UM / FSU through the eyes of The Beast

There are lots of big time college football rivalries. Michigan-Ohio State. Cal-Stanford. Texas-Oklahoma. Grambling-Southern. FAU-FIU. All can make their case for the biggest, though I’ve personally never experienced a game between two teams that brings as much speed, talent and attitude to the table as the Canes and Noles going at it.

We all know Miami is a better school than Florida State, as every ranking says as much. While the Canes have more titles on the gridiron, the only program that could compete with ‘The U’ over the last three decades in the ‘swagger’ category are the Noles.

FSU are our brothers from another mother. They had Deion. We had The Playmaker. They had Derrick Brooks. We had Ray Lewis. They had Charlie. We had Gino. They had Wide Everything. We had Headset Guy. (Only true message board jocks will get that reference.)

The only time I actively root for Florida State is when they play the Florida Penal Colony in Gainesville and I can’t say I really have any hatred towards the Noles. This really is a respectful rivalry.

I grew up in Boston, so my history of the Miami / Florida State rivalry is a bit different than most of you on board since before this rivalry reached the pinnacle of college football.

While I watched all the big games on TV, my first real emotional series memory comes from 1993.

It was a cool October week up in Massachusetts and I’d already sent my application for admission off to UM. I knew unless some debacle happened I was going to be a Cane the following year, so it was the first time I wasn’t just a fan; I felt like I was part of ‘The U’.

I checked the TV Guide, found the game time and was making Saturday plans when my mom reminded me that we were attending the Bat Mitzvah of a family friend. I pleaded my case and because my parents knew how much watching this game meant to me, they allowed me to leave the event early, homebound to watch Canes / Noles.

Of course this presented a legitimate damned if I do / damned if I don’t moment. Stay at the event and miss the game or leave early, watch the game and prepare for the full-fledged Jewish guilt that would come way if doing so.

In the end I did the right thing. I left. When I turned the game on late first quarter, I was immediately regretting my decision. It was not good Mav.

Charlie Ward looked like Superman – at the time the most athletic quarterback I’d ever seen. (Gator fans, Ward was Tim Tebow while Tebow was still in diapers.) By the time my parents got home, I was sitting there with the TV off. They didn’t even have to ask who won.

A year later I was a freshman at ‘The U’ and hadn’t yet experienced a big time college football game in person. I’d seen Miami up at Chestnut Hill taking on Boston College a few times – as well as the occasional bad game at the Orange Bowl – but nothing like that night game with a rowdy, sold out crowd.

I’m a member of the Band Of The Hour, I’m marching into the Orange Bowl on a brisk October night for UM / FSU and I’m so jacked I couldn’t even feel my feet.

In the end, 34-20 and you remember how that one went. Warren Sapp dominated. Ryan Collins ran one in. Carlos Jones had that pick-six and the place exploded. Loudest game I’d ever seen.

After the game, I went back to my dorm room and jumped on the computer, though in 1994 a much different experience than today. I logged on to E-World (MacHeads know what I’m talking about) and managed to record myself doing the UM version of the Tomahawk Chop. (Hide kids before clicking here and checking it out.)

The clip became my email alert and was a hit for about 48 hours, the entire third floor of Eaton singing along. That game really set the bar for first timer.

My next “memorable” UM / FSU came in 1997. As a member of the WVUM broadcast crew, I was in Tallahassee to call this one.

Not only was this a probation year, but Miami couldn’t even get any respect in the booth. My partner Matt Greenstein and I headed north for the big game and the FSU folk weren’t expecting us, so there was no broadcast space. We wound up stuck in the end zone, which was fine, but there were no broadcast lies over there so we did it over the phone.

We wound up on a balcony in front of two FSU private boxes – one with Burt Reynolds and his people, the other with a group of sluts, err “hostesses” showing some recruits a good time.

There were only two memorable Cane-related plays in that game; the high being Duane Starks with a nice interception and the low, quarterback Scott Covington being thrashed against the goal post – not only summing up the day, but the probation era itself.

The rest of the 90s were pretty much a blur. Some solid plays (all I really remember is Santana Moss with an unbelievable catch at Doak in 1999), but two more Miami losses, eventually accounting for five straight.

A year later, the start of a great run when Miami knocked off the top-ranked defending champs. An all-time classic and rehashing it would be a waste of your time. Everyone remembers that game. I can tell you this, though. That year I served as on-sight producer for the radio broadcasts. I stood in a very, very, very, very, very cramped radio both, behind Marc Van der Meer and Joe Zagacki (DBJ was on the sideline) and made sure they read the right commercials and getting all the stats and facts they needed.

If you’ve seen that side of the OB, you can remember the radio booths were the small booths which hung off the third floor on the south side of the stadium. It was truly the most amazing place to watch a game. No one in front of you, you could see the whole field and you weren’t as high up as the scribes that were on the fifth floor of the press box. The only other better vantage point would be behind center.

When Ken Dorsey hit Jeremy Shockey on that final drive, the OB shook like nothing I’d experienced the previous six seasons. As much joy as I felt, my brain went into overdrive, contemplating the possibility that the steel would give and the radio booth was going to drop into the lower deck.

I loved the OB more than almost any other stadium (a Boston guy, I’m partial to Fenway), but that moment I cursed the old girl and held on for dear life.

Preparing for this piece, so many other off-topic Miami / Florida State stories flooded my mind. Worms in my back in Tallahassee … Went on the first date with my wife weeks before the 2004 Orange Bowl … Passing a dejected Bobby Bowden in the tunnel moments after the aforementioned 16-14 BCS bowl loss to the Canes … Senator Bob Graham in the booth for the 2001 game in Tallahassee (and having the flu that day) … missing the trip north for the 1995 contest, due to migraines. No matter the place or year, there are always a slew of memories that stick with you when this rivalry is underway. Looking forward to making some new ones this weekend.

IN OTHER NEWS: Due to technical issues, our allCanes Radio broadcast didn’t make it on the air on Wednesday night. Have no fear, it will play live on allCanes.com Friday night at 7pm ET, but if you can’t wait until then, click here.

It was a great show as I had a chance to talk to Steve Walsh, former Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell, Dan Morgan, Brandon Harris and the Miami Herald’s Michele Kaufman.

Also, in case you wake up Saturday morning and want even more of a Canes fix, I’ll have a special edition of allCanes Radio at 10am ET. Joining me on the show will be Bennie Blades, Alonzo Highsmith and Canes’ running back Mike James.

Miami / Florida State recap coming Sunday afternoon. Until then, Go CANES!!!!

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