HDTV brings remarkable photography in great detail to our living rooms, which can be both good and bad. As I watched Steve Spurrier chatting with the ESPN football crew Thursday night, I couldn’t help but notice the deeper lines etched in his once boyish face and a few gray hairs sprouting from his head.
It was like the Head Ball Coach was aging right before our eyes, and then I remembered he turned 65 last April – and that Ronald Reagan was 70 when he was elected to his first term as President of the United States. And aren’t we all graying just a bit?
Then I flashed back to that 2009 day in Birmingham when Spurrier was so embarrassed at SEC Media Days about the fact that an aide had filled out his preseason all-league ballot and left Tim Tebow off, preventing the Florida quarterback from being a unanimous selection. (Spurrier later had that reversed). The next day Spurrier was hammered in some of the print media – especially one Florida columnist—suggesting he was a has-been and out of touch with the modern game of college football.
Now Spurrier shows up on the doorstep of his alma mater as the chief obstructionist between Urban Meyer’s team and redemption, with a chance to deny the Gators a third straight trip to Atlanta and the chance to bring South Carolina its most glorious moment in football.
For older Gators who still admire and respect Spurrier, this is the Conflict Bowl – in a sense dying to beat him because it bears all the grudgery of a family conflict. And in another sense, knowing if their beloved Gators cannot win the SEC East, then why not somebody they still admire, respect and possibly even cheer for silently.
There are still emotional ties here that cross all the lines.
Just the other day, John Brantley III received a private note from Steve’s wife Jerri wishing him all the best and sending her best to his son Johnny. Like many of us, JB III will always have a special place in his heart for Mrs. Spurrier. And for that matter, Steve. After all, when SOS began in the trade back in 1978 as an assistant for Doug Dickey, his quarterback was John Brantley III.
Be that as it may, feelings of loyalty will be put aside Saturday and a heated battle will ensue.
Many have wondered why JB IV didn’t wind up playing for Spurrier instead of committing first to Texas – who knows how they might have worked out for all parties? – but it appears as though he was destined to be a Gator either way.
Meanwhile, wouldn’t it be quite the story of JB IV had his biggest night as a Gator against Spurrier’s Gamecocks?
These things have a way of being evened out by the football gods.
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When word reached Johnny Brantley about the baby in Shands that was going to undergo heart surgery – a baby who was bearing his name – it didn’t take long for him to respond. Many of you have already read about this wonderfully warm gesture in Bullgator Den as posted by one of our members about his grandson named Brantley.
“My wife and I are spending the week in Gainesville at Shands while our 10-month-old grandson is getting ready for heart surgery. We were sitting in the hospital room when my wife’s cell phone rings. She didn’t recognize the number so she almost didn’t answer the call, but when she did it was the UAA asking if we would like some visitors. Of course … we’re all huge Gator fans and we said yes!! So in the next day or two, our kids, who have given us one beautiful grandson, will get to spend some time with some other great kids from UF. Perhaps young Brantley will get to meet his pseudo-namesake.”
Well, young Brantley did, as this photo on the thread showing JB IV and his new friend will attest (https://www.gatorcountry.com/swampgas/showthread.php?t=173720).
I’m not sure how or why JB IV wound up doing this, but I do know it has touched off a wave of warm feelings the likes of which the message boards have not reflected in the post-Tebow era.
What I love about the story is that Johnny’s parents, John and Karen, didn’t know about what their son had done until they read about it on GatorCountry.com.
And knowing the Brantley family as I have for so many years, I can tell you that they are as proud – or maybe prouder—of Johnny for such a wonderful act of kindness as anything he has ever done on a football field.