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Strolling the halls of Spiro & Associates Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations and Brand Architecture in Fort Myers provides immediate insight into the collegiate loyalties of founder and Chief Creative Officer Christoper Spiro. A peak inside his office reveals a prodigious procurement of Florida Gators memorabilia.
The University of Florida alum can speak of quarterback quandaries, coaching carrousels and the not-too-distant football glory days of Gator Nation.
Spiro can’t do anything about what takes place on the field. But the 1986 UF graduate is in a position to help all Gator fans have a game-day experience as epic as his own as a member of the 2018-19 Fan Advisory Council.
Comprised of 12 to 15 season ticket holders, council members assist the university’s athletic association in the evaluation and enhancement of the fan experience at football games, while representing broader interests of Gator Nation. Meeting with administrators and staff three times annually, members provide suggestions concerning the overall game-day experience.
Among Spiro’s initiatives is making sure Gator games are accessible. “Gainesville (Hog Town) today is not the same Hog Town I knew,” Spiro tells Coffee Talk. “High-rise and mid-rise development is forcing the fan experience further and further from The Swamp. Without mass transportation to help move some of our elderly, we may see legacy fan participation drop.”
Spiro also provided Coffee Talk an extensive description of his personal Gator game day experience. In its abridged form: Pack Thursday, depart Friday, arrive at investment condo, meet up with the “Epic Tailgators” group, dinner with his UF student son, CJ, and his friends, arise early Saturday and jog on campus, arrive at tailgate location, dine on a “epic” buffet, head to stadium an hour before kickoff, touch the family brick for good luck and post-game at Dockside Gators.
That’s a chomp of a day.
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