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When Bobby Bowden’s death was announced on Sunday, those who remembered him best – former players and, perhaps, one of his biggest rivals – took to social media to pay their respects to the former Florida state coach.
Bobby Bowden, 91, announced on July 21 that he was suffering from a terminal illness that Terry Bowden later referred to as pancreatic cancer.
Bowden and the Seminoles have been the target of verbal punches from former Florida coach Steve Spurrier for years. On Sunday he led a long line of people on social media remembering the Birmingham native.
“Bobby Bowden was one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football,” Spurrier tweeted. “He is the second most successful coach of all time behind Joe Paterno. We have had some good battles in my 12 years in Florida. He won most of them and we won a few.
“I enjoyed our relationship after coaching while serving for Rising Stars, which helps young men and women from difficult backgrounds go to college and be successful.”
Bowden’s teams were 8-5-1 against Spurrier, but games always seemed to be dramatic.
The Gators lost a 28-point lead in the fourth quarter in 1994 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee as FSU tied the record for the greatest comeback in the fourth quarter to tie the game 31-31.
The “Choke at Doak” was a 1994 encounter between the two teams in which the Bowden Seminoles collected 28 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game, which cost the Gators a national title shot.
The Gators returned the favor, however, with a 52-20 victory in the 1997 Sugar Bowl to secure Florida their first national title.
And, of course, a number of players who have been in so many of these rivalry games have also taken to Twitter to pay tribute to Bowden.
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.
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