Musings on Florida State Football and the Marching Chiefs

It's no secret that I adore the Florida State Seminoles.  It's my mother's fault I'm such an FSU football fan.  Although I went to FSU because my dad had gone there, it was my mom who took me down to Freshman Orientation and bought me student tickets to the games because she "wanted to make sure I got out of the dorms one night a week."

My freshman year, I was not impressed with football.  Didn't get it in high school, didn't get it my freshman year.  Yeah, I was the band geek who brought a book to read while the game was going on and yelled at people during half-time so I could watch the half-time show... and when your band is the Marching Chiefs, the half-time show is worth watching!

I wish TV would show the half-time shows again....

My sophomore year, I was rooming with Kim and Carol and a football fan was born.  Oh, I still yelled at people to sit down during the half-time show, but I learned to appreciate the game, and to be a good fan.  It's okay to want your team to win, and to believe that no matter what they are the morally superior team, but there is no reason to be mean and use foul language about the opposing team.  (Nope, you won't even hear me be mean about the Gators.)

I actually met Coach Bowden twice.  I used to belong to the Seminole Club of Washington, DC, and the club used to be part of the Bobby Bowden Golf Tour (I don't know what it was really called, but Coach Bowden would go around to some of the various Alumni Clubs and play golf with members in the off-season.)  One year, I was able to take the day off and help out.  At the dinner reception, the club had me stay with Coach Bowden and make sure he had pens for autographs.  He was always very nice and gracious to everyone.  The next year, I wasn't able to take the day off, but I made it down to the reception.  I stood in line to get my autograph (really, it was for my grandmother.  She just loved Coach Bowden) and Coach Bowden looked up at me and said, "Hey, you were the Pen Girl last year, weren't you?"  Either I'm that hard to forget, or Coach Bowden is that good.  I'll let you decide.

I didn't like how Coach Bowden was pushed aside.  I'm not saying that Coach Fisher hasn't been great (hey, 10-3 is a really great first season as a Head Coach), but I think that Coach Bowden earned the right to retire when he wanted.  Also, the meanness that was coming out was unnecessary.  I was at FSU at the beginning of the Dynasty Years (seven years after Coach Bowden became Head Coach), and I remember  how thrilling it was when FSU started to be ranked in the National Polls.  I was in Raleigh when FSU joined the ACC.  A lot of the guys in my office had gone to NC State and just looked at me when I told them I'd gone to FSU.  The Friday before the FSU-NCSU game, one of the guys plastered my cubicle with headlines about how NC State had a chance of beating FSU.  I just smiled, took the headlines down, and waited for the game to be played.  That Monday, I got to work a little early and took my revenge.  I'm nice, but I'm not above a little revenge.

Yeah, I'm watching the game against University of La-Monroe on ESPNU.  I wish the score was a little higher, but UL-M is expected to do well in their conference, so they're not the total cupcake team you might think they are.

And just because this commercial aMuses me:  

Go Seminoles!