I haven’t said much about the Orange Bowl debate yet, as you’ve noticed. I’ve been in ‘wait and see’ mode as I don’t feel that one man’s voice is going to make a bit of difference here. But one man’s 9:40 second video clip?
It might not change the minds of the powers that be. Money talks and decrepit old stadiums walk, I guess. Still, I hope the top brass at The U sees this and at least thinks twice before sending us to Dolphin Stadium in 2008. At least, that’s the latest rumor via Matt Hayes at The Sporting News. Miami will buy out the final year on the contract and head north next season.
A message board poster with the handle CanePhin30 recently put together a pretty sick clip of big times games won at the OB and I got rather nostalgic watching. I saw footage of games I witnessed in person as a young buck in Miami during the Decade of Dominance and the 58-home game win streak. But I also saw recent games where the Canes used every ounce of home field advantage the Horseshoe in Little Havana provided them.
All this talk about the ‘glory days’ being way behind is pure bull. Whether it was an upset over title game bound #2 UCLA in 1998… ‘The Comeback’ against Florida State in 2000 (Wide Right III)… the dismantling of Washington (65-7) in a payback game in 2001… another comeback against the Noles in 2002 (Wide Left)… a comeback against the choke Gators in 2003 (38-33)… yet one last comeback against FSU in 2004 (Frank Gore rolls in overtime, 16-10) – to hell with anyone who thinks the Orange Bowl wasn’t electric on each and every occasion.
The last two years were a fluke, not a trend. Shame on anyone who wants this stadium demolished in favor of a move north to the vapid, stale home of the Dolphins. Miami will be back. Randy Shannon – player, assistant and now head coach – will lead this team back and deserves to do so on the sacred ground where he’s been winning football games since the mid 80s.
If Miami’s higher ups want to worry about generating revenue for this program and get asses in seats, make sure this program stays successful and wins more football games. I didn’t hear anyone crying the blues about facilities, a run down stadium or money from 2000-2002 when The U was dominating.
You want to make sure the Canes have a decided advantage on game day? Give Randy time to turn it around and keep this team in the friggin Orange Bowl people.
Thank God good ol’ Greg Cote is backing the old girl in a recent column. Too bad so many others are absolutely clueless and disconnected from the real tradition which surrounds this holy program. This decision should be left to those who realize it’s a Canes thing. Not the folks who are looking to squeeze a dollar out of a dime with this ridiculous notion of moving.
For those wanting to be “heard” you can at least log on and sign the “Save The Orange Bowl” petition. It’ll most likely fall on deaf ears, but at least it allow us to speak up. Click here to do so.
Great video, Kenny. Thanks again.
.:Canes305:.
There is one problem with the save the OB campaign. I have more faith that we will one day cure cancer before the city of Miami becomes competent enough to resurrect what remains of the greatest stadium in history of Florida sports. They should have begun this project 10 years ago.
Actually money was a problem during 2000-2002, that’s why we joined the ACC. The year we won the championship, won the world series, and went deep in march madness, the Athletic department still lost money.
I am not saying leave the OB, I am just don’t envy their position either way.
I would just like to say first I love the OB and have been going there sence childhood (i am 31 and no longer live in south florida)for dolfin’s games Hurricane games even a Michael Jackson concert. But the stadium needs to go. It would be awsome to see it demoed and rebuilt on the same site with a more modern stadium that still embodies the basic atmosphere of the old OB especially the Horseshoe design. The OB atmosphere is the best the building is a Hole
This is what really pissed me off about the SHalalalal regime. It is all about the money with this bitch, and it has absolutely nothing to do with tradition. You don’t leave a stadium when it still holds the all-time home winning streak to go to a soulless stadium that’s never known a single championship.
I also blame it on the current students that know nothing of legacy. Even as recently as a few years ago when I was a student, everybody with a University of Miami ID card knew what it meant to be a Cane and knew what the OB meant. This current crop of crying pussy students with their “Ugh, these bathrooms are like SOOOO gross” attitudes know exactly jack-dick about football.
Football, especially Canes football, isn’t about skyboxes and concessions stands and clean bathrooms.
I have more faith that we will one day cure cancer before the city of Miami becomes competent enough to resurrect what remains of the greatest stadium in history of Florida sports. They should have begun this project 10 years ago.
Agreed. We’re being reactive here instead of proactive and now it’s too late. This should’ve been done a decade ago.
Actually money was a problem during 2000-2002, that’s why we joined the ACC. The year we won the championship, won the world series, and went deep in march madness, the Athletic department still lost money.
That’s exactly my point. We’ve always been “losing” money, but no one seemed to bitch about it until we started losing football games and REALLY losing money…
But the stadium needs to go. It would be awesome to see it demoed and rebuilt on the same site with a more modern stadium that still embodies the basic atmosphere of the old OB especially the Horseshoe design. The OB atmosphere is the best the building is a Hole.
