When did you become a Hurricanes fan?

[GOCANES05]

I was raised with family of Jack Harding former Hurricanes coach and Papa Nick Chickillo former Cane players family . I was born 1957 so I figure first really knowing was around mid 60’s .

I’ve been Blessed to have broke bread and yes slammed some world record beer fest known man with many Cane alumni to remain nameless.

One serious ankle injury left me behind from joining my friends in history.

GOCANES

 

[SWFLHurricane]

I was raised with family of Jack Harding former Hurricanes coach and Papa Nick Chickillo former Cane players family . I was born 1957 so I figure first really knowing was around mid 60’s .

I’ve been Blessed to have broke bread and yes slammed some world record beer fest known man with many Cane alumni to remain nameless.

One serious ankle injury left me behind from joining my friends in history.

GOCANES

I've tilted back so many with former UM Greats i'm surprised i'm alive....Lol

 

[GOCANES05]

I've tilted back so many with former UM Greats i'm surprised i'm alive....Lol

EPIC LOLOL

 

[skillydoo]

Growing up in Oklahoma I hated the Sooner nation. I was always on the OSU side. I actually have a Jimmy Johnson autograph from 1982. All we saw out here was Big 8 football. I loved watching the Neb OU rivalry. The 1983 Orange Bowl is where The U helmets, colors and swagger caught my eye. Jimmy Johnson to the U in 1984 and I was a full on Miami fan. Those games against OU were epic for me. After that, EVERY time someone would score on Miami my phone would ring off the wall. That finally subsided in the 90's somewhere. I loved the Canes so much I packed the girlfriend and cat in a uhaul and moved to Miami in 89 to 92. Man those FSU games were epic as well. I still wear orange and green every day really. Still get looks and comments out in public. My boy finally started noticing that. Can't wait to play OU again.

 

[clg003]

Dad had season tickets in the 70s. Would get to go to few a year starting in maybe 77. Remember being able to easily walk down to the bottom of the OB to try and catch mini footballs from the cheerleaders when I was like 6 or 7.

 

[TheMatador]

@TheMatador ....I was in attendance....Penn Sts FG Kicker Franco missed 3 or 4 FGs Thank God...I remember it was rainy....even raining going to the game heading down Alligator Alley....

Just for the information of many on this board who think I was making a racial statement, our starting two WRs on that team were Brodsky (son of coach Joe Brodsky) and Mike Rodrigue, a converted QB from up in the panhandle. They were not known for speed, but there other skills as receivers.

They called themselves The Average White Boys, an obvious reference to a very popular R&B/bluesy musical group of the time, The Average White Band.

Brodsky was also nicknamed the Jerusalem Cowboy, because he was part-****** and used to hang out in country-and-western bars.

 

[TheMatador]

Growing up in Oklahoma I hated the Sooner nation. I was always on the OSU side. I actually have a Jimmy Johnson autograph from 1982. All we saw out here was Big 8 football. I loved watching the Neb OU rivalry. The 1983 Orange Bowl is where The U helmets, colors and swagger caught my eye. Jimmy Johnson to the U in 1984 and I was a full on Miami fan. Those games against OU were epic for me. After that, EVERY time someone would score on Miami my phone would ring off the wall. That finally subsided in the 90's somewhere. I loved the Canes so much I packed the girlfriend and cat in a uhaul and moved to Miami in 89 to 92. Man those FSU games were epic as well. I still wear orange and green every day really. Still get looks and comments out in public. My boy finally started noticing that. Can't wait to play OU again.

Interesting, I remember watching the OSU 1983 team in a bowl game. I had no idea that most of that coaching staff would end end up at UM a few months later. I didn’t pay much attention, just had a vague recollection that the OSU team emphasized speed. That made sense because I remember JJ being surprised and concerned when he observed that our 1984 UM defense was slower than he expected or liked.

 

[TheMatador]

Dad and my middle brother are diehard Gators.

Uncle and my oldest brother are diehard Noles.

If any of y'all got a contrarian younger sibling, y'know the deal.

Saw us beat the University of Tampa in a thriller at the original Tampa Stadium back in '74.

That was that.

Who was playing for Tampa back then? Leon McQuay? Matuszak? Freddie Solomon? They had some good players then disappeared from college football.

 

[TheMatador]

1966. My dad was a UGA alum and he got tickets for the UM vs #1 UGA through the local UGA booster club. We were sitting in the visitor section and here I am with my waving my UM pendant and cheering on the Canes at the top of my lungs. What did I know, I'm just a kid.
Anyway Canes defeat #1 UGA 7-6 and I become a Canes fan for life. I can only assume my Dad's intention was to indoctrinate me to be a UGA fan, but the opposite happened.

