image credit: orlandosentinel.com
Ok, so this isn’t a straight college football story, and I don’t care.
The Miami Dolphins, in their strides to be looked at as even a bigger joke, have decided they are going to use their game against the Broncos on October 23 to honor the Gators’ 2008 National Championship team. Forget about the fact that honoring that team means honoring Tim Tebow who might be playing for the opponent that day (or he could be performing more circumcisions in Vietnam if he doesn’t improve from his 4th string position on the depth chart). UPDATE- I KNOW HE’S BATTLING FOR THE 2ND STRING JOB AND NOT REALLY THE 4TH STRING QB, FOR NOW. IT WAS A JOKE. BOTTOM LINE, HE WON’T BE STARTING AGAINST THE FINS AND NOT GURANTEED TO PLAY.
The real issue, from a college football perspective, is that the Dolphins will be honoring one of the ‘Canes biggest rivals in their stadium. Granted it’s the Dolphins stadium first and the Hurricanes second, but it’s still a poor move.
Yes It’s quite apparent that with struggling season ticket sales the Dolphins are trying to find any way they can to attract fans to fill up their orange seats. When the Hurricanes moved to Sun Life Stadium after the OB was blown up back in 2008, they signed a 25 year lease. This is not a relationship that needs this kind of tension with another 20 plus years left on the lease.
Here are some of the tweets I received from ‘Canes fans when I tweeted out the story.
From @MJCane: they won’t draft our players and now they are going to honor our biggest and most hated rival???? F-them
From @52Canes: [Fins owner Stephen] Ross is the worst PR man in Football….
From @McStudly :the dolphins are a horrible organization and a shame to south Florida, the LA Dolphins sounds nice
Hey Stephen Ross. Former ‘Cane Vernon Carey plays on your team. Former ‘Canes DJ Williams and Willis McGahee play for the Broncos. They all won the 2001 National Championship together. It’s the 10 year anniversary of that. Why don’t you do the right thing and honor the ‘Canes. Tebow’s gotten enough praise in his life.
UPDATE- ACCORDING TO THE SUN-SENTINEL THE DOLPHINS DID ASK THE CANES IF THEY WANTED TO PARTICIPATE IN A 2001 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM REUNION AND THE U DECLINED. I DON’T BLAME THEM. THE FINS ARE A JOKE.
What the Dolphins don’t understand is that their fans are sick and tired of gimmicks. They are sick of celebrity owners, orange carpets, Jimmy Buffet, new theme songs, club section promos and everything else that has nothing to do with the Dolphins winning football games.
Just in case you’d like to voice your displeasure with the Fins Fail, here’s their main switch board number
(305) 943-8000
The Beast
S. Ross is a complete idiot if he doesn’t see how offensive this is to all Canes fans especially old guys like me that were in the Orange Bowl for the Gator Flop…I went to my first Canes Game in 1960 my first Dolphins game in 1966 He should know the majority of us are long time fans of both. They influenced Paul Dee (Him again)to not take The City of Miamis offer to upgrade the OB Thus making His house our house and there is no Gator honor allowed’!!!
wtf first they sell jets jersey’s now they honor the gators are these people stupid or greedy either way i dont like it one bit im pissed
I will never root for the Dolphins again until their stupid ass owner is gone. Honoring the Gators in The U’s home stadium? Just shows he doesn’t give a crap about UM fans or the program.
Whoa….What an idiotic idea. Honoring the CANES biggest rival in our house. If the Fins go through with this I will never attend a Fins game again. No more season tickets, now will I wear any Dolphin clothes again. I have been at every Fins game since Day 1. My relationship with the Fins will be over.
The only true Professional football team in South Florida are the Miami Hurricanes…SMH @ the Dolphins……what else do you expect from a semi pro team (i.e., The Dolphins) and from a team that has been irrelevant for 20 years.
Boycott the game!!!!
I was a die hard dolphin, but really they show no home town love how many canes have they have they past up on in the draft … For who people like John Avery, and a buckeye bust like yeah a player that’s not even on the team! I love my phins but this is a bit to far, we are not the Florida dolphins we are the Miami dolphins. Sorry for my grammar but i am angry and deeply saddened by this slap to the city of Miami’s face. Shame on you Dolphins, shame on you.
Miami is in florida people….the cane fans are a bunch of haters…tables would be turned if tebow waas a cane I’m sure but he wasn’t he was a GATOR! Anyways none of you guys respect him for who he is and what he has done for college football and how many records he has beat and records no one else will ever beat.you guys should quit whining about this and suck it up because its actually gonna happen whether you like it or not….
Dolphins Mngt is smart, they know there are more Gator fans in South Florida than Cane fans, they are just tapping into that market.
