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Ranking Sports Illustrated’s iconic FSU football covers with SI’s future in flux
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- Ranking Sports Illustrated’s iconic FSU football covers with SI’s future in flux
One of the most storied sports publications in the world is in flux.
The Arena Group, the publisher of Sports Illustrated, announced Friday that it intends to lay off "a significant number, possibly all" of Sports Illustrated's staff. The decision comes after Authentic Brands Group revoked Arena Group's license to publish the magazine.
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Sports Illustrated senior writer Pat Forde posted on X on Friday that Matt Lombardi of the Arena Group said 'We are going to continue to operate Sports Illustrated. ... Either Arena or someone else is going to have the license to operate Sports Illustrated.'
The magazine published its first issue on June 9, 1954, and has since been known for its dynamic stories and iconic covers. The treasured publication told the biggest stories in sports and produced some of the top sports writers in the industry.
Sports Illustrated was there to cover some of the biggest moments in Florida State history, from the perfect 1999 season to the Seminoles ' last national title win in 2013.
Here are some of the most memorable FSU Sports Illustrated covers as the publication's fate remains uncertain.
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FSU wins 1993 national championship, Charlie Ward wins Heisman Trophy
Florida State's Matt Frier with FSU cheerleaders and sod after winning National Championship game vs Nebraska at Orange Bowl/
The Seminoles had one lone blemish in their 1993 season, falling to Notre Dame, 31-24, but won its final three games to clinch the program's first national championship.
FSU defeated Nebraska , 18-16 in the Orange Bowl to claim a BCS National Championship. Sports Illustrated celebrated the program's win on the cover of the Jan. 10, 1994 issue with the headline "No. 1 at Last: Florida State finally beats Notre Dame in the polls", which calls back to the Seminoles' loss to the Irish earlier that season.
Pictured on the cover is FSU wide receiver Matt Frier celebrating with two cheerleaders after the Seminoles won the national championship. Frier was on the shoulders of offensive lineman Todd Fordham. One of the cheerleaders, Julie Poff in the left-hand corner, passed away in 201 8.
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"I remember the cheerleaders running over and everyone was hugging; we were all friends," Frier, who son Camdon Frier has signed with the Seminoles, told the Democrat in a 2019 interview. "We took a lot of heat that season. And it all came together for us that night.
"It was a pretty special moment."
The week after Notre Dame defeated FSU, it fell to Boston College , 41-39, and fell to No. 4. The loss caused the Irish to lose out on the chance to play Nebraska for the national championship, giving FSU the opportunity. Notre Dame defeated Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, 24-21, to finish at No. 2 in the final poll of the year.
It was head coach Bobby Bowden's 18th season at the helm of the program, which was highlighted by dual sport athlete and Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward. Ward became the program's first Heisman winner, passing for 3,032 yards, 27 touchdowns and threw just four interceptions.
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While Sports Illustrated did not publish an issue right after Ward had won the Heisman Trophy, he was honored as the cover athlete in a special edition, that was published on Dec. 1, 2012 . It highlighted the past Heisman winners titled "Heisman: Running to Greatness."
FSU wins 1999 national championship, highlights Peter Warrick's iconic catch
The Seminoles won their second national championship in 1999 in dominant fashion, finishing with a perfect 12-0 record and mowing down every team in their way.
FSU started at No. 1 at the beginning of the season and did not move from that position as it made its way to the 1999 Sugar Bowl to take on No. 2 Virginia Tech for a BCS National Championship. While the game was a blowout, seeing the Seminoles win 46-29, an iconic catch from wide receiver Peter Warrick highlighted the game.
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In the fourth quarter, FSU quarterback Chris Weinke hit Warrick for a 43-yard touchdown pass to put the Seminoles up 46-29. What made the grab so special was Warrick was being tackled as he caught the ball, bobbled it and then pulled it in for the score.
The iconic moment was immortalized in Sports Illustrated's Jan. 10, 2000 issue with the headline "Dazzling! Peter Warrick's touchdown catch clinches a barn burner of a national title game for Florida State."
FSU wins last BCS National Championship in 2013
Florida State ended the SEC’s seven-year streak of national championships with this Kelvin Benjamin catch on Jan. 6, 2014 in Pasadena.
In the final year of the BCS National Championship format, switching over to the College Football Playoff in 2014, the Seminoles dominated as one of the best teams in recent memory.
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FSU started out the season at No. 11 before climbing to the top of the college football world at No. 1 in the AP Poll at the end of the regular season. It won a second straight ACC Championship and set a date with Auburn in the Rose Bowl to play for a national title.
In a back-and-forth game, the Seminoles pulled away off a late touchdown from Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left in the game to win the program's first national championship in 14 years.
Benjamin's game-winning touchdown was highlighted on the cover of the Jan. 13, 2014 issue of Sports Illustrated under the headline "Florida Statement: How the Seminoles returned to the top (and took down the SEC)."
Heisman winning quarterback Jameis Winston was featured on Sports Illustrated's commemorative issue cover highlighting the Seminoles national championship. Winston became FSU's third Heisman winner, throwing for 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns.
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The next season, with FSU returning as a front-runner to win again, Winston was featured on a handful of Sports Illustrated covers including the 2014 college football season preview and a Dec. 29, 2014 edition that focused on why FSU should make the College Football Playoff with the headline "The case for Florida State in college football's first final four".
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Remembering FSU football's top Sports Illustrated covers with SI's future in flux
