It sucks to be a Miami Hurricane. At least that’s the message I’m hearing these days.
Blah, blah, blah. Whine, whine, whine. Welcome to the University of Miami fan base version 2007. This isn’t getting old at all, is it? Day after day and week after week it continues like a red-faced, colicky baby.
Since when did this once in-your-face, trash talking, brash and overly-aggressive fan base get as soft as a seven-year old girl with a skinned knee? Get a grip, people. Breathe in, breathe out. Relax.
I understood the frustration right up through 6-6. Miami lost the opener to Florida State and stumbled on the road weeks later at Louisville, pitting the Canes at 1-2 and out of the title race halfway through September.
The record climbed to 5-2 against weak opponents, but them Miami lost at Georgia Tech, knocking them out of the ACC title race and the Canes turned that into a four-game losing streak before beating Boston College in the season finale, en route to 6-6 on the regular season.
On Friday November 24th, the University of Miami fired six year head coach Larry Coker, which you’d think would quiet the masses and give Hurricane fans something to be optimistic about.
Nope. The bitch-fest continued. Why is the coaching search taking so long? Why did we hire a consultant? Where’s the big name coach the admin promised to hire? Did you read this or that quote by Coker?
I was half expecting Kanye West to show up and tell us that Paul Dee and Donna Shalala don’t care about Miami athletics.
Here we are in early January. It’s a new year. Optimism is supposed to be in the air. The ink on the paper where people penned their New Years resolutions isn’t even dry, yet the pissing and moaning continues like it’s still 2006.
I don’t get it.
Let’s save everyone a little bit of time here and script out January through August so the rest of us can put it on autopilot and cruise above the dark clouds of negativism until the season starts. Follow this program for twenty years or twenty minutes. You know what’s in store. It’s fait accompli.
January through spring, expect to hear the following. Randy Shannon sucks and won’t be a good fit for Miami for a slew of reasons. Until he finds a new offensive coodinator, that’ll be the biggest knock. How come other schools are hiring so quickly and Miami isn’t? Pick your poision.
Money is one reason, as well as the fact that the gig and the city aren’t desireable across the board. It takes a special type to want to sign up to coach on any level at The U. We’re not going to land just anybody.
Miamians love their city, but nationwide South Florida isn’t the most desired area in the nation, nor is it a coach and his family’s only option. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Shannon will land a coordinator in the coming weeks. Some will like the hire, some will hate it, others will remain opinionless until they see the product on the field and others will spend time mediating between the other three groups.
Come Feburary we’ll see another “Signing Day” and a handful of kids will commit to play for Miami. They’ll choose The U over a slew of other schools and in what should be a celebratory time for the program, the critics will again be in full force. Get ready for folks bitching about the ones that got away instead of the kids who chose to come to the program and become Hurricanes.
Get ready for cries of “Shannon can’t close” and “what about so and so, how did we not land him?” Those are two hits from the standard Miami fans arsenal.
Spring ball will kickoff in April and we’re going to see a quarterback controversy between Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman. Some have tried to correct me by calling this a “competition” instead of a controversy, but this is Miami, people. It’ll be a full blown controversy.
Some folks will back Wright, some will back Freeman, a few will be screaming for true freshman Nick Fanuzzi to start and others will play peacekeeper between the three, asking people to remain level-headed until we see the product on the field.
Par for the course, we’re looking at another season where the defense will most likely best the offense in spring ball… which will have the new offensive coordinator’s head on a chopping block five months before the season opener (gee, why isn’t anyone kicking down doors to land the job!)
And godforbid the offense looks better than the defense? Prepare for our knowledgable fans to chastise the new defensive coordinator (most like Tim Walton) for not being half the DC Shannon was and then ripping the new coach for promoting from within.
Are you ready for some football?
Summertime should be a hoot. Nike will roll out a new line of jerseys and half the fan base will hate them, the other half will like them and others will remain opinionless. Lest not forget my favorite group; the ones clamoring for the Russell Athletic-style belly shirts of the 80s. Ahh, do I miss the days of seeing Rusty Medearis’ and Darren Krein’s bellies hanging out as they ran up and down the field in their midriffs.
Message board discussions will go on an on about now Nike has ruined the University of Miami with their jerseys and a group of fans will be crying, “bring back the bra strap” – the affectionate nickname some fans gave the 2004-2006 version of the jerseys. Of course this will be the same bunch that actually hated the “bra strap” look and was protesting to bring the late 90s jerseys back when we made the switch in 2000.
Amazing that we actually have fans that think “swagger” equals personal foul penalties, celebrating after a big play and rocking jerseys that have been out of style for two decades now.
After we survive Jerseygate 2007, we’ll gear up for fall ball and the quarterback debate will continue as either Wright or Freeman will be behind center going into the season opener against Marshall. The preseason rags will be on newsstands and no one will agree where Miami is ranked. Too high. Too low. We’re gonna win the ACC. We have no shot at a conference title. This team can win it all. This team will be 0-2 out the gate. Shannon is the greatest thing since Jimmy Johnson. Shannon should be fired immediately. Maybe J.J. will replace him.
Yeah, I just can’t wait to kick this thing off based on how the past few months have gone!
One resolution of mine this year is to attempt to cover this program, while also removing myself from the day-to-day muck and mire our fan base is bogged down in. I know we’re all pissed. Put me a top that list with anybody. I drank myself into oblivion on Monday night as Florida and Ohio State played for the title. It was like an Irish funeral around here. Even today, I don’t consider the fact that the Gators won. I just let myself focus on the fact the Buckeyes lost.
But in all honesty, what is all this bitching going to do? Nothing. Freedom of speech? I’m all for it. I welcome everyone’s opinions and thoughts on the program. But complaining for the sake of complaining about every little move The U makes? Give it a rest. All this is counterproductive. You’re become part of the problem when you do that. Not part of the solution.
You’re giving opposing fans, pending recruits and a biased media just one more reason to knock our fan base, which is already perceived as fickle, bandwagon, hot headed and having unrealistic expectations.
Let coach Shannon do his job. Wait to see recruits in action before writing them off as a collosal failure. See who the offensive coordinator is and let him put his product on the field before calling for his head and trashing him on message boards.
The new season kicks off in just under nine months. Chill. Wait and see how things play out a little bit before critquing and criticizing every move a coach, player or member of the administration makes.
Or keep doing what you’re doing. Spread the misery. Trash the program. Rip the coaches and players. Continue with the doom and gloom. Whatever makes you feel better about yourself.
It’s a new year and I’m here to tell you, Canes305 isn’t going to play that. I will always be brutally honest regarding my feelings towards this program and the current state we’re in. But being critical of every move this staff or administration makes and judging new coaches and players nine months before the product has even taken the field?
That ain’t for me. I’m going into this thing cautiously optimistic. Not disasterously pessimistic. If that’s your take, you’re on your own there. I can’t take another year of that crap.
.:Canes305:.