One of my favorite eras, the second half of the ‘60’s. For several years, we had some very stout defenses, with the Stork, Bob Tatarek, Tony Cline, maybe Gene Trosch, a bunch of others...can’t remember them all. We had some trouble putting together a highly-potent offense. Maybe we didn’t have great QBs or OLs. We had some stud RBs in Vince Opalsky and then Bobby Best. I remember Vince being injured more than we would have liked. I think modern day medicine/surgery and rehab might have seen him back faster.

 

[TheMatador]

I was raised with family of Jack Harding former Hurricanes coach and Papa Nick Chickillo former Cane players family . I was born 1957 so I figure first really knowing was around mid 60’s .

I’ve been Blessed to have broke bread and yes slammed some world record beer fest known man with many Cane alumni to remain nameless.

One serious ankle injury left me behind from joining my friends in history.

GOCANES

When did you stop playing? Did you ever matriculate at UM?

 

[TheMatador]

We started beating good teams and won 3 national championships during the Eighties. Before that we had several great players, but never a great program.

No, but some very good top ten teams.

 

[TheMatador]

Born in 99 so I haven’t gotten to attend the great games like some of you guys but been going to home games since 2008.

But you can, and should, study UM football history. Look for some of Jim Martz’ books on the internets.

 

[miamimarine]

My parents got the general admission family pass starting in 1984. I eventually attended UM after high school and what most of us here witnessed was greatness. I had season tix after school until I left for OCS.

Semper Canes!!!

 

[TheMatador]

First football game I ever attended live was the U vs Auburn they were the War Eagles then and had a big ole eagle mascot that freaked us kids out. But the Canes had the Mad Stork Ted Hendricks and as a 9 year old I thought that was cool. The Canes had winning seasons in 1966 and 67 and I was hooked. It was rough sledding after that but there were a few greats in between like Chuck Foreman, OJ Anderson, Silky Sullivan, Burgess Owens, Tony Christiani, Dennis Harrah, Gary Dunn, Eddie Edwards, and my neighbor John Turner. To this day I think it was Lou Saban who brought the Canes back because he really focused on recruiting locally which Schnellenberger ran with and the rest is history.

I agree with the statement about Saban. I’ve talked to at least one longtime UM fan who was very knowledgeable about the program. She said that we would have won a NC sooner with Saban. She said he could get any recruit he wanted. She was the wife of a former UM player and, based on my conversation, I think she really knew her stuff.

 

[TheMatador]

My parents were season tickets before I was born (82’) so I guess I was born into this. I was raised going to the OB since I was in diapers and attending Canes games were some of my favorite activities as a kid. In the 90’s, my father played a significant role in a major corporate sponsorship partnership with the Canes Football program which his marketing campaign is visible (in the endzone) in many Canes highlights so we had some purks that made the experience more magical. Good times.

I guess it wasn’t Monty Trainer’s?

 

[JD08]

Who was playing for Tampa back then? Leon McQuay? Matuszak? Freddie Solomon? They had some good players then disappeared from college football.

When people mention that Miami considered dropping football, they may not aware that Tampa did just that. They moved from NAIA to Division I in 71 and their BOT dropped football after the 74 season.

 

[TheMatador]

Dad had season tickets in the 70s. Would get to go to few a year starting in maybe 77. Remember being able to easily walk down to the bottom of the OB to try and catch mini footballs from the cheerleaders when I was like 6 or 7.

I remember my dad having season tickets in the early ‘50’s, maybe before that, in the late ‘40’s. I remember him going to football games on Friday night to the OB. I loved the stadium back then, it would be a pleasant, not-too-hot evening and we would walk round and round the circular ramps til we got to the level of our seats. The ramps would be pungent with smell of cigars....back during that era I guess men atrended in much greater numbers and cigar smoking was much more popular in our culture. That was when boxing was much more popular with the general public—Friday Night Fights on network TV was a prime time staple.

Tes, there were things for which I have nostalgia but it was era not good for everyone. It was the era of segregation and I believe, it was far more racist than society is today. The idea of Black athletes at UM—not even discussed in the ‘50’s that I remember.

That talk started seriously with speculation in the early sixties that UM would take Black star QB at Archbishop Curley HS, Carroll Williams.

Did not happen, nor did it happen a few years later with Cyril Pinder, outstanding RB at Attucks HS in Hollywood.

A very difficult era in many respects.

 

[TheMatador]

When people mention that Miami considered dropping football, they may not aware that Tampa did just that. They moved from NAIA to Division I in 71 and their BOT dropped football after the 74 season.