If there’s not enough loot for a renovation, do you really think there’s enough to bulldoze and rebuild? I can’t see that happening unless we get into Dolphin Stadium (or get screwed by H. Wayne), hate it, buy the land from the city and rebuild… which again, would be par for the course. Reactive, not proactive.
Football, especially Canes football, isn’t about skyboxes and concessions stands and clean bathrooms.
Amen to that. That stadium is chock full of tradition. It should be a national landmark. Super Bowls. National Championship games. Presidential visits. The place should be preserved, not bulldozed.
Never went to collage , let alone the U but we have had season tickets since 1981. Had Orange Bowl
game tickets and went every year no
matter who played and it was great.
When the OB game went to Joe Robbie we went the first year and haven’t been back. The atmosphere is sterile . How will a move affect
recruiting ? Like everything else in this town it sounds like it is coming down to the dollars. If the loyal 30,000 fans begin to stay home the upfront dollars won’t mean much. Stay put, fix it a little and students quit complaining about the bathrooms
every two years when you show up for the FSU game.
The Orange Bowl obviously needs work and the City of Miami has the money to fix the structural issues. Other things like building clean air-conditioned restrooms, a modern scoreboard and some parking garages is a lot easier than fixing the horrendous sight lines of Dolphin Stadium. Dolphin Stadium is the worst place in the NFL to watch football but for those who have need them the restrooms are okay.
Am afraid there’s just NO WAY the Orange Bowl can be saved at this point. The city of Miami can never be trusted to do ANYTHING right because it is being run by a bunch of people who consider themselves “temporary” residents of the city AND the USA. They have NO allegiance and NO ties to much of anything here and never will.
Let’s face it: As much as ALL of us want the Orange Bowl saved, it’s either going to be a home for the Marlins (I doubt this happens, as the Marlins get no support here, either.) or be torn down.
If we could BUY the property, we could do what we want with it. However, the city will just rip us off and we probably can’t afford it even at a fair price. It would be nice to have our own damned stadium for once, but the Gables (which is absolutely the worst partner to a university of any college town on earth) will never allow anything close to the campus, so we have no choice. It’s gonna be Dolphins Stadium, folks..as much as the place sucks and as much as we hate the idea.
The OB, as humble as it may be, is the home of the Canes. I went to every game when I was at the U, which was before it was the U, I’ve been back for more than several games and for a few OB’s. IT IS OUR HOME FIELD AND IT IS OUR ADVANTAGE. The city has come up with some decent plans – if the Canes move to Joe Robbie the spirit will be lost, and the U will be held up for more $ downstream. We trust in Randy, now the U must trust in the OB.
Awesome video. Lord, I have goose bumps,,,,, I gotta go hit something.
I NEED SOME CANES FOOTBALL !!!!!!!
JMG
Tampa
Well all this is fine and dandy but there are a few problems. First off, of course everyone is always worried about money, if only because it costs money to give these kids scholarships, pay for the lease of the stadium, fancy new uniforms, tv spots, equipment, I’d say cooling equipment but we use the same orange POS fans I’ve been seeing since the 90’s…well you can see where I’m going anyway, this stuff costs money. Sucky for UM it’s a private school with a small alum base, smaller class, and no state funding.
All The U does have, in fact, is a lease on a stadium that, while having put their imprint/footprint/whatever on it, a city, Miami, owns and has promised renovations since I believe about the 60’s, maybe 70’s. Honestly, as much as I love the OB, as much as I enjoyed going to every home game between 1993-2004 (especially the FSU ones where they added the bleachers, pure utter football goodness nobody could deny), I really can’t blame Shalala and the University as a whole for at least looking at other options. Let’s face it, UM is getting screwed, and the city of Miami is not only making a killing off the success of Miami and not rewarding them with promised renovations, the corruption goes deeper into multiple contracts with millions having been brought (and subsequently lost) to the table (later to be found in various mayors pockets oddly enough).
So, like I said, all valid points, but money *is* unfortunately the heart of the issue here. UM is getting screwed, they need to at least let the city of Miami know they have other options, and won’t be afraid to take them if the city doesn’t get off it’s ass and complete those renovations before kickoff of the ’09 (the latest promised completion date, though it could have already been moved to 2010 by this time). Besides, with renovations (if they happen) a lot of the stadium will be closed off, making the OB not quite the OB, so in the short run, a 2 year lease with Dolphin Stadium, allowing the renovations to possibly finish quicker if there is no team needing to play in it thus halting construction once a week or so, it might not be so bad. Plus I’d love to see the U plastered on that 120 foot LCD *drools*.
