Welcome to Tradition Tuesday, a weekly look at the iconic rituals, traditions and moments that make college football game days so special.
Today, we’re heading to Tallahassee for one of the sport’s most recognizable pregame traditions: Florida State’s Osceola and Renegade.
If you love college football, you know the moments right before kickoff can be pure magic.
Few rituals capture that feeling quite like the pregame spectacle at Florida State, where the anticipation builds long before the first snap inside Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
Before long, that anticipation gives way to tradition.
As FSU’s renowned warchant echoes throughout the crowd, Osceola, holding a massive, flaming spear, charges onto the field riding Renegade, an Appaloosa horse.
They gallop to the logo at midfield, where Renegade rears back on his hind legs and Osceola drives an 8-foot, garnet-and-gold-feathered spear into the turf.
It truly is a sight to see.
The pregame ritual has run for nearly 50 years with the backing of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. And it’s a reminder that sometimes, the magic of college football happens before kickoff.
The tradition
- It was created and developed by FSU graduate Bill Durham in the early 1960s, and gained the backing of legendary coach Bobby Bowden in 1977.
- It debuted Sept. 16, 1978, during a game against Oklahoma State.
- The Durham family breeds, trains and supplies the horses used during the ritual.
- Eighteen students have portrayed Osceola since the tradition’s inception and six horses have been used (Renegade I through Renegade VI).
- To maintain historical accuracy, women of the Seminole Tribe hand-design and sew Osceola’s clothing to accurately mirror authentic 19th-century garments.
Quote of note
“I don’t really know what it all means, but when I see it, it’s on. It tells everybody it’s time to go to war.” – former FSU cornerback Jarrian Jones, now playing for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars
More Tradition Tuesday coverage
The story of Iowa’s heartwarming Hawkeye Wave game-day ritual
The story of Virginia Tech’s iconic ‘Enter Sandman’ entrance
The story behind how a white horse became a USC football icon
Mike Garbett is a content specialist working with McClatchy’s Content Innovation Lab.