Over the past week, shocking news has surfaced in blogs, news rooms and forums about unrest in Tallahassee. Board of Trustees chairperson Jim Smith has publicly called for Bobby Bowden’s removal as the Seminoles Head Football Coach.
Since Smith’s words hit the airwaves and printed media, it seems everyone close to college football, sports media, and the FSU community has their own opinions and are making them known.
For me, this is a delicate situation. I grew up in Miami in the '70s and '80s, rooted for the ‘Canes and ‘Noles every weekend (as hard as that may seem to believe), and eventually attended and graduated from FSU in 1994. I followed Bowden’s career from the first time I saw the Seminoles play a football game in 1983 up to the present.
It pains me to see the current state of affairs with regard to this football program.
It seems that, in large part, the national media is taking the side of Bowden. On the other hand, local media, young reporters, and many current FSU students (through their web sites, Facebook and MySpace pages) are not only against the coach, they are crusading to have him removed as soon as possible.
Judging from information gathered on the internet and through word of mouth, it seems many alumni are split or torn.
THE PAST. I was there, in the opposite end zone for the epic “Wide Right I” in Tallahassee in 1991. I watched a 16-7 lead evaporate, and was in disbelief for an entire year. I was in the opposite end zone the very next fall for “Wide Right II” as well down in the condemned Orange Bowl.
Like many other students my age, I was part of a movement that took our team from pretenders in the mid-'80s to contenders; and then we became champions. There were quite a few tough losses in the beginning. Win or lose, though, these were games that put Florida State on the College Football map.
Much of it revolved around the Miami game...big wins in ’89 and ’93, both at home, were huge catalysts in propelling us to the lofty height the program reached and sustained for a mind-numbing 15 years.
We felt as though we earned the right to be No. 1 through those years. No one gave it to us; the chips didn't fall our way; we went out and took it. The Seminoles would travel to anyone's back yard and pop them in the mouth.
Long after I graduated, the team maintained a degree of success that will never be matched.
There were other unforgettable moments. The “Puntrooskie” in 1988 at Clemson. The huge victory in Ann Arbor in 1991, when we beat Desmond Howard and No. 3 Michigan 51-31. The back-to-back come-back wins in 1992 at Clemson and at Georgia Tech, which ushered in Charlie Ward's "Fast Break Offense" era in FSU’s inaugural season in the ACC.
The 31-31 tie in 1994, nicknamed “The Choke at Doak,” where the Noles came back from a 31-3 deficit against Spurrier’s Gators in the final 11 minutes. The Sugar Bowl rematch game two months later, nicknamed “The Fifth Quarter.”
The ’96 No. 1 vs. No. 2 game against UF, where our defense pounded on Danny Weurffel and upended the nation’s top team 24-21. The ’97 thriller in the swamp, where Spurrier’s Gators beat the Noles 32-29 in the closing minute, spoiling the Noles shot at a title.
Marcus “The Rooster” Outzen’s shocking performance as back up QB turned starter in an upset win in Gainesville in ’98, which propelled FSU to the title game.
It all culminated in 1999, when the team went wire-to-wire, remained undefeated, ranked No. 1, and won a national championship against Mike Vick and the Virginia Tech Hokies.
It is ridiculous for anyone to shrug off what Coach Bowden has accomplished. We would be remiss if we didn’t hold this man solely responsible for FSU’s football program going from anonymity to infamy; for FSU's athletic department becoming the model for all other NCAA programs; for raising billions of dollars for the school; for one of college football's truly breathtaking stadiums.
The Seminoles’ 15-year run of 10 wins, top-five finishes, five appearances in the national championship game, nine straight ACC titles, and two national titles will never be matched.
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