A Love/Hate Relationship with the Miami Hurricanes

I grew up in Massachusetts and have lived in the state all 21 years of my life, except for a semester at the University of Hawai'i (yeah, the one where Colt Brennan went). 

I have been a lifelong fan of BC because it was the next best local football team besides the Patriots and tickets were cheap to get unlike the Pats. And that guy who everyone talked about named Doug Flutie, who threw the Hail Mary to beat Miami, played for them. Also, we had a family friend whose grandson played for BC around '99 or '00, so I went to a lot of games and got to meet players and what not. 

The first time I ever got to see the Miami Hurricanes up close and in person was in September of 2003. I went all out in BC gear wearing a Doug Flutie jersey and a Boston College hat. 

The one thing that I will never forget was seeing Roscoe Parrish take a punt for something like 90 yards to paydirt. He took it from the end zone section I was sitting in and worked his magic all 90 yards to the other side. 

This was when the Hurricanes were in the Big East and just got word that they were going to be a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, along with Virginia Tech. Also, Boston College learned that the ACC stiffed them, along with Syracuse. But things eventually worked out for BC. 

That was also the year the Hurricanes had the likes of Roscoe Parrish, Frank Gore, Kellen Winslow, and Sean Taylor. They went on to win the Big East and beat FSU in the Orange Bowl. 

I will admit this much that game changed my perspective of the Hurricanes. I always had this perspective that they were a bunch of cocky showboats. Wrong. They were just plan good. It also got me interested in the Canes, and I read a book Cane Mutiny by Bruce Feldman that talked about the Hurricanes history and some of their best years in the game which helped me give the Canes even more respect. 

I rooted for the Canes the year before when they lost that awful National Championship game to the Ohio State Buckeyes along with when they beat Florida State. I will also root for the Canes this year if they make it to a BCS game. The only exception is if they meet Boston College in the ACC Championship game.

Miami will always be a team that people remember whether you hate them or love them. 

I will always have respect for the "U".