AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > August > 18 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMiami should leave Orange Bowl
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When it comes to college football, I’m a traditionalist and I don’t apologize for it. Traditions like Tennessee’s checkerboard end zone, Georgia’s hedges, The Grove at Ole Miss, and Auburn’s Tiger Walk are the glue that bind the generations of fans together. It is why college football is the greatest game in the world.
Having said all that, it is time for the University of Miami to leave the Orange Bowl and go north to Dolphins Stadium.
The decision is probably coming Tuesday when the UM executive board meets. On the one hand the board will hear from the city fathers of Miami, who are willing to put $206 million into renovating the leaking, rusting structure. The Dolphins offer a clean, modern stadium with plenty of parking plus at least another $1.5 million per year for the Miami athletics department.
It’s a no-brainer. The Hurricanes have to go.
Of course it’s always about the money. Miami doesn’t have a lot of it, relative to the richest programs in the ACC, and needs all the help it can get. But it’s also about moving the program forward. Miami, to its credit, has overcome a bad stadium, poor facilities and other obstacles because it won national championships and great athletes wanted to play there.
But moving to the ACC has changed the entire dynamic of the Miami athletics program. Miami is now competing with programs that are pumping millions into their facilities on a regular basis. The stadiums and other support structures for football have become so elegant that it is hard for Miami, even with its tradition of winning, to overcome.
It’s a dangerous thing to lean too long on tradition, thinking it will carry you forever. Just ask Alabama.
In short, the Orange Bowl is not befitting an upper echelon ACC football program, which is what Miami was brought on board to be by the league.
It’s okay to shed a tear for the old girl. She has a lot of history to be proud of. She hosted a 58-game winning streak, five national championships and some of the greatest games and greatest players in the history of the sport.
Miami should play this season as a tribute to the OB. Soak up every minute of every game. Then on Nov. 10, at the end of the last regular season game against Virginia, raise a toast and say thanks for the memories.
Then kiss her on the cheek and say goodbye. It’s time for Miami football to turn the page.
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Comments
By Atlanta Gator
August 18, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this
Tony——The Orange Bowl is a sad old girl whose time has passed. She was a great stadium in her day, and I attended some great Dolphins, Canes and Gator games there over the years, but the rickety steel-girder construction stadium is no where near being a world-class facility in 2007. All good things must come to an end, and it’s time to let the Orange Bowl pass into history.
By Mike
August 18, 2007 12:36 PM | Link to this
The Dolphins’s stadium is no long term solution. The stadium is nice, but the environment/atmosphere around it is not suiting for college football. It is also a great distance from the campus.
By SMC
August 18, 2007 1:40 PM | Link to this
As a UGA graduate and current UM grad student, there is one compelling reason to keep the ‘Canes at the Orange Bowl: THE STUDENTS! Attendance is pathetic as it is—the stadium isn’t even full for ACC games—and moving the ‘Canes another 30 minutes north to an even bigger stadium will decrease student attendance and increase the proportion of drunken underage driving. We need to stay in the admittedly decrepit Orange Bowl until a new downtown facility can be erected or acceptable renovations can be completed.
By UMKid27
August 18, 2007 1:54 PM | Link to this
As a UM student I see no reason to keep the Orange Bowl. The Orange Bowl is already miles away from campus, and the school / metro provide free transportation to the orange bowl.
I do not see this changing if they move it farther away. The only problem is drunker students by the time they get there.
By Francesco Sinibaldi
August 18, 2007 3:18 PM | Link to this
I’ll be there.
Listening to the sound of a deep little brook, and going to a watering-place, a delicate care returns in my head; the wind fades away while I climb to the top of a mountain, and when a dove makes a pleasure with a beautiful flight, therefore, in a moment, a forcible voice reappears in the dark: and I’ll be there, like a light in the sunrise…..
http://forum.delo.si/viewtopic.php?t=3270
Francesco Sinibaldi
By Jim Rapp
August 18, 2007 5:06 PM | Link to this
Once you go watch a game at Dolphin STadium you’ll appreciate the Orange Bowl.
By JustMe
August 18, 2007 7:41 PM | Link to this
I wonder why there isn’t an option to build their own stadium closer to campus. A power team such as Miami deserves it. Plus, the attendence would increase with better access for students….. therefore more money, right?
By spike
August 18, 2007 7:54 PM | Link to this
The worst thing about the Orange Bowl is that there is no parking. You have to park in somebodys yard in that rotten ‘hood around that stadium.
By Tony's a broken record
August 18, 2007 8:18 PM | Link to this
You wrote this one already and it’s just as stupid now. Why don’t you tear down Sanford and Doak Campbell while you’re at it. Renovate the old girl and stay there. Tradition rules, Barnhart sucks.
By Eric
August 19, 2007 9:15 AM | Link to this
Barnhart doesn’t suck, you do. When you say stupid things like that you reduce yourself to a babbling idiot who no one takes seriously. If you have a differing opinion, fine, state it. But don’t lower the value it by saying someone sucks. Barnhart’s opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s.
By gt2nash
August 19, 2007 3:56 PM | Link to this
The article could have been written better. For one, the only references to football traditions were related to SEC schools. If B is only familiar with SEC schools/traditions, maybe, he should limit his articles/blogs to SEC schools. Secondly, to suggest that American college football is the greatest sport in the world only further reduces B’s credibility as a knowledgeable sports writer. But the AJC regularly does Atlanta a disservice as the city tries to position/present itself as an international city.
By Eric's daddy
August 19, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this
Hey preacher man Eric. Bite me. I’ll pitch my comments however I please. Now, go put your nose back up Barnhart’s bum. Loser.
By Steve
August 19, 2007 9:57 PM | Link to this
Its a shame that the city of Coral Gables won’t allow the University of Miami to build an on campus stadium, i think that a football powerhouse like UM deserves one. As much as i love the orange bowl i do have to agree that it cant suit an ACC team like UM when you go upstate and you have a crap conf usa UCF knights team playing in a nice great Bright House Networks Stadium, or the Gators playing in the biggest stadium in the state. I went to Miamis last game against BC, the atmosphere was great! far better than anything at dolphin stadium. But theres no tv screens! i didnt know what anyone was reviewing at all! However i believe that dolphin stadium is not a good long term solution or even a solution at all! there are two tenants at that staduium, the Miami Dolphins, and The Florida Marlins, yes a baseball team! that means that Miami will have a huge diamond full of dirt for half of their season, whens that last time you saw that?! the marlins dont leave until 2010, which means two years of dirt fun, i dont like it, and im sure the players wont and it makes the program look cheap, nobody has brought this up but i think its an issue… also its too far from Umiami gas prices are expensive and plus you dont want drunkerds running up and down i 95…
By jessica
August 20, 2007 9:02 PM | Link to this
this guy sucks at writing wtf is this this is rarely any good information seems to me this guy went to a bag collage