SCOTT LUDWIG: One last Hail Mary

There are two definitions of a “Hail Mary:”

(1) a prayer to the Virgin Mary used mainly by Roman Catholics;

(2) a long, typically unsuccessful pass made in a desperate attempt to score late in a football game.

I would like to add a third:

(3) this, whatever it is.

As my wife and I are both alumni of the University of Florida and avid Gator fans, we’ve spent the last 40 years or so acquiring a rather large collection of orange and blue memorabilia. Most of it can be found in our basement, otherwise known as the “Gator Room.” Some of the leftovers are located in the attached porch we call “the Swamp.” There are also several Gator-themed items in various and sundry spots in the garage and throughout the yard as well.

However, our collection won’t be complete until we have a photograph of one of the three Gator Heisman trophy winners — Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, or Tim Tebow — sitting between Cindy and me on the blue couch by the orange rug in our Gator Room.

We’ve met Wuerffel a couple of times. We even have a photograph of him with our grandson — Krischan was 5 at the time — who had no idea he was sitting next to a Gator legend (it’s rather obvious by the expression on his face).

We’ve never met Tebow, although we were in the stands at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium when he threw his now-famous jump pass against LSU. We were also there to see all three of his SEC Championship games in Atlanta. (I was lucky enough to see Tebow in Miami when he led the Gators to their third National Championship in a 24-14 win over Oklahoma. I wrote this in parentheses because I don’t want Cindy to see it, because it will remind her that she wasn’t there with me.)

We’ve never met Spurrier either, but if it was my choice alone, he would be the Heisman winner I would choose for the photograph that may never be. (Cindy, however, would pick Tebow. Hands down.)

Although I never had the opportunity to see Spurrier play, I’ve seen enough film footage to know that he was an extraordinary football player. The Atlanta Journal’s John Logue wrote this about Spurrier in 1966, his Heisman year: “Blindfolded, with his back to the wall, with his hands tied behind him, Steve Spurrier would still be a two-point favorite at his own execution.”

Spurrier has a way with words as well as a football. As the head coach of the Gators for a dozen seasons, he developed a reputation for running up the score with his innovative “Fun ‘n’ Gun” offense. That, of course, led to criticism from rival coaches, to which Spurrier replied: “It’s not my job to stop my team from scoring. It’s your job. If you don’t want to be scored on, do something to stop it.”

The man has a point.

One of my favorite stories about Spurrier is one that Cindy and I heard Wuerffel tell in person:

“I remember early on in my career, I threw an interception. I kind of thought it was the receiver’s fault because he ran the route incorrectly. So I was relieved when Coach Spurrier said when I got to the sideline, ‘Danny, it’s not your fault.’ But then he added, ‘It’s my fault for putting you in the game in the first place.’’’

Not only did Spurrier win six SEC championships and one national championship (1996) as the Gator head coach, his record against the hated (his word; OK, mine as well.) Georgia Bulldogs was 11-1.

Naturally, I was crushed when he left the Gators to coach the Washington Redskins.

After it didn’t work out for him in the NFL, Spurrier was a candidate to coach the Florida Gators for a second time in 2005. Rumor has it that when the university asked Spurrier for his resume, he replied, “My resume is in your trophy case.” So he took the head coaching job at South Carolina instead.

Today, Spurrier is back in Gainesville as the ambassador for the Florida Gators Athletic Department, which is just a fancy way of saying he plays golf and rubs elbows with prominent donors.

I wrote a column several years ago titled “Heisman hopeful.” It chronicled my allegiance to the University of Florida, described our Gator Room, and ended with the dream of Cindy and me being photographed with one of UF’s Heisman winners. The column was picked up by the Gainesville Sun, the hometown newspaper where the University of Florida is located.

Not long after, an alumni relations representative for the University of Florida called to ask if she could stop by to see the Gator Room as she would be in Atlanta in a couple of weeks. I said yes, mainly because I had a gut feeling that when she pulled up in our driveway, Steve Spurrier would be sitting in the passenger seat next to her.

But, regrettably, she came alone, although she was impressed with the Gator Room. Alas, I still didn’t have the photograph we need to complete our collection of University of Florida memorabilia.

So, for one last time, I’m putting my plea in print for everyone to see. Hopefully — somehow — it will cross paths with the Head Ball Coach. Or at least someone who will pass it along to him.

And if I’m really lucky, this one last Hail Mary will turn into a score.