Bowden has forged ‘legacy of influence’ over football

By Charlie Barnes, Executive Director - Seminole Boosters

Two very disparate writers, military historian Michael L. Lanning and Orlando Sentinel sportswriter Mike Bianchi, used similar reasoning to reach identical conclusions about two different men, two leaders born hundreds of years apart. While almost certainly correct, their conclusions will likely not find universal acceptance.

Still, you and I might find it hard to disagree with either writer.

Historian Lanning’s 1996 book “The Military 100” is a treatise exploring the “ranking of the most influential military leaders of all time.” It would be an ambitious undertaking alone to name the greatest 100 military leaders of all time.

But Lanning makes a splendid case for his rankings. And who, among all the vast legions of brilliant military leaders scattered throughout 5,000 years of recorded human history is The One? Is it Napoleon? Caesar? Tamerlane? Wellington? Ghengis Khan?

None of these. Lanning names them all and they all have their place in time and in the proper order. But the greatest of all, he says, is George Washington, the commander of a ragtag army who was later elected first president of a small country of little influence.

Sports columnist Mike Bianchi, never accused of being a shill for the Seminoles, marked Bobby Bowden’s record-setting 339th career victory with the declaration that “He is the greatest college football coach who ever has lived. Period.”

Bobby and Ann Bowden being interviewed after his 339th win.

Well, there’s no argument from us that both George Washington and Bobby Bowden are great men, but the greatest of all time in their chosen fields of endeavor? Here is where both the historian and the sportswriter make their points with brilliant clarity.

Both Washington and Bowden are accounted to be the best ever, because each left the greatest legacy of influence on their constituents.

Lanning allows that, of course, other great commanders of history like Napoleon and Alexander accomplished far more on the battlefield, but none left behind a legacy of such lasting significance as Washington. “[Washington] simultaneously maintained an army in the field against a far superior force, kept a divisive Congress and population satisfied, and solicited military support from other countries.”

And, he says, without Washington’s inspired leadership there would have been no Continental Army; without the army there would have been no United States.

What impact the leadership, character and success of Bowden will prove to have on Florida State we cannot say for certain, but it is impossible to overstate the powerful influence of his profile among our alumni. We are a university that has grown and prospered quickly, much like the state of Florida itself. Consider the staggering fact that in the 152-year history of our institution, nearly 80 percent of all the people who have ever graduated from FSU have done so since Bobby Bowden arrived in 1976!

In two more seasons, he will have served 30 years as head coach, a complete career by just about any measure. I believe that Bowden will make it to the end of that mark, and possibly go beyond. His contract remains in effect until he reaches 80.

Now, he is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division 1. Bianchi says the victory total alone is not why Bowden is the greatest ever. Like Lanning, Bianchi most values the power of the man’s imprint on the institution.

“The ultimate mark of a coach’s greatness is what the program was like before he arrived — and what it will be like after he leaves,” he writes. “When Joe Paterno arrived, Penn State football was already good. And when he leaves, Penn State football will probably get better.

When Bowden arrived, Florida State football was the worst, and after he leaves there will almost certainly be a dropoff.”

Much is said — perhaps too much — about the sorry state of Seminole football before Bowden. But his achievements can stand alone without having to focus for comparison on the three miserable seasons of 1973 through 1975.

In the quarter century before 1973’s winless collapse, Florida State football fought valiantly and often successfully, much like Washington’s rag-tag Continental Army, against foes armed with overwhelming numbers and resources.

What might have been is a game for the ages. Who knows what meandering course our garnet and gold fortunes would have taken had fate not contributed a chip shot here and there.

Bowden’s FSU legacy is more than wins on the field. Those wins were the catalyst for as much as $200 million in new construction and renovations to the entire park of athletics facilities. That much or more will probably be counted over time.

Bianchi said it most eloquently in drawing the difference between Bowden and Paterno and their impact on their universities.

“Bowden was the architect and builder of FSU’s program; Paterno remodeled and redecorated at Penn State. Bowden poured the foundation; Paterno put up new curtains. Bowden framed the walls; Paterno hung pictures on them. Paterno painted the master bedroom. Bowden painted the masterpiece.”

Barring an unexpected turn, Bobby Bowden has now surpassed Joe Paterno for good. And given the changing nature of college coaching, his record for the most wins is probably safe to the horizon.

Congratulations, Coach, and thanks.

Thank you for who you are, and for how you have helped shape the character, the confidence and enduring strength of the university we love.