The recent death of Sean Taylor, just one of the many admired Miami football players to go on to illustrious NFL careers (in only 3 full seasons, too) is just as tragic as it is sad. This is a guy who has run into the law a few times, but is no less a good man as any of us. Sure, I didn't know him, but that's not the point. It's sad when this happens to anybody and no more or less just because he is an athlete. But that is precisely the reason we are all talking about it. As a member of the Miami football fraternity, his death is yet another chapter in the sad year that has plagued this program. Not all of it has been spawned from the program's reputation, some are just coincidence, but it all goes into the same hat. So, I decided to research the past year or so in Miami football. And it's not a pretty one.

When it comes to sports, American society has a very short memory. It's not always a bad thing, though. Most, if not all sports fans watch sports because they wish they could do it so well. Or maybe it's because they admire the ability and it gives them some kind of rush to have no control over something they care so much about. Can you think of any program or professional team in sports that has taken such a monopoly over "bad press" as the University of Miami football program? Look, I love this team as if I were a member of it once. It's the only sports team I care about in any fashion as a fan. But that short memory America has is getting pushed to its limits with Miami's football program. Will they ever be able to shed this image of Thug U? It used to benefit the program. Playing with the intensity and heart of a team hated by many and loved by few. You've heard it before. Us against the world. And it worked. They nearly had 3 straight National Championships from 2001-03 (shut it, Ohio State fans). Regardless of how many trophies are in the Hall Of Fame room, that's a dynasty right there. Yet, in the past 2 seasons now, the U has gone 12-13 and is being dubbed as a disgrace to college football. A bit harsh, but the media has a way of beating a dead horse to the ground instead of helping revive it. So what happened? And why do I think it will be back on top again?

2004 - 7th Floor Crew: This is where it really all started. It seems like yesterday when ESPN's Pat Forde said, "How long does it take to undermine more than 5 years of hard work improving the image of a once-tainted program? It could be as little as 9 minutes, it turns out." This is referring to the 7th Floor Crew, the name of a rap group formed by some Miami football players where they could rap about all the things that make hardcore rap so hated in America. It was a relatively isolated incident, but nothing has been the same ever since.

December 31, 2005 - The Peach Brawl: Let it begin. Although this doesn't fall directly under the year from Hell, it definitely gives it a boost. After getting taken to school by the Matt Flynn/Joseph Addai machine that was 2005's LSU team in an embarrassing way (40-3), the Miami team got frustrated. They started exchanging unpleasantries and eventually right hooks with the LSU team in the tunnel to the locker room. And so the demise of Larry Coker's career with Miami truly began.



September 7, 2006 - The Stomp: The team meeting must have gone like this: "Hey guys, we're 1-1, so let's make a statement! I know! Let's stomp all over the Louisville cardinal at the 50 yard line during pregame. That way we'll piss off the other team enough for them to have a reason to beat us. Coming here and getting it done on the field with the ball isn't quite enough." So, pregame the entire team stomps all over the Louisville logo at midfield in a blatant taunting act only to be romped 31-7 afterwards. It's always risky to do things like this. Be it guaranteeing a victory or some kind of pregame dance, you can either look like a cocky genius or a complete moron

October 14, 2006 - The 9-Mile Brawl: First take a look —> The brawl. This was the catalyst for, in my opinion, the most degrading year in Miami football history. Two schools separated by 9 miles of land and worlds apart in terms of tradition wanted a piece of each other. If you watched SportsCenter ONCE that week you would have undoubtedly seen footage or discussion of this. They were even talking about kicking the Canes out of college football. Obviously, that was excessive, but punishments needed to be enforced. And they were. 32 players from both schools were suspended. This was a devastating blow to the image of Thug U that Larry Coker was working so hard to clean up, all the while maintaining the swagger Miami is known for. A tough job.

