Remembering Bobby Bowden; a tribute to a lifetime of greatness and humility
Remembering Coach Bobby Bowden
Tribute are pouring in for legendary Florida State football coach, Bobby Bowden. He died Sunday morning at 91 years old just a one month after he announces he was battling pancreatic cancer. FOX 13's Jordan Bowen has more on how people in the Bay area are remembering him.
TAMPA, Fla. - Tributes are pouring for legendary Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden. He died Sunday morning at the age of 91, just one month after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He's known by most as one the greatest coaches in college football history.
"He was one of the most humbles superstars you'll ever meet in your life," sports radio host JP Peterson said.
Those closest to him say his humility is what they'll most remember him for.
"He always made you or the intern or whoever feel like the most important man in the room when it was him," Peterson said.
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Bobby Bowden served as Florida State's head football coach for 34 years beginning in 1976. Throughout his career, he led the Seminoles to win nine straight conference titles and two National Championships. In 2009, he left the team just weeks after his 80th birthday.
Peterson who covered the team for years has interviewed Bowden several times and says the coach was like a father figure to him.
"That's really how I saw him. Guys didn't want to play hard because they feared him. They didn't want to play hard because he was their boy. They wanted to play hard because he was like dad. You didn't want to let your dad down like ever. You wanted to play hard and win for him," Peterson said.
In a statement released Sunday, current FSU football coach Mike Norvell paid tribute to the former coach, writing, "He was a special human being who earned an enduring legacy because of his wonderful heart, faith, and values he lived".
FSU President John Thrasher also released a statement, tweeting Sunday "Coach Bowden built a football dynasty and raised the national profile of Florida State University, and he did it with class and a sense of humor."
"He had that accent and that "dadgummit!" you know he would throw that out every now and then and he had the greatest sense of humor and was super, super smart," Peterson said.
In Peterson's eyes, Coach Bowden's quick wit, Southern charm, and fatherly coaching style are part of what made him one of kind.
"That was really his secret sauce to life. To be authentic. To be genuine. Faith, family, football. Amazing man," Peterson said.
This Friday, Coach Bowden will lie in repose in the Moore Center at FSU for fans wanting to pay tribute. His funeral is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Tucker Civic Center on FSU's campus.