First of all I need to tell you I am not a sports fan. I simply can not sit in the same room where ‘the game’ is on the tube without grinding the enamel off my teeth. But I bear it in silence because G likes it and he never says a word when I watch Martha Stewart.
With that said I must share with you that I am very sad today. Today Bobby Bowden coached his last game as head coach for Florida State University. I grew up in Tallahassee and although I’ve never been a fan of sports and I’ve certainly done my share of cussing when the students would return each fall with the cars daddy bought them to clog our streets and act as though they owned the place it was still home.
G also grew up in Tallahassee and although he and I have lived in several other cities since becoming adults Tally Town has always been home. It’s the place we return to were people know us and greet us in the mall and parking lots and ask about our kids and parents by name. It’s the place where we know all the street names, which directions they run and what roads to take at certain times of day to avoid the traffic. It’s the place where we can get from point A to B without a map or a GPS.
We know where to go to get local cuisine and are not surprised at what the locals consider a delicacy. What I wouldn’t give for some smoked mullet right about now.
It’s the place where we know if your local by the way you pronounce Wakulla. And we know you’re a certified native if you can pronounce Kissimmee, Wewahitchka, Withlachoochee, Choctawhatchee, and all those other double ee words our home state is famous for.
It’s where people from the North think we’re from Alabama and people from the South think we’re from “up North” based on our accent.
It’s the place where no matter how long we are away we can return and fall right back into the rhythm of the city without any effort.
But today something very fundamental about our home has changed forever and I have to say I’m more than a little sad about it. Home is just not the same without “The Coach”.
But it’s a new year and we must go forward.
In this New Year my wish for the entire Bowden family is peace and prosperity and may Coach Bowden see many more New Years to come.
1 comment:
Thanks for the post, Babe.
My prayer is, may God continue to bless the Bowden family. The key here is that Bobby is a man of God and has always let his faith in Jesus Christ show him the way. I'm interested in seeing what God has in store for him and Ann now.
I'm sad that FSU has lost Bobby as their head football coach. I have loved the Seminoles from as early as I can remember, back in the sixties and seventies, when we didn't really have a lot to be proud of. You know, growing up in Tallahassee, you were either a Gator or a Seminole and had to make that profession as early as when you started kindergarten or day care (whichever came first). I remember the first season Bobby Bowden became FSU's head coach and the year we actually had a winning season, and then the year we actually beat the Gators! I loved the crazy reverses, fake punts, and the famous "puntrooskie" (pulled on Clemson back in 1988) <> that Bobby is famous for. Bobby made football dad gummed fun!
I will miss Coach Bowden, but look forward to what Coach Jimbo Fisher will do as Head Football Coach at Florida State.
Coach Bowden, thank you for all you’ve done for FSU, Tallahassee, and the State of Florida. Also, thank you for all the years of great football!
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