On New Year’s Day, Bobby Bowden will coach in his 416th -- and final -- game as Florida State’s head coach.
To help celebrate and commemorate the ending of an era, many of the players who played a significant role in helping Bowden carve his place in collegiate football history will be on hand.
From Charlie Ward to Peter Boulware to Greg Allen to Chris Weinke to Samari Rolle, former players will take part in a pregame show of respect for their ex-coach, gathering on the field to form a tunnel through which Bowden will lead his current team one final time.
The players, some 300 of them, will then sit together in a special section to watch -- along with the rest of us -- the legendary coach close the curtain on his epic career.
“The majority of these guys didn’t have a chance to buy tickets,” Monk Bonasorte, a former Bowden player who now works as FSU’s senior associate athletics director, told the Tallahassee Democrat. “The majority of them haven’t been back in a very long time. Some of the guys I’ve talked to were excited, even when they thought they would have to pay. When they found out they were complimentary tickets, they were real excited.”
As for the former players, they’re just thankful for the opportunity to catch a piece of history. Free of charge or not.
“I’m grateful for the chance to go to the game,” former safety Bill Ragans said. “I know a lot of guys are grateful for the chance to see Coach Bowden’s final game. It’s a piece of history you want to be a part of.”
