Oliver Barry CRS, GRI
Begin forwarded message:
From: Shane Ford <goufgators@bellsouth.net>
Date: September 3, 2016 at 9:03:17 AM CDT
To: GatorNews <gatornews@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: Dooley: It's like old times for Spurrier family
Reply-To: gatornews+owners@googlegroups.com
--Dooley: It's like old times for Spurrier family
Jerri Spurier, center, and her daughters Amy Moody and Lisa King, are back in The Swamp, on the field now named for the husband and father who took them away from Gainesville but now has brought them back.
Submitted photoPublished: Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 2, 2016 at 7:15 p.m.
It was always about the hugs and, if you were one of the lucky ones to get one, you never forgot them and always looked forward to them.
They were long and warm and sincere and they lasted forever. It was as if Jerri Spurrier never wanted to let go because it meant saying goodbye for another two years.
Eventually, they would end and she'd walk away and you would feel jealous of all the people at South Carolina who could feel her genuine warmth every day.
Five times she made the trip to The Swamp, the stadium her husband named. In many ways, the stadium is a living scrapbook of her life.
"It's 50 years of emotion," she said. "It's the field goal against Auburn and sitting in the stands as a student and celebrating championships. Every bit of it is so much."
While Steve Spurrier coached at South Carolina, there was something so awkward about seeing Jerri and daughters Amy Moody and Lisa King wearing the colors of the team that was trying to beat the Gators.
But blood is thicker than diplomas, so the three UF graduates had no choice. Father, husband, they trump orange and blue.
Today, the three women are back.
It's different.
It's normal.
"Florida is my school," Jerri said. "This is where everything is."
And when the Gators open their season against UMass, it will be different again because of the naming of the field for the iconic Head Ball Coach.
"I can wear orange and blue again," Lisa said. "I actually went and bought some new Gator clothes."
Ever since Spurrier took the head coaching job at South Carolina in late 2004, it has been a strain once a year for the ladies of the family, especially every other year when the game took place in Gainesville.
Not anymore.
Not today.
"The first year we came back, I figured I'd go tailgate with my friends and sit in my dad's seats that he still had from Florida," said Lisa, who lives in Columbia, S.C. "But I realized, no, I need to sit on the other side with the South Carolina people.
"This game, I can go and it'll be like old times."
No stress.
No conflicting feelings.
Jerri won't be sitting in the visiting athletic director's box like she has on her last five trips to the stadium.
"She loves to sit with the coaches' wives," said Amy, who lives in Panama City. "But at Florida, I never let her sit in the stadium. I made her sit upstairs because I knew how hard it was for her."
Here's an example of how stressful those games at UF were for the family -- Amy's husband, Jay, always stayed home when Florida and South Carolina played in The Swamp.
This is a guy who has been a lifelong Gator fan, who has a kindergarten picture of himself in a Gator jersey.
"Too confusing," Amy said.
You can understand why. Here's your team, your alma mater. You're a lifetime member of the UF Alumni Association and your boys, your Gators, are playing your father-in-law who is a legendary coach and a larger-than-life personality.
Wake me when it's over, right Jay?
It all changed when Spurrier decided he had enough coaching and left South Carolina last season. But it really changed when he was named ambassador/consultant and moved into 303 B on the third floor of the University Athletic Association where the sign in the door reads "Historical Library."
And it really changes today when he entertains the crowd with a Mr. Two Bits routine and UF puts his name on the field where his life changed so many times.
"What a beautiful opportunity for my Dad to end his career like this," Amy said. "I'm going to be overwhelmed."
She won't be alone.
"It's going to be thrilling," Jerri said. "I can't even imagine how I'm going to feel. I've just got to get there."
She will.
Back home where she belongs.
Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at pat.dooley@gvillesun.com. And follow at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley.
Sent From Shane's iPhoneGo Gators! & Skål Vikes!ALPCA #8756Europlate #1045
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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)
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