James Coley gets nostalgic whenever he drives through Little Havana and sees the hi-tech facility that sits on top of the old Orange Bowl footprint.
It was about 30 years ago that Coley, Florida State’s offensive coordinator, was using the historic stadium as his own personal playground.
“As kids in that community, (the Orange Bowl) was our playground,” said Coley, who lived two blocks from the Orange Bowl. “Hide and seek, running onto the field and throwing the football, getting chased by the security guards, getting out of there, and parking cars.
“You might have parked at my house if you went to one of the games.”
The Coleys charged $5 to park for Hurricanes games, $10 for the Dolphins — “If we blocked you, we’d probably charge you three bucks,” Coley said — and more for Orange Bowl games. The neighborhood’s dynamics changed when the Orange Bowl was razed and Marlins Park opened in April. Now, 81 baseball games have replaced Hurricanes and Dolphins games.
“It’s weird driving down 17th Avenue and not seeing the OB,” Coley said. “It’s a nice baseball stadium, but you miss it. You miss seeing that stadium.”
Coley, 39, still gets opportunities to return to his old neighborhood. After growing up in Miami, coaching six years of high school in the city (three each at Miami Senior and Miami Norland), and serving two years as an assistant with the Dolphins and one year at Florida International, Coley is the Seminoles’ primary recruiter in Miami-Dade County.
On Tuesday, Coley will coach in his first Orange Bowl game as No. 13 Florida State faces No. 16 Northern Illinois. The only downside is that it won’t be at his playground.
“That was always the bright side of a working-class neighborhood,” Coley said. “I always thought it lifted up the community. As kids you’d go outside and see the Goodyear Blimp. That was a big deal.”
Manuel expects blowout: The oddsmakers are not the only ones who believe that 13-point favorite FSU should have an easy time with Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois. Seminoles quarterback EJ Manuel agrees.
“We expect it as well,” Manuel said. “Not anything against those guys, but I think whoever we’re going to play, that is the way we want to think, that … if we execute like we’re supposed to, we’ll win the game.”
About the Author
