TALLAHASSEE — Meeting a fellow unconquered people was a memorable experience for a group of Big Cypress seniors who traveled to Florida State University July 17 to meet members of the undefeated 2013 BCS championship Seminoles football team.

“The players wanted to meet the seniors,” said Big Cypress Councilman Mondo Tiger, a newly minted senior himself. “The coach wants to have a better relationship with the Tribe; this is the third or fourth time the seniors have been invited back.”

Decked out in traditional patchwork, some incorporating FSU colors and logos, seniors watched nearly 600 high school players participate in the Jimbo Fisher Football Camp at the team’s training facility on campus. Past and present FSU football stars, including NFL Hall of Famer and former FSU outside linebacker Derrick Brooks, safety LaMarcus Brutus, tight end Nick O’Leary and FSU athletic director Stan Wilcox, came by to greet them and to pose for photos.

“We’re all fans,” Betty King said. “I like them all; it takes a whole team to win it.”

Led by Monk Bonasorte, senior associate director of athletics, the group toured the training and weight room and the rehabilitation facility.

They also had the opportunity to tour the locker room, players lounge, trophy room and coaches’ offices currently under construction. Renovations will include the incorporation of the new FSU logo. Patchwork symbols – including fire, man on horse and arrow – and traditional Tribal images adorn the walls.

Seniors ate lunch in the players cafeteria, where team members posed for photos and autographed each item the Tribal members brought.

After bowling in the FSU lanes and some shopping, seniors boarded the bus and returned home, hoping to see the team again during the season. Councilman Tiger already has his eye on the season opener versus Oklahoma State in Arlington, Texas.