Days into Shapiro-gate, and the piling on continues. Even on the weekend, when you’d expect things to quiet down a bit. Every hour on the hour, seems another national media member wants his or her say and their five minutes regarding the latest hot topic.
And so it goes, Hurricane Nation. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The critics never went away. They’ve just been laying low and waiting on a new reason to pile on. Now they have one. Thanks, Nevin.
A few days back I felt embarrassment when the story broke. The sensationalism surrounding the Yahoo! piece – I was sucked in like any other sports fan in America. The media was doing its job; selling advertising space while working overtime to be ‘edgy’.
One idiot yelling louder than the fool next to him on the panel. If one uninformed moron screams “death penalty” the next one-ups him, going further and demanding the program is completely shut down.
Why not just blow the university up and put the entire team and coaching staff in front of a firing squad? Burn it down and let all the outsiders and critics descend on Coral Gables to piss on the ashes. ESPN F U can cover it and run a 24-hour loop all season. Miami already got the station its strongest ratings ever (UM / FSU 1994, UM / FSU 2006, UM / UF 2009). Hit for the cycle you hypocritical Bristol hacks.
No, a few days later any embarrassment has now turned to anger. Anger towards the piling on. Anger town a nationwide holier-than-thou attitude. Anger towards a flawed system and anger towards an old boys network that will look to make an example of the renegade program it’s hated for three decades, instead of doing the right thing and blowing up what’s been broken for so long – the system itself.
In the past few days a long-time coming epiphany: I hate college football.
I loathe what this game has become. I’m disgusted that those suits in town “investigating” see themselves as part of the solution instead of part of the problem, while the culture of the modern day sportsfan has reached an all-time low.
It’s your typical social hierarchy. A bunch of elitists turning their noses down at those who they feel are ‘lesser’. It’s high school bullshit alive and well in the real world.
A popularity contest with the administration ready to make an example of the rough-around-the-edges kids from the other side of the tracks, while the cheerleaders and jocks hide behind their parents’ money and social status. (Oh how I long for the SEC’s day to come. The Internet will break the day that story hits.)
I grew up a fan of the underdog and almost four decades into life, I still go against the grain and subscribe to the anti-establishment. It’s a big reason I still feel such strong ties to the city of Miami fourteen years after leaving my hometown and it’s the reason the Canes have always been more of an attitude and mindset than just a program.
It’s also the reason I stand here today, double birds raised in the face of the NCAA with an attitude of “do what you’re gonna do”, expecting the worst from a corrupt system adverse to any real change.
Miami is the perfect scapegoat and everyone knows it. FOX’s Jason Whitlock was one of few who had the stones to nail it a few days back. Nevin Shapiro is attempting to destroy UM to feel better about himself and you outsiders love what he’s doing because it makes you feel better about yourselves.
NCAA president Mark Emmert doesn’t want change. He wants to slap Band-Aids on cancer. A university ‘lifer’ who was probably a coin flip away from a career in politics. Shake hands, kiss babies, over promise, under deliver, fundraise and keep pushing papers.
No NCAA president is a forward-thinker looking to revolutionize anything. It’s about toeing the company line, making sure the rich stay rich and doing things more for show than to grow. The pressure is now on Emmert to let the class delinquent have it, while the secretly-troubled popular kids get off with a slap on the wrist.
All this media-fueled “death penalty” nonsense has forced Emmert to at least open the door to that type of punishment.
“If, and I say if, we have very unique circumstances where TV bans and death penalties are warranted, then I don’t think they are off the table and I would be OK with putting those in place,” said Emmert.
Spoken like a true politician instead of someone with some balls saying what needs to be said – that the NCAA is in the midst of a five-month long investigation and all that’s changed this past week was the release of a sensationalized article, which stemmed from the tales of a convicted felon who has already ruined many lives.
What happened to protecting your own, Mr. NCAA President? Put it out there; the University of Miami should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Instead, you give the idiots the headline they want – one ESPN ran with on Friday based on picking apart your words; “NCAA head: Death penalty should be option”.
While a new flavor-of-the-minute media idiot seeks his fifteen minutes, back-page news continues to trickle out, picking apart the Yahoo! article that started this whole firestorm. UM enthusiast Vishnu Parasuraman gave his take days back, picking apart the work of Dan Wetzel and Charles Robinson.
