As National Signing Day approaches on February 3rd, I wanted to let everyone know about several signing day parties in cities throughout the state of Florida and in Atlanta.  Some of you may have already received an email from Seminole Boosters, but for those of you who haven't, you can find more detailed information about the parties here: http://seminole-boosters.fsu.edu/community/Page.aspx?pid=2250

I want to encourage everyone to try to attend one of these parties if possible.  Good news for those not located in one of the War Party city locations, it will be simulcast on seminoles.com so you'll be able to watch from your computer.  To give you an idea of what its all about, here are the details for the Tampa party that I received from the Boosters' Director of Development in the Tampa area:

We will be hosting a Bay Area National Signing Day "War Party" on Wednesday, February 3.  As many of you know, the first Wednesday in February is always the day during which thousands of high school football recruits formalize their intent to attend the college/university of their choosing.  According to www.rivals.com, FSU currently has the #11 recruiting class in the country and is primed for a strong finish come National Signing Day.

The main event taking place in Tallahassee will be broadcast live to us in the Bay Area.  Thanks to the help of Lance Barton and Scott Roix, we have secured The Venue (website:  http://www.thevenueclub.com/) as our location.  I met with Tampa Bay Seminole Club leadership and Pinellas Seminole Club leadership and both groups are endorsing to their entire networks.  The newly formed Sarasota Seminole Club may join us as well if they do not host an event of their own.

Admission is free.  Doors will open at 5:30PM and the program's live broadcast will start at 7PM.  We will have food on hand (good food!) and there will be a cash bar.

Should be a great time.  Go Noles!

[Article by Tomahawk Nation reader.  Opinions expressed may not be those of TomahawkNation.com ]

(Disclosure: I do not work for the Boosters.  I am just a passionate FSU fan who wants to see their school compete and succeed at the highest levels.)

Many of you are familiar with the letter I sent to the FSU Boosters earlier this year.  For those of you who are not, it can be found here http://www.tomahawknation.com/2009/10/11/1080133/my-letter-to-the-boosters.  Long story short, I vowed to give up my football season tickets and not contribute any more money to the Boosters (I've been a season ticket holder and Booster for 10 years, since my graduation in 1999), unless some sort of definitive announcement regarding Bobby Bowden's future was made this year.

To say that a lot has happened since this letter was sent is an understatement.  Most importantly, a definitive announcement was made about Bobby Bowden, allowing us to finally move forward as a program onto what I believe will be bigger and brighter days than we've seen in the past 9 years.  I wanted to give everyone an update and also ask everyone to consider joining the Boosters to pledge financial support to the Athletic programs of FSU, so that it one day may be on par with some of the top programs in the country.  

Along with another fellow TN member (RaysnNoles), I had lunch with the Boosters Director of Development for the Tampa area shortly after I sent that letter.  He gave us some eye-opening statistics about the current state of affairs of our Booster program that I found both alarming and depressing.  For instance, consider the following:

• In 1999, we had roughly 19,000 Boosters
• In 2009, we have roughly 15,000 Boosters
• NC State has over 20,000 Boosters...we need to step up our grassroots efforts to be better than that
• If about 20% of our living alumni base gave at the minimum level ($60) we would be incredible wealthy

The decline in Boosters over the past 10 years may have to do with their focus on the Dynasty Campaign and Legacy Campaign.  They brought in large gifts, but the Boosters focused less on the foundation of our operations which is as many people as possible giving to the Annual Fund at whatever level they can afford. 

I think what surprised me the most was the overall low level of Boosters that a school of our stature has, currently 15,000 (well, I guess 15,050 based on the most recent reports).  I (mistakenly) assumed that in order to purchase season tickets, one must first be a Booster (I think this is the case at some schools).  So I'm thinking we have upwards of 60,000+ Boosters...I guess this was wishful thinking on my part.

I like the recent reports I'm hearing about record numbers of Boosters signing up since the Bowden retirement announcement.  That is encouraging, but we need more.  As stated above, if 20% of our living alumni base gave only $60 per year, we'd be incredibly wealthy.  I know times are tough, but $60 is not that much.  There are even discounts for current students and recent alumni. Information about the Boosters can be found here: http://seminole-boosters.fsu.edu/Community/Page.aspx?pid=520&srcid=223.  And I know writing this letter to the couple thousand or so people who follow this site won't all of sudden start a surge in donations, but it is a start.

Bud talks all the time about the ridiculous resources that schools like Alabama have in terms of financial support.  Granted, I don't think we could ever reach their status in terms of Alumni support given that they are pretty much the only game in town in Alabama (Auburn aside), and in Florida we have to compete with the likes of UF, UM, and even USF and UCF to a lesser extent, not to mention pro teams that people may support in lieu of college teams.  But, I do think with the new regime in charge it is an excellent opportunity to be a part of building a new Dynasty here at FSU.  We all want the best for our football team and other athletic programs...well, it starts with us, the fans.  We need to show our support financially, not just emotionally.  Even if you can't be there in person to support the team on Saturdays, I implore you to at least try to give the minimum Booster amount of $60.  And tell your friends.  Before you know it, we may be swimming in cash and not that far behind UF in terms of financial resources.  At least that is my hope...

