By Jerry Kutz
Special from the Osceola
Afraid that ABC television would whisk him off for a post-game interview, Bobby Bowden left the team area with 11 minutes remaining in the Duke game - unheard of in the coaching profession - and trotted down to the end zone to toss his cap to the Marching Chiefs.
It is Bowden's traditional salute away from home to his favorite band, and he would not let the game or ABC deny him the gesture.
Bowden has thrown more than his hat toward the Chiefs over the years. Florida State's head football coach has pledged $100,000 to the band for scholarships and has been making annual payments of $10,000. Bowden's affinity for the band, has the same roots his love of the game of football.
"When I was a kid I was raised behind the Woodlawn High School football field (in Birmingham, Ala.)," Bowden explains. "When they kicked at their goal posts, the balls would come down in our back yard. So as a kid, I was always exposed to football players on the other side of that fence, the hitting, the noise, the action. At the same time, I was exposed to the band because the band would practice, too. You would hear that music.
Bowden would go on to be an all-star quarterback at Woodlawn, where he would meet Julia Ann Estock, whom he married right after high school.
But he wasn't a quarterback right away, as a childhood illness kept him off the playing field for awhile. Instead of playing football, he played piano, trumpet or trombone from the age of eight to 16.
"My first two years of high school they would not let me play football because of rheumatic fever, but I was allowed to go out for the band and play trombone," Bowden said.
"I just loved to march; that is one of the greatest thrills to me, thrump, thrump, thrump, ain't nothing like that," Bowden laughed. "Even though I was never in the military, I love military music. I love band music; I have all the tapes of the music of the Florida State band. As a kid, say 14 or 15, I knew all the college fight songs."
Bowden has heard most of those fight songs from across the field during a productive 30-year tenure in college coaching.
He is a great believer in the power of spirit, on or off the field.
"I've always loved the music part of football. To me it is the greatest instigator of spirit," said Bowden, one of the game's great motivators. "Every time we go on the field, the first thing I notice missing is the band, if they are not there. I know when they come onto the field, I know when they left and when they came back, because to me they are the symbol of the spirit you need and you want to play with."
Bowden attributes his love of music to his family.
"Mother could play the piano well and Daddy sang in the choir. My sister was a good pianist," he said. "Music was always a part of our life."