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R.I.P. Connie Nickel

TheOriginalCane

TheOriginalCane

So say good night to the bad guy!
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I know a lot of folks won't know who this is, so allow me to 'splain.

Connie had a number of roles in the Athletic Department over the years. But perhaps the one thing she did that was most impactful to what we see/know today was to instruct the UM cheerleaders (back in the late 1980s) to teach the student section how to do "The U" with their hands.

Hyper-sensitive Tad Foote was not happy when TV cameras and microphones recorded the UM student section doing a middle-finger chop/warchant whenever the F$U band would play that annoying song. So we needed a TV-friendly alternative.

Enter...the Star Wars "Imperial March" and the two-handed (using all 10 fingers) "U" symbol that we know and love to this day. Connie instructed the cheerleading squads (varsity, JV, and the SunSations) to do the "U" hand signal instead of the middle-finger chop.

And for the love of god, ignore anyone who tries to claim credit for inventing this.

R.I.P., Connie.

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RIP.
The Imperial march came a few years before the “U”, didn’t it?

On a similar note, did anyone catch the announcer last year, might have been Herbstreit, claiming some other team invented the four fingers up for 4th qtr?
What’s next? Claiming The Smoke as well?
 
ICANEDOIT said:
RIP to Connie and with all due respect, but Bill "Tigger" Tigano came up with the hand gesture for the U that we all know.
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He did not. He claims credit for it, but he did not come up with it.

And for the record, Michael Irvin was doing the thumbs/forefingers only version of the U well before Bill Tigano started claiming credit for the modern version.
 
RF-4CCane said:
RIP.
The Imperial march came a few years before the “U”, didn’t it?

On a similar note, did anyone catch the announcer last year, might have been Herbstreit, claiming some other team invented the four fingers up for 4th qtr?
What’s next? Claiming The Smoke as well?
Click to expand...


Imperial March was around, but our Marching Band (my roommate was in it) was instructed to play the music whenever F$U played the warchant.

As for the 4 fingers, yes, F$U did it once in the 1970s, but did not make it a habit or tradition. Miami made the 4 fingers mean something.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Imperial March was around, but our Marching Band (my roommate was in it) was instructed to play the music whenever F$U played the warchant.

As for the 4 fingers, yes, F$U did it once in the 1970s, but did not make it a habit or tradition. Miami made the 4 fingers mean something.
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Got it.
 
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ICANEDOIT said:
I was there. He did. You don't have to agree with me, but the University even recognizes him for this. It is OK for you to be wrong.
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UM does not recognize him for this. He just keeps claiming credit for it.

I was there too. He and Val were the two male cheerleaders, so they were the ones most closely associated with it. And Val is no longer with us.
 
My mother knew her well, as she was the secretary for the Director of Admissions for over 25 years...she worked hand in hand with Connie and the Athletic Department in getting all our athletes through.

She also passed away several years ago. RIP to Connie. Most of the old guard from our glory years are gone now
 
certifiedgoon said:
My mother knew her well, as she was the secretary for the Director of Admissions for over 25 years...she worked hand in hand with Connie and the Athletic Department in getting all our athletes through.

She also passed away several years ago. RIP to Connie. Most of the old guard from our glory years are gone now
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If your mom is who I think she is (I was P-100), my condolences.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
UM does not recognize him for this. He just keeps claiming credit for it.

I was there too. He and Val were the two male cheerleaders, so they were the ones most closely associated with it. And Val is no longer with us.
Click to expand...

History reveals iconic ‘U’ logo’s meaning - The Miami Hurricane

There are thousands of universities across the nation but only one gets to be The U. From the creation of the split-U logo to the forthcoming installation of the U statue on campus, the U identity has influenced culture at the University of Miami in a variety of ways. Here’s a look at how U
themiamihurricane.com themiamihurricane.com
 
Speaking of the “U”.
Anyone remember during the Virginia sniper serial killings, one of our guys (ForensicCane), who was a friend of mine on and off Board, was interviewed on CNN, believe it was Larry King.

Anyways he told me before the interview that he was going to try and sneak in the “U”. Sure enough, he did it at the end of the interview. 😂
 
ICANEDOIT said:

History reveals iconic ‘U’ logo’s meaning - The Miami Hurricane

There are thousands of universities across the nation but only one gets to be The U. From the creation of the split-U logo to the forthcoming installation of the U statue on campus, the U identity has influenced culture at the University of Miami in a variety of ways. Here’s a look at how U
themiamihurricane.com themiamihurricane.com
Click to expand...


That article was written over 20 years after the fact, by someone who did zero fact-checking.

Hey, if I talk to a reporter and claim that I invented it, and nobody checks, will I be credited too?

The "U" hand gesture was a coordinated effort between the cheerleaders and the marching band. My roommate was in the band, I know they were instructed to play the music whenever F$U did the warchant. It wasn't Bill Tigano doing it all by himself.
 
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TheOriginalCane said:
That article was written over 20 years after the fact, by someone who did zero fact-checking.

Hey, if I talk to a reporter and claim that I invented it, and nobody checks, will I be credited too?

The "U" hand gesture was a coordinated effort between the cheerleaders and the marching band. My roommate was in the band, I know they were instructed to play the music whenever F$U did the warchant. It wasn't Bill Tigano doing it all by himself.
Click to expand...
Tigano’s got some Elon in him
 
TheOriginalCane said:
That article was written over 20 years after the fact, by someone who did zero fact-checking.

Hey, if I talk to a reporter and claim that I invented it, and nobody checks, will I be credited too?

The "U" hand gesture was a coordinated effort between the cheerleaders and the marching band. My roommate was in the band, I know they were instructed to play the music whenever F$U did the warchant. It wasn't Bill Tigano doing it all by himself.
Click to expand...
So, in conclusion, it wasn’t Bill Titans doing it all by himself.
This may call for D$ & Pete digging through the archives and retaining some investigative reporters. Call in the fact-checkers.
 
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