What really shines through is that Spurrier changed the way a sport was played in the region which took – and still takes – that sport more seriously than any other part of these United States.
Advertisement
The Gamecocks are 2-4 overall and have lost all four of their Southeastern Conference games.
On an NCAA scandal: “You know what FSU stands for, don’t you?”
It all started with a tweet and the internet in South Carolina came to a screeching halt. “You got no class, Spurrier!”
Thomas Hooper is hurting for his former head ball coach. How many coaches have more bowl wins than their school did before they got there.
“We want Utley!” they roared Monday night, their hatred for longtime foil Chase Utley rising like a mushroom cloud over Queens.
FSU stood not for Florida State but “Free Shoes University”, after the rival Seminoles were caught in a footwear-related booster scandal in 1994. When Swinney suggested that he was from Pluto and Spurrier from Mars, Spurrier replied, “Dabo still thinks there are 9 planets out there”.
Spurrier’s memory is as sharp today as it was 20 years ago. USC hasn’t elaborated on Sarkisian’s problems, but the second-year coach had an embarrassing public display in August at a pep rally where he appeared to be intoxicated while giving a speech.
Spurrier’s abrupt departure caps a whirlwind seven days for the Gamecocks program.
I thought we were done with this.
But his time in college football was legendary.
“I hate it for Steve and hate it for college football”, Saban said. Spurrier that season was named SEC Coach of the Year for the seventh time.
But I certainly respected and enjoyed him. He always will be. In a ideal world, the 70-year-old Spurrier will find a few time away from the golf course to become a television analyst as soon as possible. He was the ACC Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1989 before accepting the job at Florida.
Saban didn’t necessarily agree with everything Spurrier said, but respected the fact that Spurrier had the guts to say what was on his mind. And he said it a lot.
Florida had its own star runner in 1989, but Emmitt Smith left for the National Football League as Spurrier arrived. Steve led the team to its greatest heights, winning 11 games in three straight seasons that included a trip to SEC Championship game and three top-10 rankings.
And then your quarterback, THE quarterback, comes back for his senior year to right these wrongs.
“I told Mal to hang in there with Saban”, Spurrier told ESPN.com previous year. “I guess Dabo believed it”.
Spurrier made a name for himself as a head coach when he turned around the program at Duke.
Advertisement
Spurrier had led the school to prominence after accepting the position in 2005. As a kid I went to Williams-Brice Stadium and I witnessed the beat downs given to the gamecocks at the hands of Phillip Fulmer and the Tennessee Volunteers, Nick Saban and the LSU Tigers and yes Tommy Bowden and the Clemson Tigers.