The City of Miami has identified financial resources of about 200 million to restore the OB, including the toilets, concessions, structure, pedestrian and ADA access, 30 sky boxes, upgraded seating, new locker rooms and many other program items that would bring the OB back up to current collegiate standards. A nationally recognized sports design consulting team has been selected by the City and has already determined that the OB can be saved, renovated and brought back to a modern collegiate stadium, within the available financial resources.
But Shalalah and her bean counters have convinced themselves that they can make more money and have appearently decided to “Go Pro and grab the dough”
You see, JRS will have 80 sky boxes, club seating and two jumbotron screens for advertising and more concessions and and and…. a box for Queen Shalalah and her court, no doubt!
I’d like to remind Donna the Prima Donna, who appearently has little understanding of UM Football history and tradition nor for the intrinsic connection and inseparable branding of UM and the OB of a few other issues to consider before abandoning the OB.
1- A large majority of UM ALUM and Fans live south of Flagler Street and are not going to consistently make the drive to “north of nowhere”. We will vote with our feet and just say no and stay home!
2-Many of us season ticket holders stopped attending the annual Orange Bowl Game when it was moved to JRS, even with a ticket/seating priority and we’ll stop going to Hurricanes games if they move there too. Your bean counters ought to look at the attendence figures for the Dolphins and Marlins and JRS too….the place is a compromise designed stadium with bad ventilation, bad sight lines and proximaty to the field, in the middle of nowhere…..ever try to leave JRS after a game….fogetaboutit…takes an hour to get out of the parking lot and then another hour to get south to where all UM’s fans live!
3-Donna and her trustees need to realize that the success of UM is integrally tied to alumni support of it’s programs and fund raising. UM alums are also integrally tied to UM Football and its’ traditions and history. I suggest that there is a strong correllary between the success and support of UM and the success and support of Hurricanes Football. If our Football program is moved to JRS, I submit that recruiting will be far more challenging, attedance will drop, alumni will cease to support UM and the Hurricances and the program will be doomed to a gradual slide into failure as will fund raising at UM. No matter where UM Alum live, they are proud of their team and its’ traditions, atmosphere, history and their college years watching UM’s Hurricanes play and win at the OB. But make no mistake, UM fans and alumni will not want to sit at JRS, play third fiddle to the Dolphins and Marlins in a stadium that is not their own and never will be.
4-UM competes against other Florida football programs for new recruits, most all of which have or are building on-campus stadiums. FIU and FAU are building their football programs and new stadiums too. How long will it be before they start attracting prime players away from UM by touting their facilities.
5- No, we probably won’t have two Jumbotrons and only half the sky boxes and parking will still be an issue….SO WHAT! College football, our traditions, our history, our community and our Canes are not all about money!!
The OB has Tradition, History, Community, and is a Sports ICON that deserves to be saved! It’s our stadium, the home of Hurricane’s Football and let’snot forget that!
Call your buddies, write or talk to anyone that will listen and might care. Use what influence you may have and do it NOW! This decision is not going to wait. If we want to save the OB and Hurricanes Football, we must all act to influence this decision NOW!!
That’s all well and good, but there is still the teensy problem of the Hurricanes not actually owning that stadium. Not normally a problem, but when the city that does the owning is Miami (ie corrupto land) then you have quite a few big problems.
I have official confirmation, in fact, from my father that when he was attending UM (1966 was his first year by the way) many renovations were promised by the city of Miami. Since then the promises have grown to include your rather formidable list, and yet here we sit, more than forty years later, waiting, twiddling our thumbs.
The Orange Bowl is great, the city of Miami…not so much. Hell why do you think JR built that stadium and moved away from the OB in the first place, Dolphins had history there too (perfect season). Like I said, until the city of Miami smartens up and actually does something, I can’t fault Shalala, or any other part or person of the University, for checking all their options.
The idea of the Canes storming onto the field for a “home” game outside of the Orange Bowl is anathama. Generations have poured their heart and soul out defending home turf in that stadium, it’s a public space of memory and emotion and that means something, regardless of whether or not you can account for that meaning in a fiscal report. The Orange Bowl has become the Hurricane’s ancestral birthright; abandoning that would be terrible. It’s supposed to be the U family – not the U corporation; UM needs a home not a headquarters. Save the Orange Bowl!
SAVE THE ORANGE BOWL RALLY!!
Please come out to the West Endzone of the Orange Bowl Saturday August 4th at 11am. Bring signs, cold drinks, and anything to help make some noise to save our orange bowl! Please repost and let any and all Canes fans aware!
Thanks,
SaveOurOrangeBowl.org
By the time i saw this it was too late.
Who needs Luxury suits? Come on. Just put up a jumbo tron and its all good.