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Spurrier Takes A Trip Down Memory Lane

News Channel 8 photo by BOB HANSEN

South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier speaks at the Outback Bowl Team Luncheon on Monday.

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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 31, 2008

TAMPA - Ever the competitor, Steve Spurrier won't let sentiment get in the way of preparing his 7-5 South Carolina Gamecocks for Thursday's Outback Bowl against the 8-4 Iowa Hawkeyes.

That's OK, because his wife, Jerri, has enough sentiment about their return visit to the Tampa Bay area for both of them.

"Everywhere we go in this town I have a memory," she said after Monday's DeBartolo luncheon, as one acquaintance or old friend after another tried to pull her in a different direction. "This is a wonderful place. I don't think anybody knows how happy we are to be here."

Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy at Florida in 1966, and he returned to Gainesville in 1990 and led the Gators to six SEC titles and the 1996 national championship in 12 seasons.

In between, he made two stops in Tampa that will forever mark his place in the city's professional sports history.

He was the quarterback for all 14 games in the Buccaneers' inaugural season in 1976. They were all losses. The good times came later, when Spurrier coached the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits to records of 11-7, 14-4 and 10-8 from 1983-85.

The Spurriers lived in Carrollwood Village on Whisper Sound Drive. Their daughters, Lisa and Amy, graduated from Chamberlain High and once worked at the Chili's on Dale Mabry Highway.

Son Steve Jr., an assistant coach at South Carolina, went to middle school in Tampa. Younger son Scotty, a special teams player for the Gamecocks, was born in Tampa. That all happened during the Bandits years.

"The years with the Bandits are still the best," Jerri said. "We cooked big meals for the coaches and players. There were no NCAA rules."

Steve Spurrier hasn't gone looking for old friends this week. Not surprisingly, they have gone looking for him.

They have shown up at South Carolina's practices at Jefferson High. On Monday, it was former Gators quarterback and Tampa businessman Tom Shannon, a friend of 45 years, and Tampa Bay Storm coach Tim Marcum, who coached under Spurrier for one season at Florida.

"Steve really enjoys his old friendships," Shannon said. "You don't think of Steve as a humble guy, but he's nice enough to share. You see humility in different kinds of ways, and don't think a guy who's self-confident can't also be humble."

Former Tampa Tribune sports editor Tom McEwen recommended Spurrier for the Bandits job to owner John Bassett, and Bassett plucked him from the staff at Duke.

Football has never been more fun in Tampa. The Bandits had an entertaining offense and a roster full of former Florida collegiate players. They were owned by Bassett, a promoter extraordinaire who died of a brain tumor in 1996, and movie star Burt Reynolds, who would show up for games with a Hollywood entourage.

"Steve was the perfect coach at the time, because he was a creative guy, his offense was wide open, it was fun and it blended nicely with the marketing tempo the owner wanted," said Outback Bowl president Jim McVay, who was the Bandits' marketing director.

Former Bandits receiver Jim Fitzpatrick, who lives in Seminole, agrees.

"Steve was probably the most demanding perfectionist I've ever met, but he was also about enjoying football," he said. "To him, no matter what level he's at, it's a game."

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