The Beast : Homecoming 2010

So you can get in the mood for this blog, a little “Homecoming” by Kanye. Let it run in the background while you read away.

There’s been a lot of Canes bashing everywhere you look these past few weeks and with homecoming on deck this weekend, I want to take a time out from all that. It’s so easy to get caught up in the game in, game out highs and lows that the bigger picture gets forgotten.

I could sit here and use this space to break down what Maryland will throw at Miami tomorrow. I could tell you how their defense will blitz from every direction possible and how freshman quarterback Stephen Morris will have his work cut out for him identifying those blitzes in his first career start and without the aid of veteran running back Damien Berry, sidelined with an injury.

I could keep going on about the pressure Randy Shannon remains under, how the offense isn’t working under Mark Whipple, how the defense needs to step up and how Matt Bosher needs to make extra points.

I could go there, but I won’t as it’s not the time. There are more important things to talk about today.

I won’t go into my whole story again, but I’ll remind you that my entire life up until I graduated high school was all about going to college at the University of Miami. Yes, I grew up passionate regarding Canes football, but as someone who spent a lot of time in Coral Gables as a kid, I wanted to be more than just a ‘fan’.

Of all of my accomplishments in this life – outside of finding a wife and fathering a son – earning my degree from UM ranks number one on my list.

Covering five Super Bowls. Broadcasting from two national championship games, several bowl games, multiple College World Series, basketball tournaments and conducting interviews with athletes / personalities that most people would pay to be around. It’s nothing compared to being able to say Brian London, University of Miami Class of 1998.

I know ‘The U’ is somewhat of an enigma. The majority of UM fans didn’t go to school there, which is fine. But I did, so I tend to look at things a bit differently than those of you who didn’t.

For me, my relationship with this university goes beyond what section I used to sit in at the Orange Bowl. I’ll just as quickly identify with locales like The Rat, The Rock, The Stacks at Richter, The Memorial Building, The Merrick Building, The Ashe Building, Eaton Residential, Pearson-Mahoney Cafeteria, the food court, bowling alley, UC, Learning Center, et al.

It’s homecoming on the UM campus and while we might not match the grandeur of Gator Growl, I wouldn’t miss being a part of this week for the world.

Just thinking about standing on the shores of Lake Oceola, surrounded by thousands of fellow alum, holding candles, singing the Alma Mater after the “Boat Burning” – it gives me goosebumps.

I can’t wait to soak some suds at The Rat with my fellow band geeks and can’t wait to catch up with the former WVUM jocks at Alumni Avenue.

I’m jacked up to see Lauryn Hill perform and can’t wait to catch Alonzo Highsmith Sr. as the grand marshall of the homecoming parade.

‘The U’ is my university and even if you didn’t attend UM, everyone fan has somewhat adopted this program as theirs. Yes, we all lose it when this football team underperforms and go crazy when the Canes dominate and while it’s normal to get emotional, we have to keep things in perspective. This is OUR U, even if don’t have a degree from UM.

Don’t you think that despite what we’re all going through – or what we will go through – that the good still doesn’t greatly outweigh the bad?

Losing to a Virginia is as much part of the process as kicking the crap out of Nebraska in front of a sea of red in the Rose Bowl.

I can live with the recent throttling by Florida State, because I draw from the Wide Rights, Wide Left and other huge Saturdays where Miami came out on top.

I can deal with a lackluster performance at Duke because I think back to upsetting No. 2 UCLA behind a very inspired effort.

The great moments more than outweigh the bad ones and this program has brought all of us more entertainment and joy in two decades than most fans experience in a lifetime.

Did you catch first-year Virginia coach Mike London crying after his team pulled the upset last weekend? For Cavaliers fans, their win against an average Miami team was a signature, season-defining win. When UM gets ‘signature’ wins, there’s usually a championship trophy involved.

Times are a bit tough right now, but I’m not giving up on my school. I may not agree with some of these coaching decisions or lack of effort, but I’ll be there front and center Saturday morning, tailgating and wearing my colors proud.

I’m driving up to Atlanta on my own dime next weekend because I refuse to miss a potentially great experience and Canes-themed road trip. (I may want to put my head through a wall if we can’t stop the run, but I bleed orange and green regardless of the end result.)

For those of you who can, I urge you to take the same approach. Don’t stop going to games and don’t stop supporting this program. Now isn’t the time to turn your back on OUR U, which has been pretty good to all of us over the years.

IN OTHER NEWS: Some post-show notes from Wednesday night. If you missed the most recent edition of allCanes Radio, it was a good one worth checking out. We managed to pull K.C. Jones out of the Titanic Restaurant & Brewery next door. The former center was very candid, as were Rocky McIntosh and Santana Moss, who I also chatted up earlier in the week for the broadcast.

– Basketball season is upon us and I really think the men’s squad is going to surprise this year. Tickets are dirt cheap. Season tickets are $99, which comes out to about $6 per game. You absolutely can’t beat it and I encourage everyone to get out there to support this squad.

– I’ve got some good info on the football program as far as donors, their feelings, etc. but I’ll sit on that for now and we’ll discuss after Saturday’s game. Stay tuned.

– Don’t forget that we can interact on game day via the allCanes Radio Twitter feed and Facebook page. You can also email questions that I’ll answer during the game.

– Lastly, anyone do some good breakfast tailgating? Drop me a line as I’d love to drop by to meet up with some of you.

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