You make some good points. Except they’re not honoring the 2009 UF national championship team. UF won the title the 2008 season. It lost to Alabama in the SEC title game the 2009 season.
SFLADude your comment makes no sense. There are more Gators than Canes period because that second rate Tech school in Gainesville has about 3 times more students than the University of Miami (a private school)
The Dolphin organization are run by idiots, i wish them the best losing season ever!
A) Dolphins home attendance is terrible
B) There are more Gators fans in South Florida than there are Dolphins fans, much less Canes fans. Gators fans will come to the game to celebrate the championships, which will boost attendance. I bet that games sells more tickets than any other this year in Miami.
C) Tebow is not 4th string and never will be, might want to get facts straight if you want us to take the rest of the article seriously. Now I can assume that other parts of the article are completely incorrect too.
Whether he is 2nd or 3rd string won’t matter with the new rules of the CBA, all 3 can be on the 53 man – where as the 4th stringer would either be cut or put on the practice squad. Its amusing that people think Tebow would be cut.
Anybody that goes by FlordiaBlows just isn’t worth wasting time on. But in this case this idiot makes some typical idiotic points. Tebow is a complete marketing production. I give the guy credit for effort but as far as a QB, average at best. Even his record is way down the list of college qb’s through the year. I”m so sick of hearing talk about this guy when he can’t even make 2nd string on his own team. Tebow will always be an average at best qb and will never be the starter of a quality NFL team. Get over him, he’s not worth talking about.
Maybe my name is “FloridaBlows” because as a canes fan I think UF blows?
The problem I had was very obvious. Tebow is 3rd string and may end up starting next year, who knows – we’ll see. And this article states he is 4th string as if its a fact, its not.
Secondly the article acts like the Dolphins don’t have any players that went to Florida. They do, Tebow isn’t the only one being honored. What about Pouncey?
Thirdly you act like if they honored the Canes instead, they wouldn’t be honoring any Broncos. Well they would be, because DJ Williams and Willis McGahee both went to the U. So why would it be an issue at all? At least in the case of honoring UF, they are honoring a bench warmer in Tebow and not two bonofide starters and, frankly, stars on the Broncos.
Lastly, if this blogger would have checked his facts, he would see that according to this article:
http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/08/29/11/Dolphins-to-honor-Gators-at-upcoming-gam/landing_dolphins.html?blockID=555552&feedID=3722
Dee (Dolphins’ CEO) said that a similar offer was made to the U of Miami to celebrate their 10th anniversary of the Canes’ most recent national title. They declined because they were going to do something to honor that team at one of their own home games.
I am a Miami native and have grown up being a BIG TIME Canes and Fins fan. Regardless of how good or bad of a marketing scheme this will turn out to be, it is morally wrong. I honestly hope that this game is televised and that it looks like a Marlins’ game (attendance-wise). I have lost such respect for American Football over the past few years, and it’s a sport that is not played anywhere else in the world. We will never see a “World Football Cup” nor Andre Johnson in an Olympic Football Jersey. It’s all obsolete in the grand scheme of things. F**k Ross, f**k Goodell, and hell, f**k Shapiro while I’m at it. I’m just happy that the Rugby World Cup starts in less than 2 weeks…
Whats worse, Miami declining or UF accepting? I have disliked the Dolphins front office for years now. However, if UM did decline first, I dont have as much of a problem with what the Dolphins are doing. They’re management problems run deeper than just ticket sales.
I’m a Fan of both team’s Fins and Canes,I don’t like Tebow either but I will stand by My team just part of being a Fan
Boycott the Dolphins!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-the-Miami-Dolphins-for-honoring-the-Florida-Gators/210073712382839
Take that Championship honoring ceremony North to Tampa or Jacksonville! Screw Tim Tebow and the Gators….THIS IS HURRICANE COUNTRY! In case you don’t remember, the Hurricanes signed a lease for Dolphins Stadium for the next 24 years!!! You are a bunch of inept businessmen if you go through with this…which you have already consistantly proven throughout the past 10 yrs….MORONS!
I’m a canes fan I stopped being a dolphins fan when Jimmy johnson said I don’t want to coach anymore and they just stuck his lackey in his place liveing off the dream of #13 the front office of the dolphins have been a joke sence the late 80s so this doesn’t surprise me at all you still have a joke for a coach that they kept because what’s his face went to San Fran F Florida F the gators and F the phins for seeing how many gator fan tebow will draw and should the pick him up when Denver drops him
It’s about honoring a man (Tebow) who deserves all the accolades he gets for the kind of life he lives. And, honoring a championship team (Gators) that wins without cheating!!!!
