Mutual Respect

Hello All,

As a Miami fan, there are plenty of teams I hate.

UiF…well, I don’t really need to go in to it. No one likes a pansy. This is undisputed, pure hatred.

Ohio State…they robbed us of a national title and represent everything that we hate about “The Establishment” of college football.

(As a matter of fact, we hate any team that is part of "The Establishment" and look down on any one who isn't...the Virginias and Georgia Techs and BYUs...as teams that don't belong on our field. We are unique and maybe have created a self fulfilling prophesy.)

Virginia Tech…they beat us too often and have stupid looking uniforms.

Notre Dame…they represent everything we hate about humanity AND they took us off their schedule after starting that “Catholics vs. Convicts” crap.

Penn State…they molest children (required parenthetical note: ALLEGEDLY molest children).

However, the only team that can truly be counted as a legitimate rivalry game in this day and age is Florida State.

Look at the list above. Only Virginia Tech plays us every year, and that is really the only reason they are a rival. We are in the same division of the same conference and both play at a high level (work with me people). Take away the requirement to play every year and I would go on living my life and not miss the game for a second. It is not a rivalry that stands on its own.

Florida State is the opposite.

For years we were in different conferences and yet still played every year. As of now we are in the same conference, but in opposite divisions.

This was arranged in 2004 so that the ACC could get two TV dates a year out of this rivalry: the regular season matchup and the conference championship game. They started playing the game on Labor Day oftentimes in order to ensure that whoever lost then had the rest of the season to work their way back in to the national championship conversation.

Obviously these plans have not come to roost. Both teams have struggled, for largely the same reasons. Lackluster player development and bad quarterback play have submarined both programs for almost a decade.

However, think about those plans in a vacuum. These two programs demand such respect that the conference structured its entire divisional setup and oftentimes its conference schedule to ensure that two teams who seemed to have a birthright to the BCS would be allowed to flourish unfettered.

It seems as though Miami and Florida State are forever linked. Both rose to prominence in the 80’s. Miami once won 58 straight home games and 34 straight games overall (at different times). Florida State finished 14 consecutive seasons in the top 5 of the AP Poll.












The two teams recruit the same players and have rosters full of kids who are not only friends, but sometimes family. They never stopped playing each other, even when non-conference scheduling became more about preserving your record than testing your team. Miami invented swagger; Florida State gave us Deion “Primetime” Sanders.

When it comes to Florida State, I have vitriol. I can’t stand their fans. I hate their mascot and I hate their fight song and I resent their inclusion in the Good Ol’ Boy network. I hate that they can finish a season 9-4 and be ranked #4 to start the next season EVERY YEAR. I hate that they seem to be above the law. I hate the money they have to throw around while Miami maintains mediocre facilities and a lifeless stadium 45 minutes from campus.

But at the end of the day, I respect them. They not only always play us, but they always play us tough.

These games have given us Wide Right 1, 2 and 3. They gave us Wide Left. They gave us the 2009 season opener that ended on a low pass from Christian Ponder. They gave us the 2003 Monsoon Bowl. They gave us the 2008 Monsoon Bowl. They gave us Kirby Freeman’s Drive in 2007. They gave us the overtime thriller of 2004.

Whether it is Irvin’s catch or McGahee’s run or Dorsey- to- Shockey or Sean Taylor’s Pick 6 or Ed Reed’s speech, the stars come out during Miami-FSU.

This rivalry can not only create heroes, but forever ruin seemingly talented players (I see you Chris Rix).

It is a battle for livelihood; lose this game and you have a year of living in your rival’s shadow in the national media, the local media, the ACC and in the recruiting battles of Florida, the nation’s biggest recruiting war.

The uniforms clash, as do the student bodies. It doesn’t matter what the records are. Either team could finish 1-11; as long as the 1 win was over the other, that’s a year of happiness.

It is a perfect rivalry, right up there with Alabama-Auburn and Michigan-Ohio State.

Ladies and gentleman, this is Florida State week.

Time to get the big boy pants out.

Last week I went 0-1. I am now 47-20 on the season. This week’s quick picks:

Nebraska over Penn State (+3.5)

If anything is just in the world Penn State gets crushed by about 50. I won’t go in to this because enough good takes have been offered, but the fact that Paterno is coaching this game is a traveshamockery.





NOTE: I wrote this before the fired JoePa and were still planning on having him on the sideline for the game. He obviously has been fired, and with good reason. I genuinely feel bad for the Penn State students, fans and players. I am confused as to why McQueary kept his job, but that is an entirely different blog post.





As a final point, I must say that I have never been this upset about a sports story except for the Bryan Pata / Sean Taylor killings. I legitimately have been filled with some sort of weird rage about this story the past few days. I feel like I am on a high horse, but I don't know if that is possible in this case. I may not be a father, but I have people that I love and am protective over. I can't even imagine what a parent would feel during all of this. The whole lot of these guys deserve to be run up the flag pole as high as it goes, and I don't care how old they are or how many games they've won.

USCE (-3.5) over UiF

USCW (-11.5) over Washington

Auburn over Georgia (-13.5)

UPSET SPECIAL

Boise State (-15.5) over TCU

With that, I am back to work as the hours move extra slow during this week, which might as well be the week before Christmas for a ‘Canes fan.













Can't wait to see these teams take the field Saturday. Winning is pure ecstasy. Losing is pure misery. And the best part about it? We know we'll see them again next year.

Maroon shirts and yellow britches, go to hell you sons of bitches.













Go ‘Canes, beat the hell out of FSU.