Go Noles!

This is the letter I plan to email to every email address listed here:  http://seminole-boosters.fsu.edu/community/Page.aspx?pid=599

These are my feelings.  Feelings are neither right or wrong, they are just feelings.  I am just letting the Boosters know how I feel.  You can agree or disagree with me, but I hope you would respect my feelings and opinion on this matter.  I don't know, I guess my reason for posting this is maybe to inspire enough people to write in with their own feelings, either way.  I guess my hope personally is, If the University is indeed financially motivated, maybe if they hear from enough people stating they will no longer contribute money, they will feel more pressure to take action.

To Whom It May Concern:

I write this letter to you today with an equal mix of pride, anger, embarrassment, and shame. I was fortunate enough and honored to attend our great University from August 1995 - June 1999, during the height of our football Dynasty. I have been a proud Booster and season ticket holder since graduation. From 1999 to 2004, I attended nearly every home game despite the 4+ hour drive. I attended many significant road games, including the inaugural "Bowden Bowl" versus Clemson in November 1999, the national championship win in New Orleans vs. Virginia Tech in January of 2000, and the win versus Notre Dame in South Bend in November 2003. In short, I am a true Seminole fan who lives and breathes Seminole football. I show this through my commitments to the team and University, both financially and emotionally. 

I have been very angry to witness the results of the football team in 2009, and in years past, both on and off the field. Many times throughout this year and prior, the team and staff has looked lost and inept. This is both maddening and unacceptable. It is clear the talent is there, but it is not being utilized in the right way. The anger intensifies when I witness the complacency of the coaching staff and the flat-out refusal to make the necessary changes for the betterment of the football program. 

When I watch Coach Bowden in post-game press conferences or virtually any public appearance by him in 2009 (and since 2001, for that matter), that is when the embarrassment creeps in. How a man, a leader of men, can just laugh off embarrassing losses AT HOME to USF and Georgia Tech (and many, many others) is beyond me. I never witnessed a loss at Doak during my entire time as a student, yet he acts as if they don't bother him at all. Wasn't he the same man who said a few years ago, that if the losses began to mount, that is when he would finally decide to step down? Have the losses mounted so much and become so commonplace that he is immune to them? Pardon my language, but it still pisses me off when we lose a football game. I don't see that same type of emotion in Coach Bowden, and that has to rub off on the players, I don't care what anyone says. If players see their head coach laughing off losses, they aren't going to treat the losses as a big deal either. Additionally, his refusal to acknowledge what the problems are, mainly that he indeed is part of the problem, adds even further embarrassment as he rambles on to reporters about God knows what, and makes sexist comments to female reporters that he thinks are funny but are just another black eye upon this University. 

Finally, we come to shame, which is defined as "the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, and ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another". Given that definition, there is so much shame surrounding this program because of certain dishonorable, improper and ridiculous things done by others. I am ashamed that Coach Bowden is our head coach. True, he built this program into a dynasty, and without Coach Bowden, FSU football would not have been able to achieve this. But yet now he is tearing it down, piece by piece, with his arrogance, foolish pride, and selfishness. Just because you are responsible for creating something does not mean you also have the right to destroy it. Are parents allowed to beat, starve, neglect, and, dare I say, kill their own children? Of course not. I am ashamed that T.K. Wetherell is our President. He is an enabler who allows Coach Bowden to continue to destroy this once proud program. I am ashamed at the fans that turn a blind eye to the problem, and show more loyalty to one person, rather than an entire program. In general, I am ashamed to be associated with the Florida State University and the Florida State University Seminoles football team right now. 

The point of this letter is to let you know that I am ceasing any Booster contributions and season ticket purchases until Coach Bowden announces a definitive retirement date, hopefully effective November 28, 2009, immediately following the UF game. I don't believe that we will be able to move forward as a program until Coach Bowden has stepped aside and given full control of the program to Coach Fisher. I feel so strongly about this, that I am willing to give up the seats I've held for 10+ years, as well as stop supporting the school financially. I don't think it would be enough to still buy tickets and protest by not going to the games. That accomplishes nothing, as the University still would get revenues. Under my plan, the University gets no revenues AND there will be 2 empty seats in the stadium for every game in 2010 and beyond, as I am virtually certain there is not a "waiting list" for Seminole football season tickets. 

This is a tough decision for me, and one that I did not take lightly. But I cannot give financial support any longer to a program so unwilling to move forward. Once a definitive announcement regarding Coach Bowden is made, I will be first in line to re-establish season tickets and Booster contributions. But until that time, I will not spend one more dollar supporting the football program. I understand that my contributions are not significant from a monetary standpoint, but for me, it is the principle of the matter.  I cannot continue to support something I no longer have faith in to fix itself.  Someone once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Each year I contribute money, believing that this will be the year that changes are made and the program will turn the corner and rid itself of the mediocrity of the past decade.  That blind faith on my part ends now. If you wish to discuss any of these matters further, I can be reached at any of the numbers below. Thank you for your time and attention to this most important matter.

Sincerely,

Pinto