Florida State horse mascot falls during Orange Bowl pregame ceremony
The Orange Bowl has started with a stumble by Florida State’s Renegade.
The mascot horse fell during the pregame ceremony Friday with Indian warrior Osceola aboard. Osceola was about to plant his flaming spear in the turf when Renegade began to backpedal awkwardly and went down as the crowd gasped.
Former Florida State quarterback and current ESPN analyst Danny Kanell shot video of the incident and posted it on his Twitter account.
Never seen this happen before...Let's hope the offense executes better pic.twitter.com/1JQTP8MFMt
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) December 31, 2016
Is Renegade still in the game? I need an update! #noles
— Seminolegirl97 (@seminolegirl97) December 31, 2016
Renegade and Osceola quickly rose to their feet. Osceola planted his spear before climbing back on the Appaloosa and riding him off the field.
The incident generated a bunch of social media reaction, particularly from Florida State fans worried about Renegade or what it might mean for the game against Michigan.
Even Renegade is slipping on this turf. Slick footing out there tonight.
— Boo Radley (@bradleySFR) December 31, 2016
Renegade just bucked Osceola off the horse. Not exactly the best omen.
— The Daily Nole (@TheDailyNole) December 31, 2016
The mishap at the 30-yard line occurred as the Seminoles took the field, with the Michigan Wolverines waiting in their tunnel. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh had raved earlier in the month about Renegade.
“Renegade the war horse. The spear. The tomahawk chant. I’ve never been to a game at Florida State. I always wanted to. I always wanted to go to their stadium and see what that atmosphere was like in person,” Harbaugh said according to ESPN.
“This will be as close as I’ve ever been to that. I’m very much excited about that and looking forward to that. I’m gonna get some chills I know when [Renegade] comes riding out there. ... That is one of the coolest things. A lot of teams got cool things. We got cool things and other teams got cool things. That is right up there with one of the coolest things.”
Bleacher Report ranked the top 10 live mascots in college football, and Renegade/Osceola came in fifth on the list.
This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Florida State horse mascot falls during Orange Bowl pregame ceremony."