Neo
09-03-2006, 09:20 PM
Ol' Ballcoach still casts shadow over Gainesville
Mike Bianchi
Orlando Sentinel
mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.
GAINESVILLE -- If he didn't know before, Urban Meyer now has up-close-and-personal insight into the amplitude of Steve Spurrier's aura and influence.
A few hours before Florida's season opener against Southern Miss, Spurrier, the iconic Ol' Ballcoach from old Florida, received a standing ovation at the O'Connell Center when he was introduced as part of a luncheon commemorating the 10-year anniversary of Florida's 1996 national championship team. And if that weren't enough, a few minutes before the game on the field he dubbed "The Swamp," Spurrier was announced again, and this time, he received a roaring tribute from a raucous and reminiscing sellout crowd of 90,043.
Spurrier was back in his old swamping grounds with the boys of '96. For Florida fans, this was like John Lennon coming back to life and the Beatles reuniting. And for Urban Meyer, it was like being Pete Best and second best all rolled into one.
Meyer was the second-most popular coach in his own stadium Saturday, which is just as it should have been. Until he wins a championship of some sort, Meyer will endure the same fate as his predecessor, Ron Zook, who was chewed up and spit out after three seasons because he had the misfortune of not being Spurrier.
As Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said Saturday as he introduced the '96 Gators, "This team set the standard for us forever."
Nobody understands this better than Meyer. His Gators came away with an efficient 34-7 victory against Southern Miss, but Florida fans aren't looking for efficiency; they're looking for supremacy. Meyer's Gators will need to do more, much more on offense, to cure UF fans of their chronic case of Spurrier-itis.
It is imperative for Meyer to win and win big -- if for no other reason than to escape the obscuring Spurrier shadow that seems to grow bigger and bigger as Florida becomes further and further removed from its glory years of the 1990s.
Florida fans are perilously close to turning into Alabama fans, who can't go a single day without somehow, someway remembering how "The Bear" used to do it. Likewise, it has become second nature for Florida fans to begin football discussions with the compulsory prerequisite: "When Coach Spurrier was here [blah, blah, blah]."
The only way to end the Vex of the Visor is for Meyer to take Florida back to the SEC Championship Game. Spurrier's biggest win may have been the '96 national title, but Gator fans fell in love with him for bringing the school its first official conference championship and for dominating the SEC for nearly a decade.
And there is no time like now for Meyer to take the Gators back to the future. Not only is this the 10-year anniversary of Florida's greatest team, it is the 100-year anniversary of Florida football.
The history books tell us that UF fielded its first team in 1906 with a coach named J.A. "Pee Wee" Forsythe, who doubled as the team's fullback and was paid a $500 salary that first season. A century later, Meyer makes $2 million a year -- and he doesn't even have to suit up. The least he can do is win a championship.
"Since I've left, the Gators haven't won an SEC title," Spurrier said recently when asked why UF fans still adore him. "When they win one or two, that coach will replace me."
But the thing is, if Meyer is to win a championship, he must go through Spurrier to do it. Spurrier was rightfully cheered Saturday on his return to The Swamp; he'll be booed when he brings his Gamecocks here Nov. 11. "South Carolina, that's my team," Spurrier said Saturday. "All my emotions are with South Carolina now."
On this day, Florida fans loved him as one of their own.
In two months, they'll hate him just like everybody else.
Mike Bianchi can be reached at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/columnists/orl-bianchi0306sep03,0,1685808.column?coll=orl-sports-col
Mike Bianchi
Orlando Sentinel
mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.
GAINESVILLE -- If he didn't know before, Urban Meyer now has up-close-and-personal insight into the amplitude of Steve Spurrier's aura and influence.
A few hours before Florida's season opener against Southern Miss, Spurrier, the iconic Ol' Ballcoach from old Florida, received a standing ovation at the O'Connell Center when he was introduced as part of a luncheon commemorating the 10-year anniversary of Florida's 1996 national championship team. And if that weren't enough, a few minutes before the game on the field he dubbed "The Swamp," Spurrier was announced again, and this time, he received a roaring tribute from a raucous and reminiscing sellout crowd of 90,043.
Spurrier was back in his old swamping grounds with the boys of '96. For Florida fans, this was like John Lennon coming back to life and the Beatles reuniting. And for Urban Meyer, it was like being Pete Best and second best all rolled into one.
Meyer was the second-most popular coach in his own stadium Saturday, which is just as it should have been. Until he wins a championship of some sort, Meyer will endure the same fate as his predecessor, Ron Zook, who was chewed up and spit out after three seasons because he had the misfortune of not being Spurrier.
As Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said Saturday as he introduced the '96 Gators, "This team set the standard for us forever."
Nobody understands this better than Meyer. His Gators came away with an efficient 34-7 victory against Southern Miss, but Florida fans aren't looking for efficiency; they're looking for supremacy. Meyer's Gators will need to do more, much more on offense, to cure UF fans of their chronic case of Spurrier-itis.
It is imperative for Meyer to win and win big -- if for no other reason than to escape the obscuring Spurrier shadow that seems to grow bigger and bigger as Florida becomes further and further removed from its glory years of the 1990s.
Florida fans are perilously close to turning into Alabama fans, who can't go a single day without somehow, someway remembering how "The Bear" used to do it. Likewise, it has become second nature for Florida fans to begin football discussions with the compulsory prerequisite: "When Coach Spurrier was here [blah, blah, blah]."
The only way to end the Vex of the Visor is for Meyer to take Florida back to the SEC Championship Game. Spurrier's biggest win may have been the '96 national title, but Gator fans fell in love with him for bringing the school its first official conference championship and for dominating the SEC for nearly a decade.
And there is no time like now for Meyer to take the Gators back to the future. Not only is this the 10-year anniversary of Florida's greatest team, it is the 100-year anniversary of Florida football.
The history books tell us that UF fielded its first team in 1906 with a coach named J.A. "Pee Wee" Forsythe, who doubled as the team's fullback and was paid a $500 salary that first season. A century later, Meyer makes $2 million a year -- and he doesn't even have to suit up. The least he can do is win a championship.
"Since I've left, the Gators haven't won an SEC title," Spurrier said recently when asked why UF fans still adore him. "When they win one or two, that coach will replace me."
But the thing is, if Meyer is to win a championship, he must go through Spurrier to do it. Spurrier was rightfully cheered Saturday on his return to The Swamp; he'll be booed when he brings his Gamecocks here Nov. 11. "South Carolina, that's my team," Spurrier said Saturday. "All my emotions are with South Carolina now."
On this day, Florida fans loved him as one of their own.
In two months, they'll hate him just like everybody else.
Mike Bianchi can be reached at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/columnists/orl-bianchi0306sep03,0,1685808.column?coll=orl-sports-col