Controversy is swirling around the Florida State football
program yet again, but for once none of the players are being led
off in handcuffs.
Instead, the Tallahassee media frenzy has taken aim at head
coach Bobby Bowden for his selection of the phrase
“Let’s roll” as the team’s slogan for the
2002 season.
Those two words were the last audible sounds uttered by Todd
Beamer over a cell phone before he and a small group of brave
passengers attempted to overtake terrorists aboard United Airlines
Flight No. 93, plunging the aircraft into rural Pennsylvania and
martyrdom.
For the most part, columnists and talk show hosts including
former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann have had a knee-jerk reaction,
painting Bowden as an anti-American voice of evil for daring to
bring a piece of September 11 into something so trivial as college
football. I, for one, believe that nothing could be further from
the truth.
Bowden’s original purpose in adopting “Let’s
roll” was to inspire his squad with the quintessential
example of courage, teamwork, and self-sacrifice.
But the new Seminole mantra will ultimately serve a greater
purpose. It sends a positive message that helps to keep the memory
of the tragic events of September 11 fresh in our minds.
Doug MacMillan, chief executive officer of the Todd M. Beamer
Foundation, agrees. After meeting with Bowden and FSU Athletic
Director Dave Hart Jr., MacMillan said that “by picking that
phrase, Coach Bowden is carrying on Todd’s legacy, and
furthering the mission of the foundation.”
Despite the support of the foundation, the national media has
continually attempted to drown the patriotic message behind
“Let’s roll” with a sea of politically correct
babble.
If the Beamer family endorses the slogan, how can anyone else
claim that it is insensitive or disrespectful?
In a sense, the catch phrase is no different than the
“NYPD” caps or “United We Stand” bumper
stickers that have permeated our culture in the past 12 months.
When I see these symbols of our national pride, I instinctively
recall the courage of the emergency workers who gave their lives to
save their fellow Americans. Although someone is obviously
profiting from the sales of this paraphernalia, that does not
detract from the strength of our nationalistic pride.
What makes the complaints over the “Let’s
roll” slogan harder to fathom is that university officials
have pledged not to use it in connection with commercial products.
While “Let’s roll” T-shirts were printed for each
member of the squad itself, none of them will be sold in
stores.
MacMillan believes that Beamer, a huge sports fan, would have
been proud that his words have become a source of motivation. In
fact, despite the cries of Olbermann and other hypersensitive
members of the media, the sporting world has begun to embrace
“Let’s roll” as source of inspiration.
Todd Beamer’s Alma Mater, Wheaton College has adopted
“Let’s roll” as the motto of its entire athletic
department, and President Bush used the slogan to conclude his
speech to America’s winter Olympians prior to the Salt Lake
City Games.
Furthermore, NASCAR driver Bobby Labonte drove a red, white, and
blue car painted with the phrase at a race in Dover, Delaware on
September 22. Proceeds from the memorabilia depicting the new paint
scheme will go directly to the Beamer Foundation.
FSU’s most recent slogans ““ “Discipline to the
Desert” and “No Excuses” ““ have dealt with
success instead of selflessness. For that reason alone, I would
deem “Let’s roll” an improvement, not an
insult.