FSU football tour stops will be different

By Charlie Barnes, Executive Director - Seminole Boosters

Forty-five years ago the West Virginia football and basketball coaches meandered up and down the narrow valleys in an old bus, stopping at each small coal town to spin stories and sing the school songs with Mountaineer faithful.

Bobby Bowden brought the Tour with him to Florida State in 1976, and for the next three-and-a-half decades his format of Seminole golf tournaments followed by evening banquets remained the same.

As soon as the Garnet & Gold Spring Game is finished April 10, Coach Jimbo Fisher will launch his own version of the Seminole Booster Tour. This version will be new and different, both in its pace and its format.

Coach Fisher asked the Boosters to take all of the dead air out of his travel schedule so he can spend as much time as possible in his office and in the film room. Tour stops are now in two-day pairings. The first day features an afternoon golf tournament, followed by an evening banquet, and the next morning sees an early golf tournament followed by a large public luncheon. Fisher will be back in the Moore Center before nightfall.

Jimbo generally prefers to hunt or fish than play golf, but he does want to meet as many Seminoles as possible. So, the new format has him carting around the golf course trailed by a photographer. He'll spend a few moments with each foursome in turn, shaking hands and smiling for photos.

Where the Bobby Bowden Tour began as a public relations outreach in a time before the Internet, when Seminoles had trouble getting up-to-the-minute news of their team, the new Jimbo Fisher Tour focuses on fundraising for the Seminole Boosters.

Record crowds are expected, and the social hour prior to each luncheon or banquet will be open to Seminole Booster donors only. Boosters may have their photos taken with the new coach, and there will also be plenty of time for small talk. If you're a current Booster contributor, tickets to the meal means you and your spouse and kids can spend some additional face time with Jimbo.

Luncheons and banquets will follow the traditional program format. There will be recognition of former Seminoles athletes and celebrities, and a Seminole Booster message before the introduction of Jimbo Fisher. This will be Jimbo's first time to engage personally with thousands of Seminole fans across the state and articulate his vision.

Some clubs are celebrating by bringing in the big guns. Orange Park, for instance, has recruited Senator John Thrasher to introduce the coach.

Spirits are soaring, and there's no doubt that our expectations as fans are way too unreasonable. We can't wait for fall!