And Now For Something Completely Different

I hope I never made any promises about sticking to a strict diet of basketball-based entries.  If I did, I apologize, because I'm about to deviate from that path. I'm not sure how many times this will happen over the lifetime of this blog, but after tonight's performance by the Hurricane Football Team, I believe it necessary to shift focus...at least for a few paragraphs.

Finally arriving at Dolphin Stadium for a Canes football game is always a great feeling.  There are the outrageous traffic jams on US-1 that turn a half-hour drive into a two-hour one.  There are the complaints from people who have to take a piss for the entirety of the painful journey.  And of course, there are the mandatory turn-arounds to head back home because some knucklehead forgot something they deem absolutely necessary for the tailgate.  By the time you finally step out of the car, you could care less what happens in the game - you already feel on top of the world.

It was a different feeling today as I began to walk around the parking lot.  I've always found watching countless underage freshman girls getting arrested at fraternity tailgates to be pretty comical, and I'm not quite sure why.  More so than the rent-a-cops busting keggers, however, the excitement on the faces of the oldtimers tailgating was something of a revelation. These men had been here through thick and thin, through Schnellenberger and Johnson, through Davis and Coker, and they looked as young as college students speaking enthusiastically about their predictions in between bites of kielbasa and sips of Coors Light.  If they believed, why shouldn't I?

Once into the stadium, a group of Miami football '09 recruits sat scattered in the section.  The presence of Bryce Brown, Olivier Vernon, Luther Robinson and Jared Wheeler only amplified my intense excitement.  I hoped for their sakes (and mine) the Canes would put on quite a show on ESPN. 

I think the same basic feeling dawned on most of the fans by the time kickoff rolled around: this was it.  This was the last home game of the soon-to-be famous season when Randy the Great turned the program around.  This was the last time, at least in person, that most would be able to see Marve or Jacory throw a missile, Sean Spence make a bone-crunching tackle, or Travis Benjamin return a kick-off and rhetorically ask the person sitting next to them, "Can you believe he's only a freshman?"  This really was it.  

The Canes beat Virginia Tech 16-14 thanks in large part to the performance of those freshmen studs.  Highlights?  Marcus Robinson registered three sacks in the game, Spence made countless key tackles, and Marve led his team to victory.  While it certainly wasn't a beautiful game to watch, the end concept was simple.  The Canes won another football game.   

Although the stadium certainly was not as full as many had hoped, those who were present for the Canes seventh victory of the season witnessed a team full of resiliency and pride.  The post-game celebration and singing of the Alma Mater brought one idea to the forefront: the patented USwagger is back.

Congratulations to the Canes on their hard-fought and well-deserved win.  

Now guess what?  It's basketball season in Coral Gables.