alum96

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^

I am in the minority because everyone here likes clean and neat but I loved the Catholics vs Convicts era and rooted for the convicts.  They were fun to watch and bad a$$ much like our fab 5 half a decade later.   Miami will never return to that but that was one sick ass program for 7-8 years ala Carroll's USC.

That said, Mark richt is about as far away from convicts as you can be. :)

Joined: 04/28/2012

MGoPoints: 82558

East German Judge

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:36 PM ^

To that same point, LA has had such a hard time keeping an NFL franchise.  Do even the bruins and trojans sell out?

Also, is not the Miami venue far away from campus, so kind of tough for students to walk to the game, I am sure they might have buses, but that would still detract from the atmosphere.

Joined: 10/05/2014

MGoPoints: 190628

alum96

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:49 PM ^

This.

LA and Miami are horrendous sports towns with a lot of transplants and massive bandwagon segments of fanbase.  There is not a stable fan base like say for Lions and Tigers.  It's more like Pistons - when they are good everyone is a Pistons fan - when not, meh.  That is for every franchise in those towns.

Joined: 04/28/2012

MGoPoints: 82558

michfan23

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:36 PM ^

Living in Florida and having many Miami fans, I'm told that it has a lot to do with the entertainment options available to the "fans". I've been told stories of how the fans leave even during wins because they want to get back to partying.
I tend this think this has a lot to do with the Miami fan base which tends to be fairly wealthy and fairly fickle.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Joined: 11/06/2015

MGoPoints: 1923

BlueMk1690

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:50 PM ^

in an area with a huge % of immigrants and domestic transplants. Their local alumni base isn't big enough to fill the stadium along with the students. Unlike in say Michigan or Iowa or Nebraska, local residents unaffiliated with the university won't necessarily feel any loyalty to Miami-area teams.

People who talk about the beach, eh, I never bought it. People always mention that when it comes to fan support in Florida or California but in reality the same issue applies to Arizona and no beach there.

In reality, sports fan support tends to be based on emotional attachments and for obvious reasons people living in Florida, Cali or Arizona on average feel less such attachment to their homes than people in the Midwest or the Southern hinterland. Why obvious? Well, if you arrived in a town 3-5 years ago and spent the previous 30+ years in another town in another part of the country or even outside the country, your attachments are probably either still there or you have none.

The reason say USC is much better supported than Miami is that USC at any time has over 40,000 students and Miami only about 16,000 which also means USC has a much much bigger alum base.

Joined: 02/04/2011

MGoPoints: 12939

DavidP814

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:52 PM ^

A) The stadium is about an hour away from campus--probably longer on game days with the traffic.

B) Most of the hard-core Hurricane fans (the Miami equivalent of MGoBloggers) lack the financial means to go to games.

C) As has been mentioned, Miami does not lack for entertainment options on Saturday afternoons/evenings for those with the financial wherewithal to enjoy it.  The Hurricanes compete with Biscayne Bay and hundreds of bikini-clad models walking up and down the beach.  The Buckeyes compete with 100 miles of misery in any direction from the Horseshoe.

Joined: 07/13/2012

MGoPoints: 5242

Tagg

December 2nd, 2015 at 7:03 PM ^

I never understood why stadiums open the upper bowls of stadiums when the lower bowl is only 50% (or in Miamis case 25%) full. Why not just use the lower bowl to create a better atmosphere, save on cleanup costs, ushers, etc. that go with opening the upper bowl to a dozen people?

Joined: 09/02/2008

MGoPoints: 897

James Burrill Angell

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:38 PM ^

Having been to many a Miami game when I was a law student (and that was when they were playing for National Championships still in the mid'90's) no one gives a crap about ANY sports in Miami. Better things to do. As I said, I went when Ray Lewis  and Warren Sapp were on the team and other than the Florida State game, the old Orange Bowl was half empty. People down there just have better things to do than go to sporting events. 

Joined: 08/12/2009

MGoPoints: 15946

ottomatic

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:43 PM ^

Nope. Miami is the epitome of a bandwagon school. If it’s a marquee game there’s a crowd. A few might even follow the sport. If it’s a middling opponent the stadium is half empty. There’s a lot of other things to do in South Florida on a Saturday. It was that way even in the days of Jimma Johnson. A  lot of urban schools face the same challenge.

Joined: 01/12/2011

MGoPoints: 1302

MGoblu8

December 2nd, 2015 at 6:13 PM ^

This is true. Having lived in South Florida for 10+ years (5 in Miami), there are times when that place is rocking. Against Oklahoma in 09, and definitely a couple of recent games vs FSU were great. Hell, their game against OSU in 11 was good too. I love Miami, but when their teams are down, NOBODY goes.

Joined: 08/19/2010

MGoPoints: 7373

ottomatic

December 2nd, 2015 at 8:23 PM ^

Favorite Orange Bowl memory; going to watch Miami play Notre Dame. Gerry Faust’s last game that turned into an ugly blow out. On the way to the game I bought a kabob from a street vendor with a hibachi. As I bit into my tasty snack I noticed that the vendor’s bbq brush had paint stains on the handle. That’s Miami.

Hollywood, FL 85-95

Joined: 01/12/2011

MGoPoints: 1302

VauntedD

December 2nd, 2015 at 5:34 PM ^

He is a great hire for Miami. Great recruiter, well respected among booster types and a great coach who played in a difficult conference. He needs to convince everyone of better facilities and a campus stadium.

Joined: 02/11/2015

MGoPoints: 1729