Being Here

By Charlie Barnes, Executive Director - Seminole Boosters

November and December are magical in Manhattan. New York calls itself the greatest city in the world and late fall lends powerful support to the claim.

Cascading showers of lights color the long stretch of Broadway. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of tourists choke the broad streets, eyes cast upward at the towering buildings or arms crossed and heads bowed against the biting cold.

Manhattan throbs with joy this time of year. Every restaurant table is reserved, every hotel is booked, every show is sold out.

The Broadway theaters are bursting with energy despite their old age. All the seats are filled and that's not a minor point because those old seats, like the seats in Doak Campbell Stadium, were measured long ago to conform to average rear ends of considerably less width than most Americans sport today.

The shows are wonderful. The Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall is a constant favorite, and other current Broadway winners include "Wicked," "Mama Mia," "Jersey Boys" and "Rain."

"Rain" is a tribute to The Beatles. Nostalgia is a cold word; this show isn't about flickering video and old album covers. For those of us who grew up with this music, the entire production is a brief, poignant evening's passage to our younger selves.

The actors/musicians are spot-on. They look the part and they play all the music live. The actor playing Paul McCartney stepped forward and told the audience that he was now playing "the most recorded popular tune in history" and invited the packed house to sing along. He didn't say the name of the piece; he didn't have to. The audience instantly began singing "Yesterday" as he began to play.

Doak Campbell Stadium

It was that moment that I realized something about our Seminoles and Doak Campbell Stadium. There is considerable value in being there. It's not just about the show, it's about the experience.

I imagine "Rain" is available on a disk. You could settle back at home and watch it on your big-screen television with an adult beverage and a snack. But you'll never reproduce being in that theater, sharing the electric experience with a thousand kindred hearts who feel as you do as you embrace the magic.

Yes, the magic. The magic of being there - of being right here, in Doak Campbell Stadium - used to draw so many Seminole fans that throughout the 1990s the house routinely averaged 102% of capacity.

Now we look to a new generation of Seminole fans to embrace the magic and recreate the energy of the full house. Coach Jimbo Fisher has made a spectacular beginning, with wins over our two major rivals as well as am old ghost in the bowl game.

Being here is better than staying home. Winning on the field is always the most important key, but for our fans who spend the entire weekend in Tallahassee, the Seminole Boosters, the City of Tallahassee and the university are all working together to make our fan experience the best in the country.

College Town

College Town is a transformative vision, and one example of these new initiatives. College Town is a new entertainment and residential district extending generally between Doak Campbell Stadium and the Civic Center. "College Town is designed to feature sophisticated three-to-five-story, urban-designed buildings surrounded by tree-lined, cobblestone pedestrian streets. The planned community will offer sophisticated restaurants, entertainment, shopping and living options that are clean, safe and vibrant. As envisioned, College Town would be a center where education, business and people come together in a lively and imaginative environment."

Your Florida State campus and most especially College Town will be a wonderful place for you and your friends to spend the weekend. Imagine families dressed in garnet and gold strolling and shopping along quaint streets. Visualize an entire weekend of shaded tailgates, the delicious smell of smoke and the familiar faces of college pals from long ago.

There use to be a special sense of anticipation in the air on big game weekends, and now it's coming back. Everyone can feel heightened energy and enthusiasm among Seminole fans who smile and chop their arms at each other as they pass. Game Weekend brings the brassy sound of the Marching Chiefs in the distance, giving their pre-game concert in Dick Howser Stadium. Wisps of smoke curl skyward from knots of fans clustered around their cookers and chairs.

Marching Chiefs

You'll enjoy another new feature this fall: the Seminole Walk. When our 2011 football team strolls toward Doak Campbell Stadium, thousands of Seminoles will be straining to line the pathway and cheer them on.

The old confidence is returning and we're not that far away. Too often during the final minutes of the Chick-fil-A Bowl the stadium announcer pleaded with fans not to rush the field after the game. FSU fans were laughing. No one had any intention of rushing the field. "We've been here before." Seminoles were thinking. The contest against South Carolina was a tossup and we're happy to win; but we're getting used to winning again, and we expect it. Your goal posts are safe. We're moving on.

The reviews of today's best Broadway shows are sensational, and the reviews of Jimbo Fisher's program are just as promising.

College Town is coming very soon, and the Seminole fires that blazed across college football in the 1990s still burn bright in the eyes of America's football fans. Florida State is still one of the most recognized and respected brands in college football.

There's strong evidence that Florida State endures as an icon: the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl (Peach Bowl) was the most-viewed game in the bowl's 43-year history. And, it was the fifth most-viewed game in all of ESPN's bowl broadcast history. In fact, a 2010 Wall Street Journal study showed that both FSU and Miami are still among the Top Five most popular TV draws during bowl season. The study charted national viewership for every bowl game since 1998. Our Seminoles rank No. 2 nationally, behind only Southern California and ahead of Notre Dame, Miami and Michigan.

On the field after the bowl game, Coach Jimbo Fisher addressed the milling crowd. He spoke directly to his team, but the message was embraced by Seminole fans. "There's much more out there for us to accomplish...This is not where we want to be...We're not waiting for the future. The future is now!"

There's magic in that promise, a magic that is definitely worth the trip to Tallahassee.

Yes, the journey can be expensive, and yes, the stadium can be cramped. But like Broadway, there's nothing better than being here in person for a fantastic show. And, as impressive as the Seminoles were this season, their performance is not yet as terrific as it's going to be.

And soon. You'll want to be here.