Matt Hayes at the Sporting News penned a piece asking why players at other programs tied to the story have been cleared, while no Hurricanes have – even in cases where the allegations are identical – and not just kids who were recruited by Miami and signed elsewhere, but kids like Robert Marve and Arthur Brown, who signed with and played for the Canes.
UM often takes grief for an “us against the world” mentality, but in the wake of public outcry this past week, maybe the critics will understand why. Had the allegations of a jailed Ponzi schemer come out against any other program, how many national media members would’ve jumped the accused (at this capacity) without even questioning the credibility of the accuser. An accuser who’s publicly stated that his intent is to destroy the program he once loved.
A twisted, attention-starved individual sitting in a jail cell, with aspirations of writing a “tell-all” book, filling spare moments writing ‘gotcha’ letters to the former Canes who stopped taking his calls years back.
It’s a lynch mob in full force right now, full of hypocrites looking to take down a program they’ve hated, feared and envied for decades now.
For the Miami fan, the only advice – turn off your TV, shut down your computer, go outside and take in some fresh air.
The truth always comes out, but until it does, the sports landscapes will be infiltrated with these roaches: the kind of loser who sees someone on the ground in a fight, runs in to get a few kicks in and scurries off before the attacked can get to his feet to fight back.
Keep your head up, Hurricane nation. Miami is a tough program and a tougher city. No one here is going down without swinging. – C.B.
Good article.
it’s about time someone comes with some attiude like that, i’m all about doing the right thing and playing by societal rules, except when the same social club keeps telling you to fuck off we dont want you here…sometimes you have to kick down the door and let people know your here…. it’s a way of life, its the bounce in your step, the confidence in your eyes, walking with your shoulders back and chin when everyone is pointing at you to fail….that’s swag, that’s heart, i hope these kids have gotten slapped in the face enough by the popular society that we always try to be cool with… hit enough to make them want to hit back you can only turn your cheek so many times…. two ways to get respect take it or earn it. if they don’t let you earn respect than you take it…
it isn’t like it would be the first time we have gone undefeated walked over the best teams in the country and still didnt even get a sniff at a title, until we take it year after year….
We are playing our last and most desperate card. Innocent until proven guilty. Somehow our story – and more importantly, our former beliefs – were much different while Ohio ST went through this.
Wow, couldn’t have said it any better. Another example of the “holier-than-thou” attitude was Brian Kelly’s comments on espn.com article today. I’m sure the ND HEAD COACH, WHO PLAYS MIAMI TWICE coming up, will be objective. I know this will do little to to ward off the vultures, but why not emphasize the the things the U has done relatively well recently. I was under the impression that our academics had been outstanding under Shannon’s watch. Also, only 2 arrests in what 5-6 yrs? I know that’s 2 more than we need, but it’s much less than the vast majority of most major programs. These hardly scream lack of institutional control to me. I know the allegations could trump my points but the media is trying to paint a picture of anarchy. Hopefully this could give some perspective.
At least no one is accusing Coker or Shannon of killing a graduate student.
Brian Kelly can suck it.
thank you…finally! even the beast is depressing me….
so much hersay, flimsy evidence, photos with players who look like they have no interest in the guy, condemnation for “benefits” that are given to every booster at every school (ie. visit from president of said university, field access)
this is a guy with an axe to grind and if the talking heads at yahoo feel like coming on our am radio stations to keep insisting they only printed information they could “corroborate”, then someone better grow some balls and ask them why they printed the abortion scandal. truth is they printed the whole thing to illicit an emotional reaction and boost their web traffic in hope that they can get more advertising dollars(dollars that are getting easier to come by, but still relatively inexpensive compared to other more traditional media)
any cane fan out there who is falling into all this hate needs to jump ship now, cause when the truth comes out, i don’t want them back on our “yacht”
it’s always been us against the world. and it’s always all about the u!
It starts with the local media. People like Jorge Milian, Sid Rosenderg, and even so called UM supporters like Joe Rose were badmouthing UM and assuming their guilty solely based on the Yahoo story. Half a week into this and even ESPN is declaring it as fact and crucifying UM.
I don’t get it! Do facts and proof mean anything to these people? Oh wait, they are in the business of inciting people with sensational stories to get ratings….I almost forgot.
