TALLAHASSEE - Florida State president T.K. Wetherell said he knew Bobby Bowden was "larger than life" when he first met him more than four decades ago.
Folks in this town have shared that view for almost as long. Bowden, now in his 29th year as the FSU coach, has established the program as one of the nation's best. He has more wins than any coach in Division I-A history and a pair of national titles, has been the school's most visible ambassador and an invaluable asset during fundraising efforts.
Bowden, 74, stood larger than life on Friday afternoon with the unveiling of a 9-foot bronze statue outside the recently renovated Moore Athletic Stadium.
"Coach Bowden is Florida State University," said Wetherell, a receiver here when Bowden was an assistant.
"You receive something like this and I look back at my life and so many times have said, "Why me? Why does this happen to me?' " said Bowden, who who along with wife Ann pulled off the tarp covering the statue to a thunderous applause of hundreds gathered around. "I never expected anything like this."
All six of his children were there, including Tommy, the coach at Clemson.
"I thought he looks awfully trim," said daughter Ginger, joking. For her, the ceremony was bittersweet; her son, Bowden Madden, and ex-husband, John Madden, died in an automobile accident this month. "I feel sad that John and Bowden couldn't see it."
Bowden, who thanked his family, assistants and his players, past and present for making the honor possible, also was struck by the job of sculptor, W. Stanley "Sandy" Proctor, a Tallahassee native and longtime FSU fan.
Proctor, 64, whose work has been displayed in the White House, was commissioned to produce the work as well as a limited number of miniature busts (one for each of Bowden's collegiate coaching wins, 343 and counting) to be auctioned off to help fund legacy scholarships in the coach's name. That cause overcame Bowden's hesitancy for the project.
While the job was a special treat for the artist, it wasn't an easy one. For one thing, he had to produce the clay model twice; a fire a year ago wiped out his Tallahassee studio. But the most difficult part was trying to capture the essence of the man as coach.
"It's like going through a scrapbook and picking out a photograph you're going to put on the wall and say, "Okay, this is going to represent me for a long time,' " Proctor said. "That's a tough job."
Bowden did have one complaint.
"I am concerned about the pigeons on that (extended right) arm," he quipped, referring to a joke his son, Steve, made as he introduced his father. "I told him to put long sleeves on me. He left my arm bare, so we've got to do something about them pigeons."
