Miami Doesn't Want You on Their Bandwagon
Last week, as Joe and I discussed on the most recent Blogcast, there was an incredible overabundance of "THE U IS BACK, PLAYA!" screams (mostly in headline form and mostly without the vernacular) from the public and the media. Why? Because the Miami Hurricanes skyrocketed up the national polls following wins against Florida State and Georgia Tech.
The hype wasn't unwarranted by any means, but it's probably a little too early to proclaim the 'Canes ACC and National Champs just yet; after all, the road runs first through Blacksburg and then through Oklahoma ... and that's just to get to 4-0. But, hey, a lot (and I mean a whole hell of a lot) of people didn't think they'd make it even this far, which may explain why the U doesn't want any part of their new-found fans.
"I don't know what it is about this team," [QB Jacory] Harris said. "But when we're getting talked about, predicted to go 0-4, that kind of put in the mindset that we must work harder. We know what we have."
"The bandwagon," Harris said, "is closed."
Now, how awesome is that? Seriously -- it's freaking grand. You hear all the time in sports about how teams play the "underdog card" and complain about "no respect." At this point, it's almost beyond cliche, and it's most certainly becoming irritating when people/coaches/players use that whole angle to motivate themselves.
That's because they repeat those stupid phrases over and over and over again. What they don't usually do is turn to all the people who suddenly started pulling the Craig James routine (in the booth Thursday night, he was expounding on how much he loved Cincinnati this year) on the U, acting like "I've been eying Miami as a sleeper since before the season, folks, and I'm telling you that these guys could win the national championship."
Well, Mr. Bandwagon guy, Jacory Harris has a message for you: "Get bent." Yeah, it's aggressive, but it's also awesome. And it's also why I'm a Hurricane fan now! (Just don't tell Harris about it.)
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