Bryan Pata “Banner Guys” Talk Thanksgiving In OB

We received an email from Rory Ellis and the “Orange Revolution” guys a few days after Thanksgiving and wanted to post.

The Orange Revolution was an effort to get Canes fans to wear orange to home games, starting with Virginia Tech on Homecoming. Miami played two road games the following weeks and the next home game was Thanksgiving night. In the wake of the Bryan Pata murder, fans opted for white as a way to show their respect.

Ellis and his crew again stepped up, this time raising almost $3,000 for Jeanette Pata and family. A few dollars of that donation money was put aside in an effort to create several banners honoring Pata in what would’ve been his final home game and run through the tunnel.

Below is a photo of the guys with one of their banners; the one which made ESPN and was taken to midfield by a handful of Miami players, as they honored Pata.

Check out Rory’s email below:

Damn man, I must tell you what a night Paul, Jason, and I had Thanksgiving in that stadium. We were treated with such respect and gratitude. Everyone there – players, coaches, staff, security, fans, etc. – helped in every way they could. Getting us in early, keeping people clear ofthe signs, thanks, recognition, etc. Watching people go up to the banners through out the game to pose for pictures and pay their respects, shaking people’s hands, being greeted as “the banner guys” – it made all the hard work worth it.
Just before the end of the game, we made our way back to the WEZ to take them down and give them to Bryan’s brother, as had been prearranged. However, we saw Anthony Reddick leading a group of players who were making their way over to us and pointing at the banner with Bryan’s picture on it. I damn near lost my composure. These guys just won a huge game and all they wanted to do was memorialize their fallen brother.

They all asked us (kindly, I might add) if they could take that banner to the field. Obviously, we gave it to them and they couldn’t thank us enough. The look in their eyes and the emotion on their faces was unforgettable; they didn’tneed to say a word.

As we were giving the other four to Bryan’s brother Edwin, our cellphones began to erupt. Family and friends all well aware of what we did with the banners were telling us our efforts were being shown all over the ESPN broadcast and SportsCenter, for the world to see.

Still, the most important calls were from Edwin and earlier from Bryan’s mother. They truly made everything we did just that much more important. These people were grateful for the donation, but they were very proud of the way their son’s memory was able to be shown to people all across the nation. Man, what an epic moment!

When we got together to pull this thing off, it started as just a simple idea. Ideas were thrown out left and right. From airplane banners to digital displays onthe Goodyear blimp. All seemed to have their limitations. Then this banner idea was put out there. It seemed so simple, yet the effect felt monumental.

I’ve done a few good things in my life and so have the people who helped out with the project. But this takes the cake. We’re proud of what we did, we’re very proud of these players and we’re proud to be Miami Hurricanes.

Thank you for the mention on your blog and the pics on your MySpace page. I’ll send you some more pics soon of us setting these things up. – Rory Ellis

Great job, guys. Damn shame we don’t have more fans like you.

.:Canes305:.

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C. Bello

Longtime Miami Hurricanes columnist. Wrote for CanesTime.com, Yahoo! Sports and former BleacherReport featured columnist. Founder of allCanesBlog.com no longer toeing any company line. Launched ItsAUThing.com to deliver a raw, unfiltered and authentic perspective of all things "The U".