Tuesday, October 2, 2007

The Legacy of Bobby Bowden

I'm not going to sugarcoat it - Ivan Maisel's touching article on Bobby Bowden's relationship with the University of Alabama sent chills down my spine.

What a remarkable man, and what a tremendous legacy he has given college football. Coaches like Bowden, Bryant, Paterno, Edwards, Stagg, Warner and Snyder have shaped the heart of the sport.

Once Paterno and Bowden are gone, there will be a huge void in the game. College football will continue down the path of becoming minor league NFL farm teams. And I truly hate that - I do. I love the passion and fire that drives players each Saturday. I love that any given Saturday, ANYTHING can happen - as evidenced by this past weekend. So take a gander at Maisel's article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/feature/featureVideo?page=bowden/bama

On a completely funny note, I never, ever thought that Mike Bianchi was capable of writing anything kind about Coach Bowden or the 'Noles. Either his hatred of Nick Saban is unfathomably deep, or he carries a grudging respect for Bowden.

Regardless, I'm sure it was physically painful for him to write this:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/orl-bianchi2607sep26,0,5897383.column

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have always enjoyed Bianchi's writing when he isn't acting as a Gator sycophant. I loved his Jaguar coverage when he was with the Times-Union, and he certainly hit the nail on the head with the Bobby vs. Saban comparison.