I was 19 years old when Steve Spurrier starting coaching Florida. I thought he must be the most arrogant person on the planet. I couldn’t stand him.
I remember sitting with Tammy on the couch at her apartment at Sun Lake in 1991 and watching Florida paste Alabama, 35-0. She didn’t understand why we couldn’t turn it off when it became unrecoverable. I told her I never believed it was unrecoverable until the clock said 0:00. I remember the post-game interview with Spurrier was pretty much yeah, sometimes that happens. Go Gators.
Jerk.
Of course, it would be the next year that Alabama would beat Florida in the inaugural SEC Championship Game, on the way to its 12th national title. When Antonio Langham pick-sixed Shane Matthews, I delighted in the crushing misery I imagined Steve Spurrier feeling.
I eventually grew up a bit.
Spurrier was mouthy, but he was good too. And maybe we need some mouthy. Maybe we need a guy who pushes back at “it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” I remember him telling of encountering that in Little League, and saying no, that’s not really what I’m about. I’m trying to win. That’s why I play.
The SEC will be poorer, and I wish it wasn’t ending this way for him. When he took South Carolina to Atlanta in 2010, I was sure he’d win the conference not long after. I genuinely hate to see him go out with a whimper, and though I have mixed feelings about his rationale, I think I see it a little more his way than contrary to it.
He’s one of those guys you love when he’s yours, and hate when he’s not. I know a little something about having a coach like that.
Thank you, Coach Spurrier. We’ll miss you.
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