical of the small-minded, redneck, “keep the blinders on” mentality in your fair state. And, I can say that because I lived in Birmingham for 10 years. I’ve seen some real nutjobs, especially when it comes to Alabama football. You goobers won’t have some high-falootin Floridian trying to take an ounce of glory from your dead coach, will ya? We down here in Florida understand you folk like to live in the past, and Tide fans are hanging on tightly to their memories of football glory. Believe me, we don’t want to take away anything gained in Alabama, because God knows you people need as much positive reinforcement as you can get living in the sticks. But, it IS reality that Urban Meyer is the closest thing any other program has to a truly great coach, hitting his stride and in his prime as we speak. What you’re missing is that we have found something even greater than Spurrier here. And THAT is the true feat, because that was impossible two years ago. And that’s the difference between our perspective in civilization down here and yours up there: We Have The Capacity To Move On… We could care less about Paul Bryant down here; you can’t let him go. I bet if you stuffed him and put him in your museum in Tuscaloosa, people’d flock there, lining up for miles to get a picture made with the cadaver.

    You can spin the story however you want, but the fact of the matter is Alabama football, at its pinnacle right now, would still be leaps and bounds behind the Mighty Gators. But, don’t focus so much on UF, guys. Alabama’s got LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Auburn, and others to worry about first. Should you guys be lucky enough to get another sideline ticket to witness yet another SEC Championship being won by UF in December, consider it a blessing. And, as soon as you guys accept that Paul “Bear” Bryant has REALLY been dead n gone for decades, maybe y’all can move on and find the next clone to Urban Meyer.

  14. What would really be nice is to see the gators caught in recruiting and other scandals and violations.Just like the other schools in that state and see CUM have to give all the wins and NC back to NCAA.Which will happen in the next couple of years when a high school kid rolls over on him……ROLLLLLLLLLLL TIDEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

  15. Cheqsixx…..Great post. Its so sad but true….These guys cannot stand anyone else in the SEC to succeed. Its jealousy at it worst. They have a very good coach now. They will soon be back in the hunt, possibly this year. If you think they are bad now, Oh man, you have no idea. If they beat Florida in the SEC champ game , you will see a side of Bama fans that is what makes them who they are. Since you lived in Bham for ten years (that is an accomplishment in itself), you know of the crimson necked insanity that I speak of, as that is the epicenter of ROW TAHD FOOTBAW….Lets just hope that Saban loses to someone he shouldnt and we dont have to imagine the scenerio of another Bama champiosnship. Though I do beleive if anyone will beat Florida this year , it will be Alabama.

  16. Look everyone! ballsplay found a friend!

    Old money will always hate new money, and Cheqsixx, UF is new money.

    Your stereotype of Alabama fans is old and tiresome. I loved the line about stuffing the Bear. It’s only been used eleventy billion times. Was your heart just a’pounding as your excited little fingers pecked it out? Thought you had a good’un there, didn’t ya?

    Anyway, as Tebow goes, so goes Meyer and Florida. In my next article I’ll profile how the “half-million dollar buyout” is reaaaaaaally going to keep the wolves in South Bend away from Meyer.

    But until then, Alabama will be back in Atlanta this season, and the only sideline ticket we’ll have will be a tutorial on how to stop Tim Tebow and the Gaytors. By then Coach Saban will have had 365 days to develop a plan, and don’t believe for a minute the greatest defensive coach in the game today won’t have it down to a tee by then.

    Florida = new money (and 3 NC’s)
    Alabama = old money (and 12 NC’s)

    Get in line, Gaytor.

  17. Oh, and ballsplay?

    “These guys cannot stand anyone else in the SEC to succeed. Its jealousy at it worst.”

    I know you’re sitting there reading this with your little SEC hat, shirt and mousepad. I suppose you “always root for the SEC when Auburn’s not playing!”

    Give me a break, dork.

  18. intheknownothing-
    I appreciate you proving my point. Continue living in the past, kid. That’s all you’ve got. And, what you call a stereotype is actually true; people in the other 49 states already know this (well, except Mississippi perhaps). BTW, is “eleventy” a word, scholar? And, read up on your Alabama (state, NOT school) history and politics, and keep an open mind when sounding out the 2+ syllable words. Maybe then, you’ll understand half of what I’m trying to say. It’s because of the 19th-century way of thinking up there that I got the hell out of Alabama after 10 years. I just couldnt take it anymore. Again, I dont expect you to understand what Im saying because you are brainwashed, having grown up in the sticks. But, I’m getting off-point…
    As for the Tebow remark, I do believe UF has won without Tebow. I seem to remember a winning season or two once upon a time, and maybe even a NC without Tim Tebow under center. I may need to check my sources there…. And, stop worrying so much about Meyer.. Gee, sounds like you have a man-crush. Doesnt matter where he might go in the future. In 2009, he’s in Gainesville, preparing the best team in cfb to win another trophy. Like I said before, y’all need to worry more about your rivals in the SEC West, and less about UF. UA probably won’t even have to worry about playing the Gators this year. OleMiss or LSU will most likely be representing in Atl vs the Natl Champs.
    As for your drivel, keep on posting… The comic relief is somewhat refreshing. I eagerly await your next nugget of wisdom, heart a’pounding with excited fingers and all.. Ooooh lala..

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