Right on! All these mother fuckers can suck my dick!
I fucking love it! Great piece
Please, someone needs to make a much bigger deal about these other players at other schools becoming eligible while our own are left in limbo. If the accusations are the same, then there should be the same kind of evidence needed to either exonerate the player or corroborate the story…especially after 5 months of “investigating.” I can’t see any logical explanation for such a discrepancy, and the Cane fan in me is screaming mad that this isn’t being made into a bigger deal.
I find this quite fascinating; have everyone here notice in the last 8 months there were virtually NO coverage of U football on ESPN; up until this supposed scandal broke? No one is interested in discussing the possible positive aspects of this football program under the new coaching staff; instead, its conspiracy of silence. Only something so negative, so outrageous, like this scandal, can ESPN opens its mouth about this program. Given the perception the “U” has received, I find it hard to believe even to this day how current school administrators refuses to see what is right in front of their faces; the establishments-that-be despises your athletic program and your school; no matter how much you cleaned up the program’s image in an vain effort to appease your critics, you will still get spit upon.
Randy Shannon ran a clean program period!!!
Great Piece. I Love the U Attitude.
Imagine if the U got the death penalty……………..who would be left for the media to criticize, belittle and HATE? Oh, and I forgot to mention that they stand to loose the record ratings the U brings!
That is the logo that should be a shirt.
It shouldn’t take Chris writing an article about this for Canes fans to think like this
When Yahoo came out with the story, I couldn’t believe all the “sky is falling, it is end times for the Canes, let me reach for all my rosary beads & rub them together so feverishly that they’ll start a fire b/c Miami is f*cked 3 ways to Sunday” type of crap I heard from Canes fans
Isn’t this a fan base that prides itself on “U Swag”? Swagger this, swagger that, we have swagger, our players invented swagger, bla bla – but then when some possible adversity comes along from the mouths of: a Napolean complex convicted lying ponzi-scheming piece of sh*t & his greasy assed lawyer who has been sanctioned by a federal judge for misconduct -and- the fingertips of: a internet site that is designed to stir up emotion & get some kind of reaction so they can drum up a multitude of hits/having their article linked, even with stories that have no real backbone of hard evidence other than heresay/anytime pics/tall tales …… it’s amazing how an alarming number of “swagger”-ific fans all the sudden have delusional possible death penalty thoughts & their assholes pucker up tight enough to be able to crush a boulder into fine dust
Let me ask everyone, when did the balls of this fan base completely shrink, get inhaled back into their body and of which are basically now ovaries … actually, I know some Cane chicas who have a bigger metaphorical sack than some male Cane fans who I’ve read/heard leading the Chicken Little cry of how The “U” is basically done for
Why worry about something that you have absolutely no control over? Nothing that you do will change the outcome. Stop demanding that the University of Miami do this -or- have their PR department or President say that -or- whatever else the outcry is that seems basically just selfish as f*ck on your part. Ya, I’m sure the University of Miami will get right on that, right now, so that you can feel better. Who gives a sh*t about the public perception of the “U” – when ever has the public perception of the “U” been positive? Maybe when the APR scores came out and the Canes were toward the very top? Nope. How much did that really matter to the public? Why even care about the court of public opinion? Driving yourself into a mental frenzy over something that was reported by Miami a year ago to the NCAA, when the Napolean complex fresh assed jail b*tch made his allegations – doesn’t do yourself or anyone else any good
Is something going to come of the allegations and the investigations? Ya, sure, could happen. Maybe some schollies lost. Maybe a bowl ban. Why worry about it? This program looked like it was on probation the past 6 years anyway – and it probably would’ve been good if the Canes were banned from playing in bowl games during that same time period. It’s not like they were racking up wins in the post-season since 2004. Wow, it took a Matrix style INT by Chavez Grant to win in the Smurf Turf Bowl over .. wait for it …… Nevada. An absolute ass stomping by LSU the year before that. A loss in the ‘ 08 Nut Bowl to Cal. Cane players huddling around the heaters on the sidelines like hobos around a trash can fire, while the short sleeved Wisky players were jumping around to House of Pain in short sleeves on the sidelines and pushing Cane players around on the field in the ’09 Champs Bowl. Of course this past year, having Notre Dame & their new head coach stomping the hell out of the Canes in El Paso
I was basically praying for a bowl ban after watching a f*cktastically awful 1-4 bowl game record over the Canes last 5 bowl games
If you’re going to worry about something that you have no control over, worry about something such as the Canes DB situation – I would’ve loved to be able to see what Brandon Harris could do with an aggressive young Cane pup like Thomas Finnie on the other side of him .. but Brandon did what he felt was right and now the Canes are rolling with some un-tested starting DBs (for being Canes – remember, Mike Williams is a transfer & didn’t play for Wake last year). I’m sure Finnie will get in the mix somehow
Or what about Coach Jedd Fisch – to tell you the truth, he really is somewhat unproven as a OC in college football. That 1 year he had a Minnesota? Come on, how many of you can honestly even say you saw a single game called by him
How about if either Lamar Miller or Smiley James goes down? Is Darion Hall capable or possibly Mo Hagens of being that #2 guy if needed, since Grooms is being given the run around by the Clearinghouse? Eduardo Clements possibly at RB, or DB, or back to RB? Is the tackling on the Defensive side of the ball going to improve? How about the ability to cover the opposing TEs, who seem to run rampant through the Canes defense way too many times. Who is going to step up and take Hankie’s place as the go-to guy, with others stepping up as well in the WR corps? Who is going to be the kick returner or punt returner?