November 7, 2006 - Pata shot/killed: Not everything that happened with this Miami program was on the field. And not everything was the fault of the program, but merely the crime-filled neighborhoods that surround Miami. Many of the players on this team come to Miami to escape the streets that could lead them to an early death. But it's still their home. And you just don't turn your back on your home. Pata's home was Miami. He had spent almost 4 years as a standout defensive lineman and was expected by many people around the country to be drafted to the NFL. His death was a shock to everybody and the fact that, a year later, they STILL have not found the killer(s) is shocking it itself. It's almost as if they gave up on it. Well, I know some of the guys on the Miami football team. They all loved Pata and are still saddened by not only the death, but the lack of repercussions. Less than a month after the brawl, the program was thrown even deeper into its hole of media scrutiny.

2006 Football Season, 7-6: Not everything that happens to Miami involves fighting, arrests, or death. It was a tumultuous season off the field and on the field. The record didn't help. But when distractions happen more often than games, it's tough to focus on wins. Coming off a 9-3 season, fans were already disappointed based on their unrealistic win-a-national-championship-every-season expectations. But hopes were high as usual. Starting the year at #11, the first game was a loss to #13 Florida State. Florida A&M was an easy win to follow up on FSU. But then the team heads Louisville, the site of the pregame logo stomp at midfield, which was elegantly followed by a 31-7 beating. 3 wins in a row and the Canes head into the heart of ACC play and lose 4 straight! Hey, at least they won the MPC Computers Bowl! ugh...

Dec. 12, 2006 - Goodbye Coker, Hello Shannon: Finally! We all wanted it. We all got it. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong in 2006. And somebody had to take the blame. Coker took it. He was a nice guy, but that's not how Miami won championships. His tenure was not even really his. He simply inherited a phenomenal team and let them do all the work. 2006 showed where his recruiting (or lack thereof) had taken the program. Shannon is just what the program needed.

September 9, 2007 - Everett Paralyzed: This was a tragic event that had nothing to do with Miami's reputation in any way. Fresh off being drafted in the 3rd round by the Buffalo Bills. But still, it affects every Miami player because they all knew him as a teammate and friend. And it was yet another event that brought Miami's football program back into the media.

November 3, 2007 - Marve Arrested: Robert Marve, a redshirting freshman, has been dubbed the next savior at quarterback for Miami football. Bad start. He hasn't even taken a snap and he's already getting into trouble. Small, though. He was taken in on resisting arrest charges without violence. No biggie to some, but in a program so needy of GOOD press, this is not that.

November 10, 2007 - The Last Hurrah Boo At The OB: What should have been a day of atonement for the program became one of the most embarrassing days in an embarrassing year with a 48-0 loss to Virginia. This was a team that hardly ever won by more than a touchdown. So much for that. Everybody was watching. Alumni. Fans and non-fans around the world on ESPN2, including me. I should have been there, but my tickets mysteriously disappeared the day of the game. Good thing, I guess. You want to give these guys "due credit" and assume they go into every game playing as hard as they can, but with an opportunity to show the world that you are not a laughing stock anymore, to lose 48-0 is absurd. I won't get into it much more because I'll go on for hours.
                                           

2007 Football Season, 5-7: Year One for Shannon was a big bust. But you can't expect miracles. It's not really his team, it's Coker's still. There were very few off-field issues with the law, and no major ones, which was the most important step in this "rebuilding" process. But 5-7 is a bit excessive. .500 maybe. but 2 games under .500? Wow. Move on and hope for the best.

November 27, 2007 - Sean Taylor Shot/Killed: Barely past a year since a member of the Miami football family was shot and killed, Sean Taylor suffers the same fate. Again, it's not Miami's reputation or anything of that sort. It's just simply another event where Miami is thrust into every sports fans' homes again for all the wrong reasons. Yet, now we are talking about an NFL superstar. Only 24 years old but already established as a Pro Bowl-caliber player. Anybody who is under 25 and already above a 90 rating in Madden is a superstar. Taylor grew up in this town and has never really left it. My thoughts are with his family, especially his 1-year-old child. As we all do, I hope they actually capture this guy and he gets what he deserves. No less.
                                                           
    
You've had enough reading for one day. If you've read everything I wrote, I am extremely impressed. This was not a very positive blog, to say the least. But I will be writing a follow-up on "Why The U Will Be Back On Top" within the week. I very sincerely believe it and you'll see why later.

                                            Don't worry, I'll never make you read this much again!