Bobby Bowden's Tales from the Seminole Sideline [Hardcover]

Bobby Bowden (Author), Steve Ellis (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2004

"Telling stories—I enjoy that. It comes with growing older. But I don’t see the day where I’m sitting on the porch rocking with a bunch of guys around me and I’m telling stories. I can’t see that. It’s just like golf. People say, ‘Aren’t you going to the Masters?’ No. I don’t care anything about going to the Masters. I’d rather go play than see those great players. I’m not a good spectator. I want to play, and that’s the way I am. I would rather still be doing this if I can." —Bobby Bowden

Bobby Bowden is spending what should be his retirement years gathering victories and collecting more fodder for stories that must be told between staff meetings, film study, cross-country recruiting trips, and even the tackling of hundreds of footballs and posters that daily await the signature of NCAA Division I-A’s all-time winningest coach. For the architect of one of college football’s great dynasties—14 consecutive seasons of Associated Press top five finishes—his rocker is a swivel chair that swings easily to his right so that even with the next season six months away, he can study opponent’s game tape that almost always fills the large projection screen that dominates his office. His porch is an office crammed with more than 300 books he uses to break from the pressures as the coach of one college football’s most recognized programs. It boasts a view of Doak Campbell Stadium, where as an assistant coach and head coach he has been a Seminole for more than 31 years. It is down there and on legendary road trips to Nebraska, Clemson, Florida, and so many other places that gutsy trick plays were called and executed, leading to Bowden’s nickname a the "Riverboat Gambler." It is where plays that only Bowden would dare try, including some he now regrets attempting, have unfolded. It is also where the final results of amusing and unexpected events on the recruiting trail were written. They are substance for stories that should not, and will not, wait for retirement. Readers will be among the group that gathers around as Bowden tells his Tales from the Seminole Sideline.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Telling stories--I enjoy that. It comes with growing older. But I don't see the day where I'm sitting on the porch rocking with a bunch of guys around me and I'm telling stories. I can't see that. It's just like golf. People say, 'Aren't you going to the Masters?' No. I don't care anything about going to the Masters. I'd rather go play than see those great players. I'm not a good spectator. I want to play, and that's the way I am. I would rather still be doing this if I can."

About the Author

Steve Ellis is a sportswriter who has covered Bobby Bowden and Florida State University football for 22 seasons. In his 14 years with the Tallahassee Democrat he has won 18 state and national awards, many for his different looks at the personal, as well as professional, side of Bowden. Ellis worked on ESPNÂ’s 2002 special, The Season: Florida State. Before joining the Tallahassee Democrat as its FSU beat writer in 1989, he helped start The Osceola, a weekly publication dedicated to Seminole athletics. He served as that publicationÂ’s editor for eight seasons.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582614067
• ISBN-13: 978-1582614069
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,244,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seminole fans will appreciate the stories, November 29, 2004

By 

David Traill (Stuart, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bobby Bowden's Tales from the Seminole Sideline (Hardcover)

This thin book gathers a good number of stories about Florida State head football coach Bobby Bowden, and the team itself.

While not a serious study of the rise of college football in America, or at least Tallahassee, it does focus on the ways in which Bowden lives his life, and the resulting success of the FSU football team in the last 15 years. It focuses strongly on the period after 1990, when the team successfully finished it seasons among college's best year after year.

With stories that last only a few paragraphs or so in most cases, this will entertain a Seminole fan for a short while, but it won't satisfy a desire for an in-depth look into the football program that Bowden has built over his successful, long tenure at FSU.