Bobby Bowden taught his players and staff that faith and family are more important than football. After seeing the way the Florida State faithful have rallied around Ethan Pritchard and his family, it is clear that sentiment is alive in Tallahassee.
This past Saturday, Florida State dropped its third straight loss of the season to the Pitt Panthers. While many fans, players, and coaches are rightly upset by the poor quality of the product on the field, the bigger story in Tallahassee is much, much bigger than football.
On August 30, the Seminoles kicked off the new season by pulling off a massive upset and taking down the Crimson Tide. After the game, thousands of FSU fans stormed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium as the Marching Chiefs played the war chant, and rain began to fall. It was like a scene out of a movie. However, a dark cloud would roll over the celebration in Tallahassee.
Ethan Pritchard (photo courtesy, On3)
After the game, Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard attended a cookout with his family in Havana, Florida (about 16 miles from Tallahassee). In the early morning hours of August 31, Pritchard was dropping off some family members at their home when he was shot in the head in what is being called “a case of mistaken identity.” Law Enforcement officials say that Pritchard was doing nothing wrong and was simply ambushed. Four people were arrested last month in connection with the shooting.
However, the way his teammates have responded to the shooting has been truly inspirational.
The Seminoles’ next game was full of tributes to Pritchard. Players could be seen wearing sweatbands bearing Pritchard’s number 35, and some even wore special shirts during warm-ups to support Pritchard. The Noles steamrolled East Texas A&M by a score of 77-3. After the game, it was time for the traditional breaking of the rock, a post-game tradition started by FSU head coach Mike Norvell. The team would gather around in the locker room following every victory and smash a rock bearing the opposing team’s logo with a sledgehammer.
Honoring #35 (photo courtesy AP)
The honor of swinging the hammer is usually reserved for players who had a standout performance in that day’s game. However, something different happened after this game. The team gathered around Coach Norvell in the locker room, and Earl Pritchard, Ethan’s father, joined Norvell. The honor of breaking the rock went to Ethan’s father, and even though many players had great performances that day, not a single one complained. Instead, they all cheered and rallied around the father of their friend and teammate.
It was nothing short of a miracle that Ethan survived the shooting. Throughout the last month, his condition was stated as being “Stable but critical” as he was kept in the ICU unit at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital for the last several weeks since the shooting. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Ethan had been sedated. Still, on October 4, he opened his eyes and began to move before tuning into the Florida State vs Miami game that night.
Then this past week, the Seminoles received the best news possible. Ethan is being discharged and moved to a rehab center for the next steps in his recovery. In the weeks following the Alabama game, things have not gone as planned for FSU on the field, but that didn’t stop the team from supporting Ethan, because some things are bigger than football.
On October 9, Ethan Pritchard was discharged from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and was transported to Brooks Rehabilitation Center in Jacksonville, Florida. As he was brought out of TMH, he was greeted by his entire team, players and coaches alike, as they cheered him onto the next step in his recovery.
A video of the beautiful moment was posted on Instagram by FSU quarterback Tommy Castellano.
