July 14, 2009

Lee Gordon
Warchant.com Staff

It's sure to be a star studded affair on Wednesday night as friends and family of Bobby Bowden will be headed to Tallahassee for the Bowden Roast.

On the card are names like Georgia head coach Mark Richt, former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne, movie star Burt Reynolds, and many of Bowden's former players. They are all coming to Tallahassee for one reason, to tell stories about Bowden and put one of the best coaches of all time on the hot seat.

Not everyone will have the opportunity to speak, but almost everyone has a story to tell. Like the time a few years back when inclement weather hit the Tallahassee area during practice. Former Seminole linebacker Ernie Sims remembers it fondly.

"It was lightning real big in practice," said Sims. "He's always up in that tower and lightning struck and it felt like it struck right on that big tree on the field. I've never seen Bobby Bowden move that fast. But he was out of the tower and into the stadium before everybody could get in the stadium. Bobby Bowden showed just how quick he was."

Both Andre Fluellen and Antone Smith were on the field that day and remember the Bowden "run" very well.

"That had to be one of the funniest things," said Smith. "I remember that he came out of the tower so fast. I don't think he even got in the cart, I think he actually ran off the field."

"I never knew a golf cart had four wheel drive and had mud tires," added Fluellen, "But that day, he beat everybody in that golf cart off the field."

Those are some of the many stories that will be shared on Wednesday night. Video calls will come in from Lou Holtz, Bob Stoops, and Mack Brown. All of whom will have some great stories to tell.

Even Leon Washington has a story or two. He's played in the Pro Bowl, played with Brett Favre, and lives in New York. But if you ask him to roast his former coach, he can go on for forever.

"Every Friday night he would tell his jokes. I remember he told a joke one day when he first came to Florida State in the 70s," said Washington. "He said he would give away tickets. So he went to the grocery store and he said, I can't give the tickets away, so I'll put them on my windshield and hopefully somebody will pick them up and go to the game. He put two tickets on the windshield, and he goes into the grocery story and comes back out and has eight on the windshield."

That and many others are sure to get a laugh. Whether Bowden is able to defend himself is another thing. But when you have some great coaching minds and Hollywood stars all in the same room, it will be hard for Bowden to defend himself, especially against former players like Ernie Sims, Jr., who's still angry with Coach Bowden for something that happened years ago.

"It was my junior year, we were losing to Nebraska and Coach Bowden came into the locker room. Coach, I never told you this, but that chair hit me in the head. That chair that you threw and I didn't really appreciate it. So no more throwing chairs please."

Wednesday's Bowden roast is sold out. But you can recapture all the great moments on Warchant.com as we will give you a complete report from inside the roast, all the good one-liners from the evening and a photo gallery. For those of you who will be attending, here is what you need to know about the roast:

DATE:
Wednesday July 15, 2009

LOCATION:
University Center Club (located in the south end zone of Doak Campbell Stadium/Bobby Bowden Field)

TIME:
Social hour: 5:30 PM, Dinner served: 6:30 PM

Program begins immediately following dinner...

AN EXCEPTIONAL CAST OF ROASTERS:

Mark Richt, Head Football Coach University of Georgia

Tom Osborne, Athletic Director, and former Head Football Coach at the University of Nebraska

Tommy Bowden, ESPN Analyst and former Head Football Coach at Clemson University

Burt Reynolds, Actor and former FSU player

Chris Weinke, Heisman Trophy winner and former FSU/NFL quarterback

Ron Simmons, Executive with Titus Sports, former FSU nose guard, and FSU & College Hall of Fame

Mack Brown, (video cameo) Head Football Coach University of Texas

Bob Stoops, (video cameo) Head Football Coach University of Oklahoma

Lee Gordon is an Anchor/Reporter at WCTV in Tallahassee. Prior to his return to the Capital City, Lee spent three years as a Sports Anchor/Reporter at WTEV-WAWS in Jacksonville and prior to that was Sports Director at WCTV from 2000-2004. Lee has worked for Warchant.com for 5 years and brings over a decade of experience to our staff.

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