Old Tiger
11-10-2009, 02:08 PM
I’m going to give a warning right away. These quotes might not be easy for you to read. They might upset you. A lot. They might make you shake your head – and wonder exactly what is going on with this football program. Or they might not. Who knows?
At any rate. Here is the context.
After his team was outscored 19-0 in the fourth quarter on Saturday night, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden had his postgame press conference in a lounge inside the Clemson football offices.
The presser (which is what we cool kids in the media call them) lasted about eight minutes. Bowden spoke glowingly of Clemson running back C.J. Spiller – how could he not? – and also lamented his team’s rash of turnovers.
But he also kept talking. And he said some things that probably won’t play too well with the people who have to decide whether the 80-year-old living legend will be back on the sidelines next fall.
Here is an exchange he had with reporters.
Bowden: “Both of us made errors. We probably scored on some of their errors -- I didn’t keep up with it. But we’d turn the ball over and they’d go down and score. Then we’d turn it over and they didn’t score. They’d turn it over back. And the game kind of went that way. We felt very comfortable. We knew it was a battle.
“How late was it 24-21 in our favor? How late did it get? Did that get into the fourth quarter?”
Reporter: “Nine and a half minutes left.”
Bowden: “Left in the game?”
Reporter: “Yes.”
Bowden: “So you’re feeling comfortable, but you know that it ain’t won yet. Then of course the dam broke.”
A few minutes later, Bowden was asked this question by another reporter.
Reporter: “In the second half, when it seemed like momentum started to switch, how hard was it to try to reverse that?”
Bowden: “You mean when they got it (momentum)? Well, actually … you know, they had to kick off to us. We had a what? A three-point ….? Did we have the lead at the half?”
(Reporter nods).
Bowden: “We had a three-point lead at the half, I think. Then they had to kick off to us. We needed to take it down and win the darn game right there. We didn’t do it. They stopped us. Then we kicked it to them and then they probably scored.”
Reporter: “They went ahead and then you guys came back.”
Bowden: “Huh?”
Reporter: “They went ahead and then you guys came back again.”
Bowden: “Did we get ahead of them again after that?”
Reporter: “Yeah.”
Bowden: “Then we got back ahead, huh? Umm, it was going that way, you know it? I felt very comfortable that if they could score, we could score. That’s the way I felt, you know it? We’ve done it all year. But then we started turning the ball over.”
And there you have it. Was that bad? Honestly? I’m asking YOU guys what you think of those two exchanges. I have an opinion, sure, but I’m not a “fan” of this program. You are. I get paid to go to Florida State football games. You guys have to pay. You are the ones that matter. Your opinions, your voices, are the ones that count.
So what do you think?
If you’re a Florida State booster, does it concern you that your head coach didn’t know if his team was leading at halftime? Or that it had the lead in the fourth quarter? Does that anger you? Sadden you? Both?
As a fan, are you bothered by that? Or do you just chalk it up to your head coach being 80 years old?
How would you feel if you were the school president?
How would you feel if you were Jim Smith?
How would you feel if you were Randy Spetman?
And lastly, how would you feel if you were Christian Ponder? How would you feel if you had given your heart, your soul, your ribs and now your shoulder, to this Florida State football team? If you had wanted so badly to win that you subjected your body to a full-force collision in the final minutes – even though you were already suffering from a severely painful rib injury – and you wound up separating your shoulder in the process?
If you were him, how would you feel if you later found out about those two exchanges in the press conference?
Would they anger you? Sadden you? Both?
I’ve talked to a number of Florida State fans/graduates about what happened in that Clemson football lounge on Saturday night and they were all upset when they heard the story.
Some were depressed. Some were irate.
What are you?
At any rate. Here is the context.
After his team was outscored 19-0 in the fourth quarter on Saturday night, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden had his postgame press conference in a lounge inside the Clemson football offices.
The presser (which is what we cool kids in the media call them) lasted about eight minutes. Bowden spoke glowingly of Clemson running back C.J. Spiller – how could he not? – and also lamented his team’s rash of turnovers.
But he also kept talking. And he said some things that probably won’t play too well with the people who have to decide whether the 80-year-old living legend will be back on the sidelines next fall.
Here is an exchange he had with reporters.
Bowden: “Both of us made errors. We probably scored on some of their errors -- I didn’t keep up with it. But we’d turn the ball over and they’d go down and score. Then we’d turn it over and they didn’t score. They’d turn it over back. And the game kind of went that way. We felt very comfortable. We knew it was a battle.
“How late was it 24-21 in our favor? How late did it get? Did that get into the fourth quarter?”
Reporter: “Nine and a half minutes left.”
Bowden: “Left in the game?”
Reporter: “Yes.”
Bowden: “So you’re feeling comfortable, but you know that it ain’t won yet. Then of course the dam broke.”
A few minutes later, Bowden was asked this question by another reporter.
Reporter: “In the second half, when it seemed like momentum started to switch, how hard was it to try to reverse that?”
Bowden: “You mean when they got it (momentum)? Well, actually … you know, they had to kick off to us. We had a what? A three-point ….? Did we have the lead at the half?”
(Reporter nods).
Bowden: “We had a three-point lead at the half, I think. Then they had to kick off to us. We needed to take it down and win the darn game right there. We didn’t do it. They stopped us. Then we kicked it to them and then they probably scored.”
Reporter: “They went ahead and then you guys came back.”
Bowden: “Huh?”
Reporter: “They went ahead and then you guys came back again.”
Bowden: “Did we get ahead of them again after that?”
Reporter: “Yeah.”
Bowden: “Then we got back ahead, huh? Umm, it was going that way, you know it? I felt very comfortable that if they could score, we could score. That’s the way I felt, you know it? We’ve done it all year. But then we started turning the ball over.”
And there you have it. Was that bad? Honestly? I’m asking YOU guys what you think of those two exchanges. I have an opinion, sure, but I’m not a “fan” of this program. You are. I get paid to go to Florida State football games. You guys have to pay. You are the ones that matter. Your opinions, your voices, are the ones that count.
So what do you think?
If you’re a Florida State booster, does it concern you that your head coach didn’t know if his team was leading at halftime? Or that it had the lead in the fourth quarter? Does that anger you? Sadden you? Both?
As a fan, are you bothered by that? Or do you just chalk it up to your head coach being 80 years old?
How would you feel if you were the school president?
How would you feel if you were Jim Smith?
How would you feel if you were Randy Spetman?
And lastly, how would you feel if you were Christian Ponder? How would you feel if you had given your heart, your soul, your ribs and now your shoulder, to this Florida State football team? If you had wanted so badly to win that you subjected your body to a full-force collision in the final minutes – even though you were already suffering from a severely painful rib injury – and you wound up separating your shoulder in the process?
If you were him, how would you feel if you later found out about those two exchanges in the press conference?
Would they anger you? Sadden you? Both?
I’ve talked to a number of Florida State fans/graduates about what happened in that Clemson football lounge on Saturday night and they were all upset when they heard the story.
Some were depressed. Some were irate.
What are you?