Off The Grid, But It’s Still A Canes Thing

Over two months and not a legitimate peep here at allCanesBlog.com. Zero spring football coverage. No talk about the gritty effort by a basketball team in rebuild mode. Nothing about baseball and a stellar late-season run that put “The U” atop the ACC.

The absence had nothing to do with writer’s block and everything to do with life circumstances and full-fledged burnout, fueled by overkill.

My apologies to any long-time readers who felt abandoned during the flushing-out process as that certainly wasn’t the intent. It just sort of happened as half-a-year of intensely covering University of Miami football as a featured columnist for Bleacher Report eventually took its toll.

The end result—a desire to distance myself from the 24/7 sports news cycle and forced content / manufactured stories when there’s little to report.

When the phone call came in last August, the opportunity to write for the third-largest sports website was met with sheer enthusiasm (as well as validation) having covered “The U” in my own rogue way for upwards of 17 seasons.

A major media player was willing to pay me for something I once did for free—while offering exposure, a larger audience and a potential stepping stone to something bigger. I found myself both humbled and enthusiastic as a sportswriter for the first time in forever.

I also welcomed the exercise in discipline—something this Type-B personality more than needed.

Working with an editor, pitching stories, having ideas shot down and dealing with a word count—all would force me to flex a muscle that had gone relatively unused over the years, answering to myself as a one-man for too long.

While the overall process helped me become a more-focused writer, the experience itself inevitably pushed me past a point of no return.

Miami’s 9-4 run, coupled with some frustrating losses and upwards of a decade of on-the-field disappointment certainly didn’t help, either—but it was deeper than that. A passion became a paycheck and slowly turned a labor of love into a nerve-wracking task; especially on Saturdays—now the busiest workday, opposed to congregating with friends and family, soaking up the game.

Writing about the Canes was once a release, dating back to the mid-nineties when things were unraveling and probation was taking its toll on Miami. Message boards and U-themed sites were a place where fans congregated to celebrate the program’s success, or to make sense of it’s failures.

Fans of “The U” weren’t used to three-loss seasons and showed up online to work through things. There were no haters, slurpers or trolls—just passionate folks seeking answers.

That process itself helped make the Canes’ resurgence much more meaningful.

Four straight BCS appearances, back-to-back title games, one national championship and a 34-game win-streak—it almost served as validation for those who invested so much in what were seemingly new online communities, leading to new gameday and tailgaiting friendships.

Some of that may come off a bit old-dickish and codgery, but it’s not an indictment on then-versus-now. It’s truly a stand-alone statement about a change in the culture of sports fandom and a personal desire to be less invested in the process—especially after a seven-month run of over-involvement.

Moving forward, the modus operandi at allCanesBlog is simple—write when the orange and green spirit moves me. Keep it authentic. Enjoy the process.

There are enough other sites out there to quench the thirst for those overly concerned with potential signees for the 2016 recruiting class or fueling a quarterback controversy six months prior to kickoff.

Embarrassingly enough I penned some pieces of that nature during bye weeks last fall or the off-season and each new article rang hollow, feeling more forced than the last.

The B/R experience went on hiatus after recruiting season—with Miami’s small fan base not large enough to warrant having a paid writer on staff. It felt like a blow at first, but within days was proved to be a blessing in disguise.

I was afforded the opportunity to continue writing during the off-season—holding on to my “featured columnist” title—though there wouldn’t be any compensation for the efforts.

I marveled at the Milton Waddams-like lunacy surrounding that statement—chalking it up as one reason to explore other ventures, pulling away from a zero-accountability sports media universe that has rubbed me wrong for longer than I care to admit.

Forever grateful for the opportunity, exposure and being pushed as a writer—though the biggest gift itself is the overkill which caused the burnout. It made a difficult decision that much easier.

Write when there’s something to write about and invest elsewhere when there’s not.

To that point specifically, a hearty congratulations to Miami’s baseball squad for a stellar second-half surge that deserves praise and recognition.

The Hurricanes wrapped the regular season 40-15 after taking 2-of-3 against North Carolina over the weekend—something few would’ve predicted late March when the Canes sat at 13-12, after dropping a series to Virginia and losing to the likes of Central Florida, Stetson and Bethune-Cookman in the days and weeks prior.

Miami now enters this week’s ACC tournament at the number-one seed and it’s a story of redemption for a program that has struggled for years. College World Series appearances used to be a gimmie but the Hurricanes haven’t been since 2008.

There’s also been the sub-plot regarding head coach Jim Morris—who many have soured on and have wanted to see replaced. Morris’ contract goes through 2015, meaning next year looks to be his last, adding a sense of urgency as the Canes have two shots at Omaha on the long-time skipper’s watch.

Closing the regular season 27-3 with a maligned long-time head coach and following Miami’s resurgence—that’s a cure for burnout and something a frustrated fan base can cling to as the Hurricanes work towards relevance in football and basketball next season.

Coming up with three keys to beating Savannah State or drumming up bye-week hype; not at this stage of the game. Too many other ways to fill life’s queue.

Looking forward to the future here at allCanesBlog.com and remain appreciative to the loyal readers who have been on board since the Grassy.com and CanesTime era.

The new approach may be different, it’ll always remain a Canes thing. — CB

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