Ode to the Orange Bowl
Monday, October 6th, 2008
With a deep freshman recruiting class, young menacing defense and a quarterback of the future in place, the University of Miami football team’s swagger looks to be storming back. Just wait a couple more years until a Hurricanes advisory is issued. But as “The U” took the field this fall, a sentimental cringe swept across South Florida, affecting the highs of Miami’s loyalists as if they had just lost their grandfather. Well, that ancestor was the Orange Bowl (pictured), when, after 70 years as the Hurricanes’ home base, the stadium was demolished this summer. While personally watching the Florida State Seminoles escape a last-minute Hurricanes surge on Saturday, 41-39, at Dolphin Stadium, I started writing an ode to the Orange Bowl, feeling that the Canes’ boat had been rocked and flipped.
If you’ve ever experienced a Miami vs. Florida State game, you know that no matter how big the point discrepancy is going into the fourth quarter, the contest will be decided in the closing minute; historically, usually on a Seminoles’ field goal, which has soared either wide left or wide right in years past. This was precisely the dialogue at halftime on Saturday, as the Seminoles were leading overwhelmingly, 24-3, when a garnet and gold fan turned to me and said, “It’s not over yet. If this game gets close and comes down to a field goal, it won’t be in our favor.”
Creative offensive play calling by the Hurricanes in the second half through a torrential downpour captivated a surreal comeback. You could say that when the rain picked up, the Hurricanes were closing in. But with less than a minute remaining, one gap in the middle of the Canes’ defense led to a Seminoles rushing touchdown and the final score, 41-39. While struggling to walk down the aisle with rain goblets dripping in my eyes, I overheard one Hurricanes’ fan say, “I hope Dolphin Stadium hasn’t cursed us.”
Later that evening, reflecting on the Orange Bowl, now laid to rest in ashes, I revisited the ode. Here’s how the pen finished on the page:
Ode to the Orange Bowl
Little Havana now desolate without its most famous domino,
As Miami’s historic game piece has been smashed apart to rubble.
For 70 years Hurricanes’ fans flocked to the Orange Bowl to witness virtuosos,
Even with the Boston College miracle or Florida International scuffle,
The chant of C-A-N-E-S remained a timeless trademark within the U-shaped vicinity.
Jim Kelly to Vinny Testaverde to Ken Dorsey made “Quarterback U,”
Warren Sapp to Ray Lewis to Sean Taylor made “The U’s” greatest hits soundtrack,
Wide left, wide right, wide left added pizzazz to the gridiron glitterati,
In the end five national titles and the most NCAA graduates making the pro move.
Now Dolphin Stadium beckons the Canes’ orange and green pack.
20 years ago it was the other way around,
The Canes were the Orange Bowl host and let the Dolphins in with their cleats.
Sure 1972 was sweet for the undefeated ‘Fins around town,
But from 1985 to 1994, Miami maintained a record 58-game home winning streak.
How the Hurricanes entered every game left everyone smitten,
Through a cloud of smoke, the structural steel of the stadium rattled like a noisy tantrum,
Set against a tropical backdrop of Miami’s skyline and palm trees green.
The Orange Bowl never was known for its suite additions,
Paint peeling away like a Sunshine State orange and rust running rampant,
But the Hurricanes’ success elevated the prestige of its aged coliseum.
Closing Remarks
Nowadays, stadium development has become a greater appetite in sports. Call it the Denny’s Grand Slam breakfast of sports, if you will. The hunger to increase revenue streams through a revamped facility is happening from high school to the pro level, and around the world. So moving from the Orange Bowl to the expanded Dolphin Stadium was a business decision, a wider passageway to $2 million in additional revenue, as the university forecasts, each season. But, ironically, for Hurricanes fans Dolphin Stadium is too big and its seats are set too far back from the field compared to the Orange Bowl. Although Miami is a top-tier football program, every home game should feel like a “Friday Night Lights” high school game because many of the players are homegrown South Floridians. Also since FSU and Florida have an on-campus stadium, it’s about time Miami gets one. Until then, there’s one high note with the Canes’ new stage: louder chants!
WE GOT SOME CANES OVER HERE… WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Photo credit: Miamibeach411.com
