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The state of things at Florida State
Florida State fans are angry! They hurt. They are confused. They feel they were screwed over by the almighty committee that determines the four schools to participate in the College Football Playoff (CFP).
All the Florida State Seminoles did this year was win. They played the schedule before them and won every game, going 13-0. Their reward? They became the first Power Five team to go undefeated in a season and miss the college football playoff. They will not play for a national title. In the end, what they did on the field didn’t matter. All that mattered were the votes of a committee of 12 men and one woman. Thirteen people rule like gods over the fates of college football programs.
While the one-loss Alabama Crimson Tide program celebrates their almost-annual trek to the playoffs, while the one-loss Texas Longhorns prepare for their first-ever appearance in the CFP, the undefeated Seminoles are licking their wounds and wondering where justice lives and whether what you do on the field even matters.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell said he is “disgusted and infuriated” in his official statement on the unfortunate turn of events:
I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games. What is the point of playing games? Do you tell players it is okay to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play a senior on Senior Day for fear of injury? Where is the motivation to schedule challenging non-conference games? We are not only an undefeated P5 conference champion, but we also played two P5 non-conference games away from home and won both of them. I don’t understand how we are supposed to think this is an acceptable way to evaluate a team.
I’m hurting for our players who have displayed a tremendous amount of resilience and response this season. What happened today goes against everything that is true and right in college football. A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win doing whatever it took on the field was cheated today. It’s a sad day for college football.”I’m proud of the work we have put in and the players I have the privilege to coach. We have one more opportunity to define this 2023 team in the Orange Bowl, and I believe in how our team will respond.”
Florida State coach Mike Norvell on being left ouf of the CFP
What do we do now?
“We have one more opportunity to define this 2023 team.”
I like that part of Norvell’s statement the best.
His team will play in an ultimately meaningless game, and they will have nothing to play for, except pride, passion, and a commitment to excellence.
When you put your all into a thing, when you give it your best and your best is the best, and you experience a favorable outcome, that is a time and reason to celebrate. What if you do all of that and the outcome is unfavorable? What if you performed at a high level but still fell short because of circumstances over which you had no control? What if your best wasn’t good enough?
After you do your best and come up short through no fault of your own, what will you do tomorrow? What you do tomorrow will tell yourself and the world who you are.
Get up tomorrow and go to work.
David Strother, 1940 – 1991
Here’s what you do: you do it again.
My father was a small business owner. He owned D&F Battery & Electric in Mineral Wells, Texas. In 1978, Dad sold the business, which he founded in 1969 and we moved away forever from my hometown. The lessons I learned there still live in me.
The D&F of D&F Battery & Electric stood for David & Freda, my parents’ names.
Dad joked that it stood for “David & First National Bank” because he secured several loans through the years to float the business through lean times or to expand it. Then, as now, small business ownership, especially in a small town, was no joke and no place for the squeamish.
I recall one evening after dinner. when things must have been exceptionally tight, I overheard a conversation between Mom (the bookkeeper) and Dad (the mechanic/businessman). They had no idea I heard them.
Dad: “The bank said, ‘No loan.'”
Mom: “What will you do?”
Dad: “Get up tomorrow and go to work.”
It is what you do after you do your best and everything falls through anyhow that makes you great.
Get up! Go to work.