Divided Football Loyalties

Greetings all,

So, in a reboot of my blog site (Hollyweird can do it, so can I!), here's my first "new" blog. As football season rolls around, I'm kind of concerned about where my college football loyalties may lay.
See, for the last wow... roughly 20-ish years, my college team has been the Florida State Seminoles. Now why would some dumb country boy from the Knoxville, Tn area pick FSU? The answer, like lots of things from my younger days, comes from something I didn't like. When I started watching football in the 80s, I quickly learned to hate the Miami Hurricanes (aka Duh U!). Why you ask? Punks, thugs, the usual stuff. So, since I had my bad guy, I needed a hero to cheer for. Thank you forgotten sports reporter who said that Florida State was Miami's biggest rival. The rest, as they say, is history.
Now I know the question you are wondering right now. If I grew up in the Knoxville Tn area, why wasn't I a University of Tennessee Vol fan? The answer is easy enough. In the 70s around here, Johnny Majors was not only the coach of the football team, he WAS UT Football. And my Dad pretty much hated Johnny Majors. Hence, you don't like Majors, you don't like UT. Now, since I was only 10 when the 70's ended, cut my logic some slack here please. I grew to like them but honestly, I don't have the undying love that most of my neighbors have. Hate me later, ok?
So, I had my team, I had my villain and for the next 20 or so years, it was good. I learned to dislike a few more teams (Notre Dame matching Duh U as most hated), respect some I didn't before ('Bama, Nebraska) and just enjoy college football in general. But then came the last few seasons of FSU football and .... Well, things hadn't gone well for the school or the team. Each year though, the legendary coach Bobby Bowden was still there on the sidelines. In 2007, Jimbo Fisher, then offensive coordinator for LSU, was hired away to the same position at FSU and was named "coach in waiting". Now, I can't say for Coach Bowden, but "coach in waiting" sounds very close to "don't let the door hit you on the way out" to me. Last season, the losses mounted and the head of the chancellor started calling for Bobby to step aside. Let me put that in simpler terms, somebody who had nothing to do with football was trying to tell a coach what to do though the news paper. As the season came and went, unfortunately, so did Coach Bowden. (Hope one day I meet Mr. Chancellor on the side of the road with his car broke down.....)
Year after year, Coach Bowden was there. During the time I met, dated, engaged, married and divorced my ex-wife, he was coach. Through several different post marriage girlfriends, he was there. Break ups, moves, births and deaths, Coach Bowden was still on the sidelines. It became like sun up or sun down, something you just expected. Now, he's not going to be there this year. And.... I don't know if FSU will remain my team. I've begun to wonder (and just wonder as I have no proof) if Jimbo Fisher might have been holding the team back to help hasten the departure. I sincerely hope not, but if the team comes out on fire and kicking butt, it will make me wonder. Still, it will be different this season. Only one last legend on the side lines, Coach Joe Paterno of Penn State.
I know some of my friends will suggest that I transfer my allegiance to the local team here and maybe they have a point. Maybe I'll stick with FSU, considering how many years I've stuck with my pro team (the Oakland Raiders) while they stunk it up. Maybe a new team..... I don't know. I just know I'll be a bit sad as the new season opens and on Sept 4th at Doak Campbell and Coach Bowden isn't there.

Thank you Coach, for all the memories, great teams, times and victories.