ORLANDO, Fla. — He is almost80 now.
He is less involved in the special teams and offensive schemes than he once was.
He does not see as clearly or hear as crisply as he once did.
But don't think for a minute Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden doesn't pay attention to the negativity or listen to the naysayers.
He's not too old to have an ego; he's not too old to be a competitor; he's not too old to want to show everyone - his harshest critics, his own fans and, yes, his old rival Joe Paterno- that he can still get it done.
When I asked Bowden recently if there is any part of his competitive spirit that wants to prove he's not just some forlorn figurehead coaching out the string, he did not hesitate.
"Definitely, I want to win a national championship again," Bowden said. "I wish I could leave here on top."
Don't we all wish that for him? Or at least most of us who have ever been in contact with arguably the greatest coach and inarguably the nicest man who's ever strolled a Saturday afternoon sideline.
It's too bad the NCAA committee on infractions won't step aside and allow Bowden to go out like he should go out - battling Paterno in one of the most celebrated record chases in American sports history. This should be the fantastic sprint to the finish for Bowden and Paterno - two icons locked in a fogy fight to the finish to see who will go down as the winningest coach in major college history.
Florida State and Penn State are in the preseason Top 25 and it appears both coaches might have their best team in years. But the final leg of their record-chasing relay has become an afterthought, lost amid the frenzy and furor of Tebowmania, the battle of the Big 12 South and Notre Dame's predicted rise back to prominence.
How sad is it that Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin has created more preseason buzz than what might well be the last dance for two old legends?
Regrettably, the NCAA has sucked out every ounce of joy from this victory chase by punishing Bowden for the mistakes made by a couple of academic minions at Florida State.
Unless Florida State's appeal is approved, Bowden will be stripped ofup to 14 victories by the NCAA - effectively knocking him out of the historic hunt with Paterno. Leave it to the NCAA to rob college football of something it richly deserves - a chance to see which dynastic giant of the profession can outdo the other. It's not enough the Bowl Championship Series gives us a mythical national championship; now the NCAA is trying to feed us a fictitious national record book as well.
It's not fair to the fans who have admired these two men for generations. It's not fair to Paterno, whose monumental milestone would come with a huge asterisk if Bowden ends up with more victories on the field but fewer in the record books.
And, mostly, it's not fair to Bowden, whose fabulous career should not end underneath the dark and suspicious cloud of victories being stripped away. He's been too good for the sport to be treated this badly.
I've said it once and I'll say it again right now: Bobby Bowden is greater than Joe Paterno not just because of the games he has won but because of the imprint he has created.
Penn State football was already a power when Paterno took over from his predecessor Rip Engle, a College Football Hall of Famer who never had a losing season and compiled a 104-48-4 record in 16 seasons. Florida State was 4-29 in the three seasons beforeBowden's arrival and there was serious discussions about shutting down the program.
Bowden not only put the Seminoles on the map; he rescued them from the grave.
Now, cruelly, everybody and everything seems to be conspiring against him. Fans of other teams mock his age; opposing coaches use it against him in recruiting; even many of Florida State's fans feel as if he has become a liability.
He is getting old, but you just know he must be getting angry, too.
"I'm sure there's a part of him that wants to go out and show people," Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder said. "When you're being criticized, I think everybody gets a chip on their shoulder and wants to prove the critics wrong."
Wouldn't you love it if Bowden, one last time, fooled everybody, pulled a Puntrooski out of his cap and took Florida State to the national championship game?
And wouldn't you love it even more if his opponent was Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions?
Then maybe we would finally get what the committee on infractions seems determined to deprive us of:
A chance to see two of the biggest legends in sports history settle their greatness on the football field.
Not in the NCAA boardroom.
Sports, Pages 16 on 08/27/2009