TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — For Doug Mannheimer, Florida State football isn’t just a fall tradition — it has shaped much of his life, from his childhood in Tallahassee to his role preserving some of the program’s most celebrated history.

Mannheimer, a member of the FSU Hall of Fame Class of 2013, said he has attended Seminoles home football games since he was 5 years old and is approaching a milestone streak.

“In the beginning of second grade I caught the mumps and so I missed that ball game. The first game in the beginning of the season in 1962 but since then I have not missed a home game,” Mannheimer said. “I grew up in Tallahassee and went to undergraduate and law school there, so the New Mexico State game will be my 373rd consecutive home game.”

Beyond the stands, Mannheimer has spent decades helping safeguard a unique piece of Florida State football tradition: the Sod Cemetery.

Since 1962, the Sod Cemetery has been a must-see part of Florida State University football nostalgia, serving as a memorial to some of the program’s biggest road victories against top opponents. Mannheimer has overseen the site for nearly four decades.

“I’m what Dean Coyle Moore would say is the second keeper of the sod cemetery, He was the first and he founded it in 1962,” Mannheimer said. He said Moore, a family friend, asked him to take over the responsibility before Moore died.

“He took me out there about six months before he passed away at age ninety and asked if I would look after the sod cemetery for him and he actually had me bring my two-year-old son and he asked Andrew if he would do it after I passed away so he was trying to pick up about a hundred years of help for the sod cemetery,” Mannheimer said.

Mannheimer also shared memories of the late Bobby Bowden, the two-time national championship coach who led Florida State for decades. Mannheimer described Bowden as someone who could connect with recruits and families in a way that felt genuine.

“When Bobby Bowden went for the home visit to visit with the young man and his Mom or his dad or his uncle or his auntie or his Grandmama and when Bobby Bowden showed up or sometimes they would say when the Reverand Bowden showed up he preached and the sermon was heard and that young man was going to become a Seminole, but it wasn’t fake,” Mannheimer said.

As a longtime follower of the program, Mannheimer also pointed to what he considers one of Florida State’s defining moments — a play against rival Florida in Gainesville during the 1993 season.

“I think the greatest play in Florida State Football is not at Doak it’s at the University of Florida. 1993 it’s third and ten from the twenty-one yard line late in the fourth quarter,” Mannheimer said. “Florida State’s only ahead by about four and Charlie Ward drops back he hits his roommate Warrick Dunn up the left sidelines and Warrick runs for seventy-nine yards. The Seminoles get one in the victory column. They beat Florida in Gainesville, that sends us to the national championship, Charlie Ward wins the Heisman Trophy and Boby Bowden wins the national Championship. So I think Ward to Dunn in 1993 is the greatest single play in our football history.”

Looking ahead, Mannheimer said he believes the 2026 Seminoles have significant potential under coach Mike Norvell.

“I think our fans area ready to win, I know Coach Norvell, he does want to win and he’s a very good person. ‘I think they put together a really good team,” Mannheimer said.

Florida State fans across the state — from Pensacola to Pembroke Pines — will be watching as the Seminoles take the field at home against New Mexico State.