Great report Randy! Thank you for sharing and for your efforts.
Jerry From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Randy Lyons Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2011 10:45 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [gatortalk] Coach Spurrier Gators… Ok, to begin with, maybe I was naïve to think I would be able to hold a conversation with Coach Spurrier, but I REALLY didn’t expect him to draw 600-700 people in little old Chattanooga, TN! Not only was I not able to talk to him, they also told us at the beginning of the banquet there would be no autographs. I guess I could’ve milled around afterwards and tried to get a picture, but I decided not to try. Anyway, it was a very good evening. I’ve attended quite a few events at The Chattanoogan, and they always do a great job. The food was awesome, and the location of my table was perfect. Now, to the HBC’s comments. I’m not going to tell you every time the crowd laughed. Suffice it to say he was very funny and the predominately Vol crowd was politely laughing or clapping… except once, and I’ll mention that later. First, he took us on a little trip of how he got to where he is today. UF was pretty much the center of his speech, and everything else kinda rotated around it. He said although he grew up in Johnson City, TN, he was a Florida boy because he was born in Miami. His college days were the best memories he has because that’s where he met Jerri and fell in love. He didn’t mention his Heisman at all. When he was drafted by the 49’ers, he said he had the best job in the NFL – backup QB. For ten years, while all the rest of the guys were being iced down or massaged after a hard game, he was all clean and asking where they were going to eat. Then, he was traded to Tampa Bay and he told a story about how everyone on the team was resigned to losing. At a team meeting, the coach was saying that games are won and lost at the line of scrimmage. He (the coach) noticed one of the offensive linemen sleeping in the back of the room, so he yelled at him. When he got his attention, he asked him “where are games lost?” The lineman answered, “Tampa Bay, Coach?” J Then, he talked about coaching at Duke, and how one of his favorite memories of all time was bringing his Duke team to Knoxville and beating the Vols (WITH Reggie White) by one point. No laughing over that one. There was a lot of murmuring and frowning. Then he talked about coaching at Florida, throwing his visor, Danny, and the 1996 National Championship. He said Danny is to this day the best player he has ever coached, and that he was the most courageous player to ever put on the uniform. He talked about how Danny was hit 36 times in the season finale against f$u only to come back in the Sugar Bowl and beat ‘em 52-20. You could hear the pride in his voice. He DID mention his “distaste” for UGA and how he loved beating them so many years in a row, and several UGA fans seated near me growled. I was ready to hose ‘em down if they started barking. J He said he thought the NFL was like college and that after the season was over, you played golf, traveled, etc., but he found out that the NFL was a year-round job. He didn’t like that too much, so he left after two years. He didn’t dwell on that very long. Fast forward to USC. He says that after seven years, it’s home to him. He’s very proud of what they have accomplished there, and pointed to the fact that more and more South Carolina high school players are staying in state and going to school in Colombia instead of going to UT, UF or UGA. Apparently they now have a new athletic complex very similar to Florida’s (weight rooms, state of the art fitness training, cafeteria, etc.) and the recruits love it. He believes Latimore will have another awesome year and said that Garcia has finally got his head on straight. He actually stayed for summer workouts this year and apparently has improved dramatically. He was humble about USC being picked as the pre-season favorites to win SEC East again, but he also doesn’t expect much trouble out of UF, UGA or UT. (I hope he’s wrong about UF). He’s also expecting USC to win the SEC within the next few years. He responded to a question from audience about paying players. He said it was a shame that an SEC school’s share of the TV payouts is approx. $15 million yet the NCAA won’t approve at least an expense account for the players to help with their family’s travel and lodging to come to games. He said Latimore (who carried that team on his back last year much like Tebow did at UF the year before last) can’t even afford to own a car. He walks or catches a ride everywhere he goes. Another question was what he thought about Kiffin. He said he didn’t think much about him, and then asked, “Did y’all?” J He complained about Commish Slive wanting to raise the minimum SEC GPA for football players coming out of high school from 2.0 to 2.5. I was shocked over that one. I didn’t realize they were 2.0. He also said Slive wants to offer recruits a 3 or 4 year scholarship instead of letting the coach have the annual option to not renew it if the player doesn’t perform or gets into trouble. He gave us a list of inspirational stuff that he tells his team each year is his minimum requirements, such as having a good attitude, being on time, commitment, team player, etc. He finished with his goals for 2011 season. 1) Finish in the top 10 nationally. 2) Play in the SECCG. 3) Play in a major bowl game. Great evening all in all, and one that I will always remember. Thanks again to my daughter, Heather, for making it possible. Heather, you rock! J Randy -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
