Bonus Report: The "State" of the Sunshine State
THE "STATE"
OF THE SUNSHINE STATE
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| Panoramic view of Doak Campbell Stadium at FSU vs. Pitt game 10/11/25 |
This past weekend we drove to Tallahassee to visit our oldest grandchild, who is a member of the Florida State University Marching Chiefs band. FSU played Pitt at noon Saturday, so it was a chance to experience the gameday atmosphere in the land of the Seminoles as an "us" rather than a "them." (We had only been there once before, to see Bob Tyler's first Miss. State team thrash Fla. State in 1973.) It was a rare experience for me because in addition to being an alumnus of Miss. State, I'm also an alum of the University of Florida. While MSU has no real rivalry with FSU (we've played only 9 times), UF sorta has one with FSU -- and FSU definitely has one with UF. Their in-state rivalry is much different from ours with TSUN, however (see history below). So I could without any conflicted feelings cheer for our granddaughter's university and immerse myself in the Seminole experience for a weekend.
Since FL State is not now nor have they ever been an SEC school, permit me a digression with a little school history for context: FSU is not the land grant school of Florida. Like many of our Southern neighbors (LA, TN, KY, AR, etc.), the State of Florida incorporated the land grant designation into "the University of ...." rather than building a separate A&M. FSU instead is a kindred school of MSCW. The names and missions of both FSU and UF bounced around for about 50 years until what is now FSU was named the state women's college from 1905 - 1947. When the GI's returned from WWII, there was a need for a coed college in the Panhandle, and FSCW's role was expanded to that of a coed institution, and the name was changed to Florida State University. Obviously this meant that intercollegiate athletics, particularly football, were not a major factor until well after WWII.
FSU football grew in significance and reputation with the hiring of Bill Peterson as head coach from 1960 - 1970, when they had players like All-American and NFL receivers Fred Biletnikoff and Ron Sellers and finished in the Top 15 three times. The Seminoles took the next step to college football royalty with the hiring of the legendary Bobby Bowden, who served as head coach from 1976 - 2009. His teams won 12 ACC and 2 National Championships, and had 2 Heisman Trophy winners, winning with stars like Ron Simmons, Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward, Terrell Buckley, Marvin Jones, Warrick Dunn, and Derrick Brooks. Of course, the 'Noles also won a Natty and Jameis Winston a Heisman under Jimbo Fisher in 2013. They've definitely been a somebody.
There has ... inevitably ... been a slide since then. Their coach, Mike Norvell, seemed to have been on a scalding hot seat until the upset of UAT to start the season. Since then losses to UVA, Miami, and now Pitt (2 of which had been heavy underdogs) have reignited the burners under the coach's chair. With road games with Clemson, NC State, and UF remaining on the schedule FSU alumni and fans are pointedly asking about poor Mike's buyout. Like all of us fans, they strongly prefer winning. 😏
FSU Gameday Traditions and Atmosphere
Every school and stadium have unique characteristics and traditions that make them who they are. There wasn't much of that at FSU in '73, but there are today ... many of which we're all familiar with.- There was some tailgating before the game, but it was not quite as concentrated as we have at The Junction.
- Just as our players hop off the bus and wade through The Junction to Davis Wade, FSU has something similar in their Legends Walk, when they "de-bus" between Doak Campbell and Mike Martin Field (baseball stadium), which are across the street from each other. The Marching Chiefs, their 440 person marching band, meets them and plays the fight song and War Chant, while a throng of fans surround them in adulation.
- Doak Campbell, which once held 82,000+, has been reduced to just over 67,000 to make room for suites and more premium seating. It's a nice, clean, roomy stadium with big, clean restrooms, professionally run concession stands, elevators and wide ramps, and good field views.
- I would guess the crowd was over 60,000 for a noon game last Saturday, and despite coming off consecutive losses to UVA and Miami, the fans were enthusiastic and (as a 10 1/2 point favorite) expecting a big win.
- The Marching Chiefs put on a big pregame show featuring, of course, their fight song https://youtu.be/pEZHSsCyuuY?si=TvqzEwoAAskgSiOj and the first of exponentially more "War Chants" and "Tomahawk Chops" than, for instance, UT-E ever considered playing "Rocky Top" in a game.
Pregame FSU spellout - In a pregame tradition that is rivaled only by Colorado student handlers laughing in death's face and racing onto the field with the female Buffalo "Ralphie" before their games, Chief Osceola rides down the field on Renegade with a burning spear and hurls it into the logo at midfield. It's even cooler in person than on TV!
Chief Osceola on Renegade pregame - And the FSU late game tradition -- more or less their answer to our playing of "Don't Stop Believing" to begin the 4th quarter -- instead features "Eastbound and Down" from the movie Smokey & the Bandit, which starred FSU alum and former Seminole football player Burt ("Buddy," as he was known in his FSU days) Reynolds, while flashing his image on the Jumbotron. Eastbound and Down
- The game? It reminded me of our AZ State and UT-E games in that it was a back and forth affair with huge, surprising momentum shifts and a few untimely turnovers. In the 4th quarter the Panthers were just tougher than the 'Noles, pulled out to a 10-point lead with just over 4 minutes to play, withstood an FSU bomb that got them within 3, and hung on to run out the clock. For the first time all day their little wad of blue-clad fans stuck down in the far corner of the sea of garnet and gold in Doak Campbell let themselves be heard.
- I was very impressed by the Pitt true freshman QB, Mason Heinstschel! If things don't work out with Kamario or Luke, I hope we send the Bulldog bagman to the Steel City. He was a hoss!
- Of course, they practice daily, but I'll pick up when we came in on Friday. After classes there's a late afternoon final practice, and the band has their very own practice field. They finished about 5:30 PM by gathering around and having the directors talk through the gameday schedule and any coaching pointers one last time.
- For the noon kickoff on Saturday the band had to assemble (dressed in uniform except their coats) at 7:30 AM to greet the team bus and play for the aforementioned Legends Walk to Doak Campbell. Then around 9:30 they filtered into Mike Martin Field, the varsity baseball field, where they have what they call their "skull sessions" before an estimated crowd of about 3,000 family, friends, and fans. For these sessions each group by instrument (which they call sections) marches out and performs a number which one of the students in the section has selected, arranged, and directs. (These could be classical, popular music, show tunes, etc. Our granddaughter's section, for example, played the theme from Ghostbusters.) There were about a dozen of the sections which performed, as did the FSU majorettes and flag team. I assume these are the band equivalent of the pregame drills the football teams go through when they first come out.
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| Section performing at Skull Session pregame |
- About 2 hrs. before the game the Chiefs don their coats, line up, and march through the crowd of family and fans who've lined the way across the street to Doak Campbell, playing the FSU fight song and War Chant.
- They then have a few minutes once they get in their seats to take care of the basics before forming up on an end of the field to do the pregame show, play the National Anthem, and pump up the crowd and players as the team hits the field.
- Then it's nonstop pep band mode. Like Davis Wade, there is ample contemporary hype music/noise on the PA system, but they give the Chiefs the lead in keeping spirits up. They stay busy, but as the old Navy ad used to say, "It's not just a job; it's an adventure."
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| The star of Creature from the Black Lagoon, a 1954 horror movie filmed at Wakulla Springs. |
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| And they do allow alligators, just not Gators! |
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