Dear CIS,
I'll keep this short. I need to give a friend some advice. He went to UF but grew up a huge Miami fan. He went to all the games at the OB, but he made a business decision by attending UF and it worked out pretty well for him. He naturally became a Gator fan but still remains a die hard fan of the Canes. He's having a tough time deciding who to root for him. I'm sure there are others out there like him. How can I help him?
Sincerely,
Asking for a Friend
All due respect, he must not have been a real Miami fan to begin with—as you just don't defect like that.
I grew up in Miami and went to games at the Orange Bowl starting in 1982. Left for college in 1992. Bounced around and finished my last two years at UF—starting in 1996 when they won their first national title. My second year there, the Canes bottomed out at 5-6; worst season since 1979. Even made the short drive to Tallahassee to witness Florida State destroying Miami, 47-0.
The entire time I was in Gainesville, I had a Canes tag on my car, wore my UM gear and stayed true to 'The U'. You don't *have* to become a fan of a program just because one does a few years of college there.
Look no further than the NFL. How many New York transplants wind up in South Florida and still pull for the Jets, Giants, Yanks, Mets, Knicks, et al?
I was a Canes fan for 23 years before I wound up at UF to pick up my B.A. in English. Those ties were too deep to pull for the Gators—at all—just because I earned a degree there; and again, I did it eating **** while Miami bottomed out on probation and Florida was riding high with a national title and Heisman winner (Wuerffel).
Get off the fence and pick a side. If he's "undecided" he sounds like he's hedging his bets to go bandwagon for whoever wins, so he doesn't have to take any grief from the winning side.