Why Florida Gators Fans Still Love Steve Spurrier

I literally shed a few tears the day I heard that Spurrier resigned as the "Ol' Ball Coach" at the University of Florida. When I learned several years later that he would be heading to Columbia, South Carolina, to become the head coach of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, I nearly had a heart attack.

My first thoughts were: "Traitor! How could he?!?" The thoughts didn't particularly fade after Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley hired Ron Zook to succeed Spurrier as head coach of the Florida Gators.

But after the three-year Zook debacle and the coming of the Great Urban Meyer, my animosity toward Spurrier's turncoat behavior subsided, and now I love to watch him throw his visor on the South Carolina sideline, reminiscing about his antics in his Gators days. I watch his inconsistent quarterback throw a beautiful touchdown pass, then a horribly misguided INT on the next possession. Reminds me of the days of Doug Johnson and Rex Grossman.

I smirk at his trick plays: sometimes they work, sometimes they blow up in his face. I'm always so surprised when a team effectively runs a double reverse, because I got so used to them failing miserably at Florida. But we always just shook our heads, and said "Great job on that one, Steve." But it didn't matter when his trick plays weren't all that tricky to the opposing team's defense, because we entered a new era in Florida football, thanks to Spurrier.

Yes, Spurrier was a fun coach to watch, and he did so much for the Gator Nation that we could never repay him.

But what we love most about him is his swagger. I was reminded of this the other day when some of his zingers were reprinted in a Yahoo! Sports article.

For instance, in 1995, a reporter asked if Spurrier thought Florida would beat Georgia for the seventh consecutive year. Spurrier replied, "Is Ray Goff still coaching there?"

It's that kind of confidence -- and arrogance -- that we Gators fans adored. It also helped, of course, that he led the Gators to a 52-17 victory over the 'Dawgs that year. (Ray Goff was fired shortly thereafter.)

Yet another example of Spurrier's exuberant arrogance is his response to a fire at Auburn University that destroyed the books of several football players. He joked, "The real tragedy is that half of them hadn't been colored in yet."

Even recently, as the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, Spurrier still makes his his love for the Gators know. After Florida beat Ohio State in 2007 for both the NCAA football national title and the NCAA men's basketball national title, he joked about the Gators turning Ohio State into "Runner Up U."

Spurrier seems to have always divided the camp: you either love him or hate him. But for most Gators, we'll always have a special place in our hearts for the Ol' Ball Coach.