Miami is gearing up to take on Nevada in a few hours and your friendly neighborhood blogger Canes305 couldn’t make the trek to the arctic northwest. Duty called in Scottsdale, AZ and I headed to the desert instead.
While us Canes fans are still trying to wrap our arms around another lesser bowl game, blue turf and snow my writer pal and Miami native Dizzy D headed to Boise for business, pleasure and frankly, to help a brother out.
Below, Dizzy rants about his Miami to Boise journey yesterday:
Blogging From Boise: A Journey Into The Belly of The Blue
After enduring a 20-hour, six-city, four-flight trek from Miami to Boise (don’t ask why, it’s really not that important or interesting), our intrepid writer arrived in The Fair City of Trees at approximately 11:45 p.m. local time.
The two-hour prop plane flight from Los Angeles International Airport was not nearly as bad as expected, though the complimentary glass of merlot on said flight was every bit as awful as could be imagined.
The local weather, while indeed cold, was not the bone-jarring, snot-solidifying blast of arctic air that had been feared. Sure, it was in marked contrast to the record-setting heat and humidity of Miami on Christmas Eve, but then again, everything else about Boy-see is worlds removed from Mee-yami (though believe it or not, we did note a few rather attractive Latinas in Boise).
Upon checking into The Red Lion Hotel in Boise’s “downtown”, we were shocked to notice a few clusters of orange, green and white balloons, one of them even accompanied by a picture of Sebastian The Ibis. We also noted that a few of the meeting rooms were marked “University of Miami.”
Could it be? Could The Mighty Men Of The U be staying here, at The Red Lion? Would this be the den they would hole up in before roaring across town to “The Blue” and mauling the overmatched, mangy Wolfpack?
Apparently, not. The U, it turned out, was staying at something called The Grove. Fans, apparently, have taken over The Red Lion. Or at least established a minor beachhead here. Perhaps this is why, we reasoned, we heard the following exchange at the hotel bar, mysteriously dubbed “Characters”:
Very White Patron: “So, are you sick of all the Miami fans yet?”
Very White Bartender: “I’m sick of the players.”
We think this is the conversation that took place, but then again, we were a little punch-drunk, what with the ridiculous all-day travel itinerary and the lingering sinus infection and the requisite nightcap to a rather brutal Saturday.
Also unlike Miami, everything closes in Boise at 2 a.m. Yes, even included Characters. Last call came and went, and as we made the slow amble back to our surprisingly well-appointed room, we couldn’t help but smile when we saw those meeting rooms reserved for The University of Miami.
It may be dozens of degrees colder. It may be thousands of miles away. It may be infinitely smaller. But Boise, while not Miami, appears to possess, at least for a few days, a little bit of The Miami Flavor.