Gator Bowl--low pressure, high pleasure

By Charlie Barnes, Executive Director - Seminole Boosters

You would hardly know they were Seminoles, their faces were so relaxed, their voices so chirpy. All the alumni and Boosters, family and friends, fans and sundry football hangers-on populating the riverfront Hilton in downtown Jacksonville--the whole, surging garnet-and-gold-clad crowd-were so upbeat and, well, happy, that you would never believe the bowl game had not yet been played.

As a race, we Seminole fans seem genetically disposed to grim faces just before our bowl games. For so very many years, every bowl game has been less an occasion for enjoyment and celebration of the end of another wonderful year, and more a tense waiting for the various rewards or ghastly consequences of the outcome.

For the first time in a very long time, we didn't require a win in our bowl game to maintain our 10-win, top-four record. The Gator Bowl wasn't a "validating" game that would show the world that The Dynasty's heartbeat remained strong.

In Jacksonville, we were not engaged in another titanic battle for the National Championship. Heck, we weren't even fighting for the honor of the ACC. Poor Maryland bore that distinction.

This season there was no pot of gold to be snatched from beneath the rainbow arched high above the St. John's River. At stake for the Seminoles was the chance to begin a new year on the crest of hope, hope that 2001 would prove to be but a one-year hiatus from the football Renaissance.

The tens of thousands of happy Seminole fans who flooded Jacksonville were under no pressure.

And so, our Seminole fans came to Jacksonville with smiles. It was such a relief just to love the team and the program and the University, without having to worry about a Virginia Tech victory.

The fans were happy to be mingling with fellow Seminoles, happy to be attending a bowl that actually paid attention to the comfort and enjoyment of fans, happy to be able to scream and cheer for the boys without dreading the outcome.

As twilight settled over the Jacksonville Landing on New Year's Eve, thousands of fans from both schools mingled and laughed, savoring the food and drink, filling the shops and pubs that line the river.

Our Jacksonville Seminole Club confirmed in splendid form their tradition of doing big things better than anyone else. The Club rented an empty restaurant on the Landing and had an all-day War Party that delighted the thousands who clustered along the cold river all day.

FSU Alumni Director Jim Melton directed the pep rally. The Marching Chiefs, hundreds of them, drummed their way into the staging area. FSU Cheerleaders followed, with sharp moves and enthusiasm grabbing the massive crowd's attention.

The confidence of a Florida State program supposed to be the underdog surely unnerved the Virginia Tech folks. What will happen next year for Florida State? Why, the Dynasty will be reborn of course. Bobby Bowden has decreed it, and so it must be.

As I walked back to my car in the late afternoon, I passed one of the Gator Bowl parking lots, where a big fellow in Seminole colors was packing up his family for the trip home. We knew each other. He grinned and shook his head.

"You know, Charlie, you and I talked about this 20 years ago," he said. Then he lowered his voice. "I think-I really think-we won this game because we're Florida State and we're supposed to win."

He shook his head again. "I mean, the kick bouncing through the goal posts the kick-off that stayed in bounds and backed them up getting the good spot on the fourth-and-one. You know, we used to lose games like this, lose just like this to teams that seemed to have some sort of magic about them. Now, we're that magic team."