FSU Heisman Candidate EJ Manuel - He reminds me of Charlie Ward
Florida State - during the Dynasty times - won 10 games every season from 1988 to 2001. In some cases a two loss season was considered a down year. Bobby Bowden was a saint - and even in the end - he never had a losing season - but there were just too many 4 - 5 - 6 loss seasons. A few seasons it took a win in a ho-hum bowl to go 7-6 - preventing the losing season that would end Bobby's career.
Three years ago - they couldn't wait for a losing season - they fired Bobby. His assistant Jimbo Fisher took over and produced a couple 4 loss seasons. All the spoiled FSU wins have been waiting for the messiah to lead them to the promised land. Through very weak scheduling the Noles started the season - playing 4 games at home. In the first 3 games they won by over 50 points.
Lats night they played a very good Clemson team - although the Tigers were a 14 point underdog - Seminole fans were waiting for the sky to fall again. Through the first half of the game - the orange team from South Carolina - was ahead 28-14. The weather was beautiful - the stadium was overflowing with bandwagon jumpers - but it looked like Jimbo was not going to get it done. Ending the first half with some characteristicly poor clock management - you were expecting Clemson to break out the "conquered" t-shirts.
We had John and Bonnie as guests for the game. They drove up from Daytona on Friday. John watches a lot of college football - and his annual trip to see the Noles is a highlight. In the past - we waited until game time to buy tickets - but when I got a call from an old "ticket swapper" - we rushed to Walmart to meet up and get 4 tickets on the 40 together for $400.
We drove our new/old van to the game - 6 of us - John- Bonnie - George - Joel - Lulu - me. We drove around looking for a place to park - and settled for along the railroad tracks for $20. It was farther from the stadium - but we knew a back way to get home from there. Lulu's food was great - but telephone reception was horrible. Yes - we got a good signal but the network was jammed. Our other friends Jim and Lee never made it for supper. Every now and then we would get an old text message - but that was it. At 7:15 - we packed up and headed for the stadium.
There were people selling tickets - but I did not see anyone with four together. The crowd was orderly.
We tried to enter the stadium thru a student gate - but the gate nazis refused to let Lulu bring in the bag with drinks and sandwiches. They really hassle the students - so Lulu decided to try another gate. Bingo - we got the food bag in without much inspection - our food was safe. I would have hated to walk the bag back to the van - I guess I would not have. Lulu saved the day.
Our tickets turned out to be fantastic seats in all respect except one. The crowd was brimming with enthusiasm - and they were up and down like jack rabbits. By the end of the game my knees were as sore as when I sat through a long Catholic wedding. The crowd was super loud except when the Seminoles dropped behind by 14 points. I did not see many fans leave - but at half time most of us were sitting on our hands - contemplating the Boise Bowl.
I was tempted to text Lulu's brother Jack to tell him to sell the 4 tickets he got us for the Virginia Tech game in Blacksburg in a few weeks - but my iphone could not send anything. I thought the new Seminoles had returned - not the old Noles.
In the third quarter - FSU went on a 35-3 run. They score 5 straight touchdowns - and squeezed Clemson's offense into submission. The rout was on. Saturday night games in Tallahassee are special. Most of the crowd was in their seats for the final score and fireworks.
Quarterback EJ Manual put on a career performance - passing for 380 yards and running for another 100 yards himself. The Seminoles almost put 50 points on the board for the 4th straight week - settling for 49.
It took us 30 minutes to walk from our stadium seat to our van. All 6 of us were there - we quickly took off to find our "back way out." It seems like everyone had the same idea. But construction had closed the back way home. We all had to do u-turns in bumper to bumper traffic. As we were turning around - others rushed by to a similar fate in a few seconds. Gridlock. It took another 30 minutes of sitting - waiting for our turn to move. Once we were moving - we were home in 10 minutes.
Game started at 8:00 - lasted until 12:00 - got back to van at 12:30 - stuck in traffic to 1:00 - then home at 1:10. We unloaded the food and went to bed. Usually Lulu insists on a video review of the game. After about 3 plays - I was watching the game to the tune of her snoring. I turned off the TV and was gone before I laid down the remote.
Our guests were ready to leave by 9 AM. Lulu pried me out of bed to "bon voyage" them. John and Bonnie emailed to say they were in Daytona by noon.
The Noles are 4-0 like old times. Bobby Bowden has not returned to the stadium in 3 years. They go to play South Florida in Tampa next week. With the exception of Va Tech and Florida - they may run the table. The bandwagon jumpers are already buying tickets to the BCS Bowl in Miami. People that we hardly know are calling and asking if the guest house is free. Local hotels are gouging for $400 a night. Maybe Harry has a new business.
I think we will watch the USF game on TV next weekend. South Florida has just lost to Ball State.
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