Why The Canes Need To Win Now

The rebuilding years for 'Canes Nation have suddenly turned into a brutal ‘better part of a decade’.  It's been almost seven years since the U was ranked number one in the country!  Can that be right?  To cast the dye properly, it's been seven years of slow, gradual, agonizing decline to anyone who has followed.  As of their last National Championship in 2001, the ‘Canes have consistently declined, finishing #2, #5, #11, and finally #17 in 2005.  They have not since finished a season in the top 25.  Does it get anymore linear than that?  

The fan base’s expectations have gone from National Championship, to top 10, to “come on guys, with this much talent can we please just keep this respectable”.  With the exception of 2008, every year was going to be the year Miami came back.  First it was Brock Berlin and Kellen Winslow (Heisman candidate/soldier); then it was Willie Williams and Kenny Phillips, followed by Kyle Wright, Ryan Moore, and Sam Shields (can’t miss combo).

From a recruiting standpoint the issue is not lack of glory or national prominence.  Miami has the trophies in the trophy case.  The issue is having to remind young kids (recruits) that Miami is a nationally prominent football institution.  You shouldn’t have to say it if you are, right?!  Consider this: juniors and seniors in high school now (graduating classes of 2010 and 2011) were ten or eleven when Dorsey and company were enjoying an astonishing 38-1 regular season record.  Don’t get me wrong, other than college students, eleven year olds are probably the most intuitive of fans, but what about the next wave?

  Miami needs to win now to keep current.  They need to represent the winning tradition that is fading year by year (or Micron PC Bowl by Nevada Bowl).  They need to be in the national discussion at the very least for the sake of recruiting.  

Take Notre Dame for example.  I think we can all agree that Notre Dame is gone and probably ain’t coming back.  They say it is because of educational standards (keep telling yourself that, Regis).  The reason behind the Irish’s insurmountable decline is that kids today can’t name a single person who they’ve seen play in South Bend other than Rudy.  The Irish might be on TV every week, but their following is a generation of the past rather than the future.  Ironically, the Miami legacy has to rely on its present, not its past, to preserve its future.

Right now, we are looking at a fully loaded, unpolished stable of unproven talent.  This corp. of recruits -now starters- can not be a bust as its latest predecessors have been.  The Larry Coker recruiting hierarchy is a who’s who of college football recruiting busts.  That goes specifically towards the quarterback position.  While Robert Marve has now been lumped in with Brock Berlin and Kyle Wright as a few of the biggest disappointing human beings this side of the Mississippi, Jacory Harris has been spared… so far.  While we can disagree on the opinion that a National Championship is mandatory for Harris’ resume, we can all agree that the ‘Canes desperately need to be discussed every Saturday by Lee and Kirk.    

The world has not come to an end for Hurricanes fans.  The ‘Canes still have top talent coming to Coral Gables every year.  But the kids arriving on campus now are doing so because of the memories they have of the Ed Reed/Ken Dorsey Era, not the Michael Irvin Era.  They want their college careers to be one of greatness.  They assimilate greatness and championships with the University classes that they’ve SEEN, not read about.  This group needs to refresh the memory, not for us, but for the next generation. of Miami