“I guess I'll retire someday if I live that long.”- Bobby Bowden
*Photo Taken of my brother (the not-shy blonde kid in the clip on) and
a composed me (behind him) with Bobby in the early 90's at the Daytona Beach QB Club.
As we watched Bobby plant the spear in the middle of the field and proceed to win his final game in fitting fashion, with class and dignity, I was shocked at how much emotion I felt. After all, I've never been alive for a Florida State football game that didn't have Bobby at the helm. Bobby's awe-shucks (or more accurately "Dadgummit") demeanor and candor throughout the years has been a mainstay. Though many, including myself at times, have concluded in the past decade that the game has passed him by and there is no longer room for someone with such ease and temperament in the game any longer, his final win provided a hopeful capstone. These guys do win in the end. A spry octogenarian can go out on top (even if that "top" is unfortunately defined as merely a Gator Bowl win). Even his most noted critics are silenced in the end. I count my self fortunate and certainly one of the least to have had my life touched and my childhood shaped by the legacy of this Godly and genuine man.
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