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My History as a Seminole Fan — Part Seven: Life Was Changing

There are seasons you remember because of what happened on the football field.

And then there are seasons you remember because of what was happening in your life.

The years between 1996 and 1999 were a little bit of both for me.

By then, Florida State football had become a pretty established part of my life. I had watched Charlie Ward win a national championship. I had watched Danny Kanell take over. I had watched the Seminoles come back from 31–3 against Florida.

But my life was changing, too.

1996

In January of 1996, I met Liz.

By that summer, we were dating.

I was 17 years old, and while I certainly didn’t know everything that was ahead of me, I knew this relationship was different.

Then, on March 22, 1997, Liz and I got married.

I was 18 years old.

A few months later, in August, Isaac was born.

The following November, Jordan arrived.

And by October of 1999, Timothy had joined our family.

In just a few years, I had gone from being a teenager sitting in the west-side bleachers at Doak Campbell Stadium to being a husband and father of three boys.

Florida State was still there through all of it.

I just wasn’t the same fan I had been when this story began.

And neither was my life.

Florida State’s 1996 season was another remarkable one. The Seminoles won all 11 of their regular-season games, including a 24–21 victory over No. 1 Florida in Tallahassee.

Then came the Sugar Bowl.

Florida beat Florida State 52–20.

That one hurt.

But football wasn’t the only thing occupying my attention anymore.

I was building a life with Liz.

And that changed the way I experienced everything else.

1997

Florida State entered 1997 still among the best teams in the country.

Danny Kanell was gone, and Thad Busby took over at quarterback.

The Seminoles won their first ten games.

And then came Florida.

Again.

This time, the game was in Gainesville.

And this time, Florida won.

32–29.

Another loss to the Gators.

Another reminder that even during the Bobby Bowden years, Florida State wasn’t going to win every game.

But the Seminoles bounced back.

They went to the Sugar Bowl and beat Ohio State 31–14, finishing the season ranked No. 3.

1998

The 1998 season was a strange one for the Seminoles.

Chris Weinke was supposed to be the quarterback, but a neck injury ended his season.

Marcus Outzen stepped in.

And somehow, the Seminoles found themselves in another huge game against Florida.

This time, it was in Tallahassee.

And this time, Florida State won.

23–12.

It was one of those games that reminded me why I had fallen in love with this team in the first place.

The Seminoles weren’t supposed to have an easy path to the top anymore.

They had lost their starting quarterback.

They had been counted out.

And Marcus Outzen led them past Florida.

The win helped propel Florida State into the first BCS national championship game, where the Seminoles faced Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl.

Tennessee won 23–16.

No second national championship.

No perfect ending.

Just another reminder that being a Florida State fan meant living with both.

The wins.

The losses.

The expectations.

The heartbreak.

And the hope that next year might be the year.

By now, though, I had something far more important than football waiting for me at home.

I had Liz.

I had my boys.

And I had a life that was becoming much bigger than the games I watched every Saturday.

But the games still mattered.

They were part of our lives.

And then came 1999.

1999

By the time the 1999 season arrived, Florida State was no longer simply the team I had discovered as a kid.

They had been part of my life for a decade.

And now I was watching them as a husband and a father.

This was also different for another reason.

Florida State was starting the season No. 1.

And they were going to stay there.

All year.

The Seminoles went 12–0, won the ACC, and became the first team to go wire-to-wire as the Associated Press No. 1 team. They finished the season by beating Virginia Tech 46–29 in the Sugar Bowl for Bobby Bowden’s second national championship.

But before any of that happened, I couldn’t have known what the 1999 season would eventually mean.

I had started this story as a kid who barely knew what he was watching.

Now I had been married for more than two years.

I was raising three boys.

And Florida State was about to embark on what would become one of the greatest seasons in the history of the program.

This time, I wasn’t watching them climb toward the top.

They were already there.

No. 1.

And they weren’t planning on moving.

The 1999 season was about to begin.

And for the first time in this story, the team I had fallen in love with as a kid was sharing the stage with something even bigger:

the family I had built while watching them.

I was still watching.

But now, I had a lot more to watch for.