My father was in the Navy so I grew up in many different parts of the country. When Bobby Bowden took over the Florida State Program I was almost 5 years old and living in Maine. I will be 38 years old when he walks off the field as the Head Coach at Florida State for the last time living in Titusville Florida. While Bobby Bowden remained in Tallahassee my family moved to California, Hawaii, back to California, Maryland, and Florida. I joined the Navy out of High School and lived in Virginia and Washington before coming back to Florida.
I find that rather amazing that he stayed at a University for so long and built a nothing program into a powerhouse. When I started really understanding football was the early 80s and I can still remember this ole team called the Florida State Seminoles playing Nebraska and Oklahoma. I started to like Florida State because they never backed down from a challenge. As the years progressed it became insane how good FSU became year after year.
I started to be a Florida State fan in the early 80s and I am still an FSU fan today. Coach Bobby Bowden is responsible for my love of college football and he is on my Mount Rushmore of sports icons. He will always be the greatest coach I have ever seen and in many ways I have attempted, most of the time unsuccessfully to be like him professionally. There will never ever be another Bobby Bowden and for that I am sad and grateful. I am grateful because I got to witness GREATNESS.
Thanks Coach for giving me such great memories since I was 5.
