A tale about Gators soccer coach Becky Burleigh and a parrot
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 | Football, Soccer, Scott Carter
If the makers of Dos Equis ever have an audition for a “Most Interesting Woman in the World'' commercial, Gators soccer coach Becky Burleigh might have a chance.
There's always something interesting going on with Burleigh, whether it's her leading a sing-a-thon in the parking lot at the Florida-Georgia game, riding around campus on her scooter with her dog in the sidecar – the Lab wearing a helmet of course -- or creating a massive big-head poster of women's tennis coach Roland Thornqvist to show around town. Burleigh is never boring.
Burleigh made some unusual school history this week – or at least we think so – by becoming the first coach in UF history to have her earring pulled off and eaten by a stray parrot.
Yes, this really happened. Not even the guy in those Dos Equis commercials could make this one up.
“We were playing six-on-six and this bird kept swooping down near us,'' Burleigh said. “At first, we were kind of feeling bad for it because it looked like it wanted to land but it couldn't. And then it actually landed on Roland Thornqvist.”
As he likes to do, Thornqvist often stops in at soccer to fire off a few shots and work up a good sweat running on the grass field. He was at UF's soccer practice field on Monday afternoon when the surprise visitor showed up out of the sky.
“He kind of called it and it landed on his arm,'' Burleigh said.
That's when the story goes from a Disney movie to horror film.
“We all thought, 'Ah, it's so pretty.' It was all well and good and everybody thought it was cute,'' she said. “And then the bird turned into psycho bird. There was a lot of activity and screaming, so that might have scared him.''
It landed on Burleigh at first, nothing more than a friendly shoulder guest until the parrot snatched her earring off and ate it.
“And then it started pecking on my watch,'' she said. “We were kind of scared by that point because it started to bite people. It would land on the ground and you could tell when it was going to fly and land again, and everyone would start screaming and run the opposite way.''
The parrot chased trainer Emily Kiefer from the grounds.
“You know like when Forrest Gump runs to score the touchdown -- that's what she looked like,'' Burleigh joked. “She was freaking out. It was funny.”
They finally had to call the UF Vet School when the parrot, darting around looking for someone else to land on, wore out its welcome. Members of the team captured the parrot using a box until a bird catcher arrived.
The stray bird is currently in good health and is being cared for by UF veterinarians in hopes of finding the proper owner.
If you or someone you know has lost a parrot and can answer specific questions regarding unique markings, send an email to 2Findmeahome@gmail.com.
Burleigh doesn't plan to add the parrot to her pet collection, but she does have another story to tell.
“We've never been bitten by a bird in practice before,'' she said.
