The Beast : Tell Me I’m Wrong

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe due to the grind that comes from covering this team day in, day out, I’m too immersed in it to be effected. I almost feel like I’m at confessional and I’m wincing as I type this, but it doesn’t even feel like Florida State week right now. There, I’ve said it, but I don’t feel any better.

Normally during a typical Miami / Florida State week I’m too geeked out to sleep. Normally I don’t need coffee to hit the ground running. Normally I fall asleep thinking of Santana Moss letting the world know that, “big time players step up in big games”. This week, not so much.

Now let me preface all this by saying that when my traveling crew and I pull up to the allCanes “Rally In Tally” at AJ’s on Friday night, I’ll resort back to being good ol’ day-before-the-big-game Beast. That may mean that deciding to take a nap in the middle of Tennessee Street is a good idea (not that I actually did that back in ’97). That may also mean being thrown out of not one, but two fast food restaurants (not that I actually did that in ’97, either).

There have been several other incidents in Tallahassee. Back in 2007, my former co-worker “Captain” Curtis Stevenson and I tried to convince “The Voice” Joe Zagacki to sing karaoke. That didn’t necessarily work out.

Then there were all those Friday and Saturday nights where we shut down the bar at the Ramada Inn, where the team and diehards used to stay.

One thing for certain, after attending all but two Miami / Florida State showdowns over the past eighteen years, whether it’s home or away, things always get crazy and I always wind up getting swept away in the festivities.

Still, as of now, this week feels different.

It’s easy to say that because neither team is ranked and have a combined record of 9-7, that the matchup has lost some luster. Maybe, just maybe, if an ACC Championship or national championship berth were on the line, I’d be spinning out of control like a Tazmanian Devil.

Maybe it’s the timing of the game. We’re not used to playing Florida State this late in the year. It’s usually in October, with some early Labor Day showdowns thrown in there.

Or maybe I’m just work out from the first nine games of this season and after four losses and some nailbiters, my brain simply won’t allow me to start getting jacked up for this one on a Tuesday, four days from kickoff.

Then again, maybe it’s the process. You know, “the process”. The thing that Al Golden talks about every waking moment of every day. The process dictates that every game is treated equally and the process doesn’t allow for excess hype or build-up.

Maybe I’m buying into the process. Maybe I’ve been sucked in. Maybe that’s the case and I’m going to have to bring my training to the game. I’ll walk into Doak Campbell with a legitimate next-man-in mentality.

You get the point.

I’m hoping that once we get to Friday night, my emotions will get going. I’m certain that as I’m walking into the stadium Saturday afternoon, seeing all of those Seminoles dressed in garnet and gold, I’ll feel like my old self again. But, for now, it just doesn’t feel like it’s Florida State week. Please, tell me I’m wrong.

IN OTHER NEWS : As we collected in the Edgerrin James Room to prepare to talk to a handful of players on Tuesday, the talk among the media was obviously this horrific slew of incidents up in State College.

I have a ton of thoughts on that, but I want to bring the story home. After we got done talking to the players, the New York Times story broke about tenure of Joe Paterno most likely coming to an end in Happy Valley. About five minutes later Coach Golden walked into the room.

This was Miami / FSU week. It’s theoretically the biggest football week of our year. As Al walked to the podium, not one of us was thinking about Canes / Noles. Yes we did our job and asked game-related questions, but as I looked around the room, I could tell most everyone was reading their smart phones and thinking what I was thinking: Were we looking at the next head coach at Penn State?

If I had to bet right now, I’d throw down on Al staying at Miami. However, until the next head coach of Penn State is named, Al Golden’s name is going to be on the proverbial short list. Al loves challenges. He tells us all the time that his love of challenges led him to Temple. His love of challenges is what makes him the right guy to lead Miami out of the smoke of NevinGate.

But what if his love of challenges leads him to State College? Would there be any challenge closer to Coach Golden’s heart than restoring the prestige of his alma mater?

Would there be any greater challenge than to be the man that shows the world that not all of Joe Pa’s coaching offspring choose the wrong path?

Again, in the end, I think Al stays at Miami, for now. However, this is even a bigger reason to restructure his deal now. Because if ‘The U’ doesn’t make Al Golden financially more secure now, Penn State may back up the Brinks truck out of desperation not too far down the road.

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