Fans need to leave Spurrier in great past

Most people have an ex-flame who burns a hole in their heart, in a good way.

There are moments when you take a nostalgic tumble, aching for second chances.

Can you feel me, Florida fans? Admit it: You still pine for Steve Spurrier. The Head Ball Coach still sends your hearts a-flutter. You’ve never really moved on from the stunning breakup on Jan. 4, 2002, especially when other relationships sour.

And It can’t get much worse than the tempestuous circumstances involving the current HBC — sorry, is that blasphemy? —

and everybody who bleeds orange and blue.

They are out for blood. Thy name is Will Muschamp.

And it seems that Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley is the only guy in Gainesville or anywhere else in Florida willing to stand by his man, even as the losses pile on and Muschamp continues to validate the notion that he is a glorified defensive coordinator masquerading as a head coach. So who’s next? Many Florida fans already are getting out their framed signed 8x10 glosses of Spurrier and clutching it to their hearts, hoping for a blissful reunion.

Sorry, but how can I break this to you gently? Not. Going. To. Happen. Second acts are always dicey, and not always as wonderful as we may perceive them to be once reality gets in the way of a sentimental story line. Back in 2005, the Orlando Magic re-hired coach Brian Hill, the guy who took them to the NBA Finals in the 1994-95 season.

They even introduced him with the “Welcome Back, Kotter” theme at the press conference.

But the soundtrack quickly soured, and Hill was gone after two years without a winning record.

That’s not to say that Spurrier would flunk the second-chance opportunity in Gainesville, but he is no fool.

And he’s not going to rush back to Gainesville when he has a great gig going in Columbia, S.C.

The HBC is revered there. He’s taken the program to a national level. It’s even playing on New Year’s Day — Citrus Bowl last year — and has become a viable player in the SEC.

If he loses three games in South Carolina, fans will hoist him on their shoulders and take him for a victory lap. If he loses three games in Gainesville, fans will stab him in the back with cyberspace venom, once “FireSteveSpurrier.com” pops up on your computer screen.

Spurrier has moved on and is in a happy place.

Florida fans should too, assuming Foley eventually gets the memo that Muschamp isn’t head-coaching material.

A close friend of Spurrier confirmed to me that the silly speculation was just that, adding that Spurrier is “comfortable at South Carolina and knows he has unfinished business to do there.”

And, as expected, Spurrier — now in his 10th season with the Gamecocks — fired back with one of his classic retorts when asked about returning to Florida.

“I tell everybody my next move is going to be to Crescent Beach, Fla.,” Spurrier said. “That’s where my next move is going to be to.”

Spurrier and his family have a beach home there, and Spurrier goes back every offseason to unwind and spend countless hours on the golf course.

Spurrier would be a short-timer anyway. He is pushing 70, and at most, the Gators could squeeze five more years out of him before The Next Guy