I remember. In fact, I read some detailed history on that recently. Football is very expensive for a smaller, private university not named Norte Dame. USCw is very large, unlike UM, with a much longer football history and larger alumni base.

I recall when we brought Fran Curci left Tampa to take over as UM head coach. Then some believe he screwed us when he left for Kentucky.
Interestingly, I mentioned in another post there was speculation we would take Carroll Williams, early ‘60’s star QB at Archbishop Curley, as our first Black player (which we did not). I believe Curci might have played for Curley in the mid-50’s, before he starred for us.

Archbishop Curley was a significant presence on the Dade sports scene back then, if not a top power. I think the school has completely closed down in the years since.

I also recall that many of the high schools not named Edison or Miami High (maybe the top two powers in Dade football) competed in the Gold Coast conference. I think the Conference included Curley, Columbus, North Miami, maybe Gables, Hialeah, Norland, maybe Southwest, and some others. I’m not sure if some Broward schools were not in the GCC.

Schools like Miami High and maybe Edison did not concern themselves with the Gold Coast Conference since they had established rivalries with state powers like the Jacksonville schools. Remember DaytonaCane posted some months back about her HS trips from Jax when her HS played Miami High. I’m trying to remember which HS she went to. She came to UM as a student when her husband-to-be, Doug Davis, came to UM as a fullback. I think he started for us in that position when Fran Curci had a big year in 1958. Fran was named an AP second team A-A, and was a star option QB.

I hope Daytona is OK. She went down to Miami for a heart procedure a few years ago. She seemed to be alright and posted a bit afterwards, but I haven’t seen her at all lately.

Anyway, Miami HS football was a lot different. And the schools were segregated, so a lot of the best talent was hidden away to a lot of us, who only paid attention to the news on our own school and it’s rivals.

 

[JD08]

I remember. In fact, I read some detailed history on that recently. Football is very expensive for a smaller, private university not named Norte Dame. USCw is very large, unlike UM, with a much longer football history and larger alumni base.

I recall when we brought Fran Curci left Tampa to take over as UM head coach. Then some believe he screwed us when he left for Kentucky.
Interestingly, I mentioned in another post there was speculation we would take Carroll Williams, early ‘60’s star QB at Archbishop Curley, as our first Black player (which we did not). I believe Curci might have played for Curley in the mid-50’s, before he starred for us.

Archbishop Curley was a significant presence on the Dade sports scene back then, if not a top power. I think the school has completely closed down in the years since.

I also recall that many of the high schools not named Edison or Miami High (maybe the top two powers in Dade football) competed in the Gold Coast conference. I think the Conference included Curley, Columbus, North Miami, maybe Gables, Hialeah, Norland, maybe Southwest, and some others. I’m not sure if some Broward schools were not in the GCC.

Schools like Miami High and maybe Edison did not concern themselves with the Gold Coast Conference since they had established rivalries with state powers like the Jacksonville schools. Remember DaytonaCane posted some months back about her HS trips from Jax when her HS played Miami High. I’m trying to remember which HS she went to. She came to UM as a student when her husband-to-be, Doug Davis, came to UM as a fullback. I think he started for us in that position when Fran Curci had a big year in 1958. Fran was named an AP second team A-A, and was a star option QB.

I hope Daytona is OK. She went down to Miami for a heart procedure a few years ago. She seemed to be alright and posted a bit afterwards, but I haven’t seen her at all lately.

Anyway, Miami HS football was a lot different. And the schools were segregated, so a lot of the best talent was hidden away to a lot of us, who only paid attention to the news on our own school and it’s rivals.

She seems fine.

Tad Foote was the best president UM ever had

Tad Foote literally tried to get rid of football at Miami. And then drop us down. Take a moment, and say those words again over and over until you process them. We won IN SPITE of Tad Foote, not because of him. He just happened to be President at the right time, the same way Donna Shalala...

www.canesinsight.com

 

[skillydoo]

Interesting, I remember watching the OSU 1983 team in a bowl game. I had no idea that most of that coaching staff would end end up at UM a few months later. I didn’t pay much attention, just had a vague recollection that the OSU team emphasized speed. That made sense because I remember JJ being surprised and concerned when he observed that our 1984 UM defense was slower than he expected or liked.

In 1980 maybe, my mom came home with an autograph that said ""Kenny, Go Cowboys, JJ". I was like ok. Jimmy had just started to get under Sooner skin. The Bedlam game in 83 was close. Lost by 1. I had no idea how he was going to do at Miami. I just knew I had a new team.