Listen, I believe in Golden. I believe in D’Onofrio. I think they’re the right guys at the right time, as well as the rest of the staff … from what we’ve seen this off-season. I still have a question about Fisch -but- in believing in Golden, I also trust his judgement on Fisch
I think you could hit these cats with whatever sanctions you want, and they’d still get the job done. Loss of schollies? No problem – they can still fill the limit. Loss of bowl games? No problem – they’ll sell the kids on pulling an 1993 Auburn, where they went undefeated, even with being banned from playing on TV/SEC Championship Game/Bowl Game. Remember what Golden has a Masters degree in?
Does anyone remember where they came from before Miami? You don’t think it was worse there than any situation you could possibly put them in? They had a hell of a lot less to work with at Temple than they do now at Miami – and if the NCAA does drop some sanctions on the Canes, you don’t think Golden & D’Onofrio won’t just kind of smirk and say privately “sh*t man, that’s not too bad at all, we’ll take it”
As a Canes fan, a true Canes fan – you shouldn’t be surprised by anything. ESPN piling on. Lazy writers gravy training the Yahoo story for their own articles. Radio talk show hosts eyes lighting up b/c they realize just how easy it will be for them to have their lines constantly lit on their board about this topic – and doing whatever polarizing thing they can do add gas to the fire
As a Canes fan, take a step .. f*ck that … take a cross country train tracks sized distance leap away from the whole Shapiro thing. It’s tiring. It’s exhausting. It’s annoying
Revel in being a Canes fan and being hated by everyone else. Welcome it. Embrace it. Who cares about what everyone else thinks or what everyone else says. They don’t know anything more than anyone else. Nobody knows what’s going to happen – it’s all projection and honestly, time wasting stupid projection at that
Have some f*cking temerity b/c you’re a Canes fan and stand with the “U”
Keep in your head/heart exactly what DJ Williams tweeted about, in the picture of him putting up the “U” with his hands to the crowd after his INT vs. Buffalo when he said: “rep til I die”
I do.
S.Woodward, I guess when the story first broke I probably fell into that “Sky is falling” category due to the coverage it received as well as how I feel Miami always gets f**cked by the powers that be. I guess I am a “hope for the best but expect the worst” type of person overall. That being said, I NEVER stopped being less of a Cane fan. I ride proudly around Suckeyeland (Columbus, Ohio) with my “It’s a U thing” plate. After listening to the venom and watching the piling on for a few days I was sick of the sensationalism and stopped worrying about it.
As I have stated lately, whatever happens, happens. It’s very curious that all a transfer player had to do was state that current or former Miami players did this or that, just go along with what Midget Boy claimed, and they automatically are free to play for their current teams immedialtely. That doesn’t sit well with me. All they are doing is saying whatever the NCAA wants them to say in order to keep themselves on the field. I say Coach Golden should play everyone since they are currently eligible. F**ck it. Why sacrifice a might be, when all could be cleared of any wrong-doing and sat out for nothing? Play them and let the chips fall where they may. Go Canes!