The faces may change, but school spirit remains

By Charlie Barnes, Executive Director - Seminole Boosters

Mike Sheridan was musing on this year’s Homecoming theme: “United Now, United Then.”

“School spirit ran just as high back in the day as it does now, but things on campus were very different then,” he recalls.

Retired Marine Corps Gen. Michael K. “Iron Mike” Sheridan returned to Tallahassee a few years ago to enjoy life. He and his wife, Nancy, are Florida State alums, and both stay very involved with their university. Mike served as an alumnus member of the Union Board, and Nancy is chairwoman of the Patrons’ Board of the School of Theatre.

“How many students are on campus now, 40,000?” Mike Sheridan asked. “When I came here as a freshman in 1952, there probably weren’t 40,000 college students in the state of Florida!”

In 1952, not every high school graduate went on to college. Two big differences between then and now, according to Sheridan, were a student body only about one-tenth the size of today's and the military factor. Most of the male students had either completed military service or were awaiting the call. In an era when even Elvis Presley got drafted, young men knew their time was coming.

Many, perhaps even most, of the early Seminole football players already were beyond typical college age and had served in the armed forces. Some had even played football at other colleges and then played for military teams before enrolling at Florida State. Ken MacLean, the man who on Oct. 18, 1947, caught the first complete pass in Seminole history, had played football at the University of Florida in 1944 and still holds the Gator record for the longest touchdown run from scrimmage against the University of Georgia.

There were 4,000 to 5,000 students then, the campus was small, and everyone recognized faces and had a general idea of who was who. The social expectations were different. All freshmen had to wear garnet and gold beanies for a semester. The beanies had each student's class year on it.

Everyone lived on campus; everyone walked home after the game. There wasn't much parking at the stadium; in fact, the area behind the south end zone was a par-3 golf course.

"Today it's like an NFL game," Sheridan says. "Everyone heads for the parking lot as the clock hits zero."

But back then, at the end of the game, everyone stayed. The team came back onto the field and joined the students and the Marching Chiefs in singing the alma mater. Everyone cheered at the conclusion and then went home.

Students and alumni were united then, and spirits were high. But the same can also be said of our students and alumni in 2010.

Two of the top Seminole spirit wranglers today are Omar Elsaka and Kali Austin. Elsaka is president of Student Seminole Boosters and Austin is vice president. (Seminole Student Boosters is the largest recognized student organization on any campus in Florida.)

Elsaka and Austin spent some time with the Sheridans when Mike spoke to the Champions' Forum this past spring.

"Although some things are different, I believe that school spirit is just as intense now as it was back when General and Mrs. Sheridan were undergraduates," Elsaka says. "Wherever we find ourselves many years from now, it will really feel the same at Florida State because of the timeless atmosphere. Fifty years ago, or 60 years from now, the love for the school and the spirit will still be the same."

Austin said a strong wave of emotion began building with the record crowd at the spring Garnet and Gold Game.

"It's excitement over something new, like starting all over again," Elsaka says.

Austin says new students are drawn to Florida State by the friendliness and enthusiasm of the student body.

"Everybody who comes here loves this place," she says. They love the people, they love the atmosphere, they love the tradition.

"Garnet and gold is everywhere on campus, and every day - not just game day," Austin says. "It's all the time."

But game day is special.

"The student section is in a frenzy - it's one giant garnet and gold family," Elsaka says. "And the atmosphere around the stadium is incredible. Random tailgaters invite you to come and join them and offer you food."

Just as it was back in the day, FSU students still share a measure of familiarity with each other due to the proximity of classrooms and dorms. Elsaka and Austin agree: Even though Florida State is now a very large school, it still feels small.

Elsaka grew up in Tallahassee and remembers going to games and seeing people sing the school songs. Reflecting on the old tradition of the team, students and alumni joining together to sing the alma mater, Austin grew wistful.

"The band still plays the alma mater after the games," she sighed, "but now, no one's left to hear it."

Perhaps reviving that ancient tradition would be a nice starting point for uniting the spirits of the Seminole faithful.