TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Brother Of USF Bulls Coach Keeps The Faith

ADVERTISEMENT

By THOMAS BECNEL, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: October 20, 2007

BRADENTON - The Rev. Rusty Leavitt does not preach much about football at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, but each year he charters a bus and takes 50 parishioners to a University of South Florida game.

His brother, Jim, is head coach of the Bulls.

In a show of support, the congregation travels in green and gold. Pastor Leavitt has been known to wear horns and lead cheers.

'We stand up most of the game,' he says. 'We stand up when it's third down, for the opposing team, and we scream.'

Chris Andersen, secretary at Beautiful Savior, jokes that church members have to be on their best behavior, even when heckled by opposing fans. Their pastor leads by example.

'He's very reserved,' Anderson says, laughing.

'No,' Leavitt replies, 'I'm praying.'

Rusty and Jim Leavitt were Air Force kids who lived in Texas, Germany and Taiwan before moving to Florida.

Both played sports.

'Both of us were very competitive,' Rusty says. 'God blessed him with the size and the speed. I remember him hitting .900 for a while in Little League.'

Rusty, 52, was a year ahead of his brother at Dixie Hollins High School in St. Petersburg. Both played quarterback and defensive back.

They collided once at practice.

'He started toward me and I started toward him and we hit and that knocked me out,' Rusty says. 'That's the only time I've ever been carried off the field.'

Leavitt moved to Bradenton and Beautiful Savior in 2000. Two years later he got the idea for a bus trip to a Bulls game.

'I went ahead and got 50 tickets - on faith - and they went right away,' he says. 'Every year, it's kind of my thing. It's a fellowship thing for us.'

Last weekend, the group went to the University of Central Florida game in Tampa. USF won.

This year has been a dream season for the undefeated Bulls, ranked No. 2 in the nation going into this weekend.

On Thursday night, the Bulls visited Rutgers, but Rusty had a previous engagement. He leads a regular Thursday evening beach walk on Siesta Key.

He planned to watch the beginning of the game at a church member's house, then go home to watch the rest with his sons.

'We all watch,' Rusty says. 'We know Uncle Jim is going to have a special play, a fake punt or something. Or he'll make the other team think he's got a special play.'

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT