Gator Nation
alive and well on Nantucket
BY MARLI GUZZETTA
You may be able to imagine my amazement. In April, I moved to this grey shingled New England island from the strip malls and marshes of Gainesville, Fla. — where I had secured my M.F.A at the University of Florida and worked at the local paper. My first day here, I was walking down Centre Street from Main and saw something that made me lose my bearings. A sign with the familiar orange and blue and crest of the University of Florida marked the door at 11 Centre Street. It was the Preservation Institute: Nantucket.

Founded in 1972, PI:N was meant first and foremost as a summer study program on historic preservation for students in the demanding UF architecture program. Over the last few decades, it also has become a steward of the island’s historic buildings, and a hub of island cultural activities. The Nantucket Arts Council’s Arts Festival, Tai Chi and Swing classes are only some of the activities that have found a place upstairs at PI: N in the last three months alone. PI: N is kind of like the neighbor you know you can go to if you need to borrow a cup of sugar, or maybe a room for your art exhibit.

So, what does this mean for you?

It means next Monday, when Ohio State University and the University of Florida meet in Glendale, Ariz. for the BCS Championship Game, Nantucket has a stake in the Gators.

Foregoing all debate about whether Michigan should have played in the championship, I want you to feel that this team is a little bit yours. Having completed my undergraduate degree at an Ivy League school where games were never televised, I was skeptical when I returned to my home state for graduate school; I saw big time college football as a petri dish for academic and sexual malfeasance. But two things helped change that for me: QB Chris Leak and head coach Urban Meyer.

Leak came first. A kid who was so serious about his game that he skipped spring break his senior year of high school to come to Gainesville and watch game films, he doesn’t use football as an eternal hall pass through college. Two years ago, the Gators had a tough year. In addition to a small on-campus scandal between players and a few frat guys, the Gators (and all of North Central Florida) were divided over the prospect of losing then-coach Ron Zook. A few Gainesvillians took out billboards urging new UF president Bernie Machen to keep Zook, who had, after all, signed Chris Leak.

When Machen made the call back to his old school, the University of Utah, to sign their phenom football coach Urban Meyer, a lot of us in Gainesville (myself included) called nepotism most foul. A teary Chris Leak saw Ron Zook off the field at Zook’s last game, and everyone in the Gator Nation wondered, during 2005’s 9-3 season (5-3 in the S.E.C.) if Machen hadn’t made a mistake, and if Chris Leak’s talent would be squandered on staffing changes.

But Urban Meyer is the proverbial real deal. As a 4-year-old, he spent six months in a body cast after being hit by a car. When Urban or his siblings got into trouble as kids, their father made them run laps or do push-ups. Meyer was as serious kid who became a professional athlete and then turned into a coach who doesn’t like anyone dumping Gatorade on his shoulders until the clock reads 0:00.

A devout Catholic, he’s a soft touch with his three tween-age kids, and also a paternal kind of coach with his players. He’s been stern with them when he needed to be — DeShawn Wynn saw the cold side of Coach Meyer until he became a more selfless player — but also caring, ushering his players through some tough times. All-American safety Reggie Nelson’s mother, Mary Lakes, lost her fight with cancer

days before Christmas this year; it’s been one of many personal tribulations faced by the team that’s looked to Meyer to set a winning and professional tone.

I’m not the sole member of the Gator Nation on this island. In fact, I’ve been surprised at how many of us there are. Historic District Commission Administrator Mark Voigt was introduced to Nantucket as a UF student attending PI:N and now watches games with his family every Saturday.

Christy Kickham, beloved tender at the Rose & Crown, graduated from UF in 1993. He plans on playing the BCS Championship on all televisions throughout the bar. He knows Ohio is a “juggernaut,” but he said he “appreciates the underdog position.”

“Number one: I want the Gators to prove that they deserve to be there. I don’t want it to be a rout,” Kickham said. “Of course, I want to see the Gators prevail. But Ohio is a juggernaut. They are almost unbeatable.

It’s going to be an uphill battle, but I appreciate the underdog position, and I’m thrilled we are where we are right now.”

If the Gators were to beat Ohio, they would win NCAA basketball and football championships in the same year. My last night in Gainesville was actually the night we won the basketball championship. After the game, I drove a friend of mine back to his apartment on campus. The town had become one big block party, and everyone was best friends — in stopped traffic, people ran between cars high fiving the drivers. They climbed up light poles, and hugged strangers. If we win on Monday, you might find me running from the Rose and Crown to the door at 11 Centre Street, high fiving anyone who happens to be walking by the northernmost point of the University of Florida. It’s great to be a Florida Gator, and if you want to be one, UF has already come to you.

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