Media Daze

The concept: bring every college football coach in the state of Florida together for one weekend of preseason hype.

The title: Florida Media Days, brought to you by the Florida Sportswriters Association, Florida Citrus Sports, Sun Sports, and FSN Florida.

The location: Caribe Royale Resort, Orlando.

Today was day one. My role in all this is to introduce the coaches (Paul Kennedy and I split duties - one of us on the podium with the other doing interviews in another room). Our morning lineup included Larry Coker and Bobby Bowden, back to back.

Coker is the sort of man you'd expect to have as a neighbor. An honestly nice guy. Sitting next to him on the podium while he spoke to the banquet room full of media, I could not help but notice his fingers - gnarled, like they'd been repeatedly broken. I'd love to hear the story on that.

Bowden appears at least twenty-five pounds lighter than the last time I saw him in person (at this event last year). He looks tiny. When the inevitable questions arose about the Seminoles' off-season troubles - a couple of arrests, the mysterious case of Wyatt Sexton - Bowden fired back with two arguments.

One, the media overblows everything, "because that's your job." Well, no, coach, it's not really our job, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I knew what you meant. We do get breathless a little too quickly sometimes.

Two, these kinds of things happen every summer. They happen in every family, even his. We can handle it.

When he made that comment - the one about these kinds of things happening all the time, and in every family - you could have heard a pin drop in the room. Certain newspaper writers and columnists actually stole glances at each other, checking to make sure they had heard Bowden correctly. 'Happen all the time?'

See, these sorts of things DON'T happen all the time, and they DON'T happen to every family, and that was exactly the point of the question. It's not typical to have a player arrested for allegedly dragging his girlfriend through a parking lot by her hair. And even if it were "typical," it sure as hell isn't "acceptable."

The vibe that I received from coach Bowden's comment was pretty simple: if we media drones were expecting any sort of admission that the coaching staff is out of touch and/or losing control of their players, forget it. They don't believe that. Make of that what you will.

Webber International University head coach Rod Shafer believes that small college football should work in Florida. So do I. He also says that adding football at the tiny school in Lake Wales not only reversed a trend of declining enrollment, but actually turned a profit for the school. And you wonder why football is king. Webber has 750 students - over 100 of whom will attempt to play football this year.

Don Strock is tall and tanned. Howard Schnellenberger prefers not to sit at the podium, but would rather walk around while he speaks, without a microphone. FIU opens the season with Kansas and Texas Tech. In the next five years, FAU will play Minnesota, Michigan State, Florida, Oklahoma State, and just about anyone else who they can get. If you want to beat the big schools, you have to play the big schools. If you want to get ahead of the curve in college football, set a trend and look terribly smart five years from now, send a check tomorrow to the booster funds of either FIU or FAU. Hell, make it both.

Pop quiz: can you name every college in Florida that plays intercollegiate football?

Hint: there are twelve.

Go ahead. Think a minute.

Got it?

Florida, FSU, Miami, UCF, USF, Florida Atlantic, Florida International (all Division I); Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman College, Jacksonville (I-AA); Edward Waters College and Webber International University (NAIA). Nothing in Division II or Division III -- not for football, anyway.

Can you name all twelve of their home fields? Much tougher.

Respectively: the Swamp (Ben Hill Griffin Stadium), Doak Campbell Stadium (and Bobby Bowden Field), the Orange Bowl, the Citrus Bowl (for now), Raymond James Stadium, Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (again, for now), FIU Stadium, Bragg Memorial Stadium (tough one), Municipal Stadium, D.B. Milne Field, Raines High School, Lake Wales High School.

If you knew all of those, you are one of my guys.

Day two report comes tomorrow.