THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 3, 1994 TAG: 9409030607
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE, FLA. LENGTH: Long : 138 lines
The sign outside the restaurant on Monroe Street said it all.
``Baseball - who cares? How 'bout them 'Noles!''
Across town, at The Training Room, a local sports bar decorated with Florida State colors, helmets and jerseys, sentiments were the same.
Thursday night, televisions in the bar were tuned to ESPN, and commentator Lee Corso was predicting that Florida State's game today against Virginia might be closer than most people think.
``Bring 'em on,'' shouted a man in the corner. ``Let's get it on.''
Florida State fans have never been hungrier for a new season to begin, and it isn't just because the Seminoles are set to open their first season as defending national champions.
It is what they want to forget more than what they want to remember that has Florida State officials, coaches, players, and fans counting down the minutes to today's 3:30 p.m. kickoff in Doak Campbell Stadium.
``I have never seen such anticipation for a new season,'' acting athletic director Wayne Hogan said.
``Everyone is eager to put all the stuff that has gone on this summer behind them and get a fresh start.''
Football is king in this conservative Southern town shaded by moss-covered trees. Politics may be the order of business downtown at the state capitol, but on street corners and at local watering holes, football dominates conversations.
After watching other potential championship years sail wide right, Florida State fans saw last season go right down the middle.
Losing only to Notre Dame in the regular season, the Seminoles won the title by defeating Nebraska, 18-16, in the Orange Bowl.
``After coming close so many times, it was a great feeling finally to bring that championship trophy to Tallahassee,'' said Les Aikens, a longtime Seminoles fan and local auto dealership owner.
``It is just a shame that coach Bobby Bowden, his players and the fans haven't been able to enjoy it like we should.
``Our fans should have been proud to wear their colors this summer instead of being worried about being ridiculed if we did.''
Indeed, this was a spring and summer filled with discontent for arguably the most successful program in the nation.
Florida State, formerly a women's school that began playing football in 1947, is the only school in NCAA history to compile seven straight top-four rankings in the final polls.
Its 12 straight bowl victories is also an NCAA record.
But all of that has been overshadowed in recent months by reports of one scandal after another.
As one writer described it, ``the Seminoles somehow bypassed the intoxicating celebration and went straight to the hangover.''
Jim Watson, a former Florida State trainer and now co-owner of The Training Room, agreed.
``We show films of old games on Tuesday night, and the place is packed,'' he said.
``I think one of the reasons is people just want to get their minds off what has been happening this summer.''
It began May 10 when Sports Illustrated reported that several FSU players were treated to a $6,000 shopping spree at Foot Locker by pro agents.
In the weeks that followed, three players were accused of sexual misconduct in separate incidents, another player was reported to have bought a $29,000 car three days before the Orange Bowl and two former players were said to have been paid for jobs they did not perform while at Florida State.
On top of that, the university suspended athletic director Bob Goin with pay following allegations that he had used his position for personal gain.
``It has been bad, real bad,'' said Aikens, shaking his head.
``The worst part is that so much of the stuff that was reported in big headlines turned out not to be true.
``It is like that woman in Jacksonville who claimed the players had been paid for jobs they didn't do. She has retracted most of her story, but that didn't get the big headlines.''
There is no denying the Foot Locker scandal, however.
Five players - linebacker Derrick Brooks, tailback Tiger McMillan and offensive linemen Patrick McNeil, Marcus Long and Forrest Conoly - have been suspended by the university and will sit out today's game.
``Those players were wrong,'' Aikens admitted. ``They knew they shouldn't have been in that store, getting all that stuff free. They should be punished.''
While most Florida State fans might agree, they are still angry at Sports Illustrated and the local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat, for reporting the scandals.
``There are places in this town that I can't go,'' said Steve Ellis, who covers the Seminoles for the Democrat.
Some assistant coaches refuse to speak to Ellis, and Bowden, who once operated the most accessible program in the nation, refuses to grant Ellis a one-on-one interview.
Bowden has placed the football offices in the Moore Athletics Center off limits to the media. His players no longer are as available to the media as they once were.
Bowden's biggest gripe is with Sports Illustrated.
He claims the magazine suggested that he knew about the Foot Locker incident and did nothing about it until it was reported.
``I had no idea something like that had happened, but I was made out to be a crook,'' Bowden says. ``Some of our kids made mistakes, but is not like we killed anyone or robbed a store.''
SI magazines have fueled several bonfires around campus, and the hottest selling T-shirts in town are those with vulgar references to SI.
``It is like when we finally got on top, people couldn't wait to get hold of us and tear us down,'' said Aikens, a frequent visitor to The Training Room.
``Maybe it is because we came so far in such a short time. We didn't have to play 100 seasons before winning a national championship.
``If we did something wrong, we should accept penalties for it. But we should be treated fairly, and judgments delayed until the whole truth is learned.''
Watson said most FSU fans are proud not only of the success they've had in football under Bowden, but also with the integrity of the program.
``Even when we were winning only three or four games a year, and getting pounded by Florida, FSU fans could be proud that the school was playing by the rules,'' he said.
``I think that is the reason the fans are so bitter by what has been said and reported. It is like we are just another school that had to cheat to win the title, and that is not true. No one runs a cleaner program than Bowden. I know that for a fact.''
Bowden admitted this has been the worst summer of his life and the negative publicity has spoiled the pleasure of winning his first title.
``If we had finished No. 2 again, we wouldn't have been in the spotlight and people wouldn't have made so much of it,'' he contended.
Bowden tells friends he has been able to keep his head up because he knows he hasn't done anything wrong.
``Man, if I was worried that someone was going to find out that I did this or I knew that, it would be eating me up,'' he said. ``But I don't worry about that because I have nothing to hide.''
Bowden is hopeful that once the season begins today, the unpleasant headlines of the summer turmoil will be forgotten and put to rest.
``Everyone has learned a heckuva lesson,'' he said firmly, ``but this should be the end of it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color staff file Photos
by CNB