FSU football saved by booting "old man" Bobby Bowden. Hooray.

A note of congratulations is in order for those who sit in the ivory towered rooms at Florida State University and make those critical decisions that affect the lives of our future leaders.

Congratulations for finally ridding yourselves of the pesky nuisance that was Bobby Bowden. In light of what he has done to your money-printing football machine, it was so blatantly obvious that is was time for him to be shown the door as quickly as possible.

Seriously, who needs an 80-year-old man wandering up and down the sideline on those cold and blustery fall days end evenings? Better to think of his health and a propensity for the aged and doddering to be stricken with some form of flu or common cold.

No doubt you’re thinking first and foremost about Mr. Bowden’s health at such an advanced age.

It was the perfect gentle nudge when Jim Smith, Chair of the Florida State Board of Trustees, said that after a decade of decline in this cash cow that it was time to push Bobby out of his chair, no matter what the Coach thought about his ability to remain.

Classy guy, that Jim Smith. You have to give him chops for being the courageous one, willing to stand out and speak his mind about Coach Bowden when all of Bobby’s buddies and cronies in the Athletic Department were rallying around the aging leader and covering up all of his recent flaws.

Jim Smith certainly wasn't afraid to take a much deserved and well-earned slap at the man without whom the FSU Athletic Department and all their scurrilous minions would be attending tractor pulls instead of BCS Bowl Games.

Stand up and give Jim Smith a round of applause for doing what needed to be done! After all, look at the exceptional service he’s given to FSU. Think about it. Despite being appointed to the FSU Board of Trustees in 2002 for a 4-year team by Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Smith has been gracious enough to stay on well past his tenure expiration date.

Never mind that Smith used to be a lobbyist and there’s a 2005 State law that prohibits those honest and hard working citizens from serving on any State University trustee board.

Got to admit the people at FSU and all those legions of fans and boosters have to be grateful for Smith’s leadership role at a time like this.

And speaking of all those people who have FSU DNA at their very core, this has got to be a big day to celebrate wheeling old man Bowden out of his office and finally turning the football program over to Jimbo Fisher.

The Seminoles haven’t win 10 games since the 2003 season. Including this campaign, that’s SIX SEASONS with nothing to really feel good about. And let’s face it, without a winning football team life on the FSU campus can’t be worth living, at least not at these prices. Say nothing for those depressed cash-bloated boosters who keep handing out dollars in order to keep their access to the coaches, players, and all the free booze they can shovel down at every event they get invited to. Or crash.

And isn’t it obvious that Bowden is the main reason why this team has done so poorly in those six seasons? After all, the buck has to stop somewhere and that means it lands right on his desk and in his lap. Don’t be swayed by any talk that Bobby hasn’t really been running the day-to-day for FSU for several seasons now.

Bobby is just this old fool that doesn’t know when to quit. So the best thing to do in a case like this is exactly what the powers at FSU have done.

Ridicule him. Embarrass him. Use the media to point out all of his flaws and stoke the fires for everyone with a Garnet and Gold heart to rise up in anger demanding his ouster.

Not on his terms, dadgumit. On our terms. Here’s the toe of our boot. Take a hike, you old fossil.

Those 34 years of unwavering service? Old news. The fact you never even wanted to leave the Seminoles in a lurch and head for the NFL like so many other traitors and cash hounds? Not important. The NCAA Division 1-A record of 14 straight seasons with 10 or more victories? Hell, that ended WAY back in 2001.

Couldn’t take a hint, could you?

So a tip of the helmet to Jim Smith and those who exercised sterling class and style doing what needed to be done. Publicly humiliate someone who should have learned a long time ago who is really in charge around Tallahassee.

These are the people who have an absolute right to say it’s not their fault.

Hey, they would have been thrilled to hold a special night for you, another rubber chicken dinner, hand you a flaming spear at midfield to drive into the ground, anything you could have ever wanted.

If only you did it the way they wanted it done.

Because, after all, anyone can plainly see you didn’t earn the right to go out on your terms.