Time to stand up and defend the OB…

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:.

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