Don’t be stupid. It’s not about honoring a man who deserves all the accolades he gets for the kind of life he lives. It’s about the almighty dollar and attaining it any which way possible. This particular way of marketing just so happens to slap every Miami (both Canes and Dolphins) fan in the face. I respect Tim Tebow and what the Gators while he was with them, but this is bull…
U have to be a fool to believe the gators didnt cheat! all schools cheat in one way or another to gain an advantage over the opponent… i am in alabama… we all know that cam newton got paid at auburn… the guys at bama get paid as well… all schools do it… only a few get caught… it is sad that the dolphins are so desperate for sales that they would stoop to this level… maybe if they got sum decent players sales wouldnt be so low… but it has and always will be ALL ABOUT THE U!!!!!!!!!!
Embarrassing! Horrible move.
FSU is really UM’s biggest Rival. Just saying…
Yeah….It’s all about the “U” alright….It’s about the “U” being the most disrespected college team in the nation…..and for good reason! The whole program wreaks of everything that is bad in college sports.
And what a joke the fanbase is – have to do special promotions to get people to come to the stadium. Oh yeah, a stadium that they have to share because they can’t support an on-campus one!
Hey “U” fans….stop worrying about the Gators and start worrying about your football season….or should I say the life of your program:
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Quarterback Jacory Harris and 11 other Miami players who accepted extra benefits from former booster Nevin Shapiro will be allowed by the NCAA to play again, some as soon as the second game of the season.
The harshest penalties handed down Tuesday were reserved for those who took gifts from Shapiro while being recruited. Defensive lineman Olivier Vernon will sit out six games, while Ray Ray Armstrong — considered among the nation’s top safeties — and tight end Dyron Dye will miss four games apiece. They are three of eight players, including Harris, who must sit out games and repay benefits before they can be reinstated.
ACC blog
ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich writes about all things ACC in the conference blog.
• Blog network:
College Football Nation
Miami opens its season at Maryland on Monday night.
The Hurricanes still might face many more sanctions as the NCAA’s investigation into Miami’s compliance practices continues.
The Dolphins are a joke. The Heat fans are all ex Cav fans, and the few in Miami that show up when the team is winning. The only true fan base are the Canes! Why not showcase the 2001 greatest college team ever? Why doesn’t the Jaguars, who are much closer honor them? A slap in the face for those who go there to watch Canes Football! I hope some Canes fans show up and boo the hell out of them! What a crock… Dolphins organization, you’re pretty desperate to put those rednecks in the stands! Go Canes!!
From an outsider on the West Coast, here’s a story for those filled with anger over this event. During the 60s to 80s, there was no greater rivalry and hatred than between the Dodgers and Giants. I was at the game on July 6, 1980 at Dodger Stadium. It was the day before the All-Star break, and Willie McCovey was retiring mid-season. He came to bat for the final time in the 8th as a pinch hitter. We booed him very loudly as he came to the plate. McCovey hit a sac fly that, as I recall, proved to be the winning run. As he walked off the field, we gave him the most sustained standing ovation I ever remember at Dodger Stadium. Why? Well, because after all those years of hating him and breaking our hearts, we appreciated greatness and talent and effort. He gave us entertainment for many years and deserved to be saluted. Even in our house.
This anecdote won’t change the minds of those caught up in the rivalry and filled with anger. But maybe it will get you to put it aside for just a moment and at least think about it. I have no love of the Denver Broncos or for Florida football. But on Sunday, I will be rooting for Tim Tebow. Life is very unfair at times. In a league filled with thugs and felons and in a nation of greed, Hollywood sluts gone wild, criminal union bosses, cheating students, and cheating/lying/scumbag/worthless/arrogant politicians, I kind of like to see a very good human being succeed. All the best, Tim.
Doug,
Thanks for the comment. Tebow isn’t the only “good guy” in football and the Dolphins aren’t honoring him for his good guy perception. They want to sell tickets and figured doing something like this will placate Gator fans in South Florida. The Phins deserve the back lash. I can’t think of any other pro team that would even think of doing this. The problem is that they have a hard time selling tickets. There are plenty of good guys in the league worth honoring, why aren’t the Dolphins sucking up to them? It’s clear it’s a desperate move by a desperate franchise to sell tickets. Miami Hurricane fans are just calling them out on it.
I agree that there are other good guys and I agree that, to a certain extent, perhaps a great extent, this move was done for marketing. As a writer, I love a good human interest story. A Florida kid, a great role model, a superb athlete is coming back to Florida in a starting role and being honored for what he did in college in Florida. It is being done at a Dophins game, not a Hurricanes game, but I understand that the nuance is lost on some.
Tebow can no longer do damage on the field to college rivals. Athletics should bring out the best in people. It certainly showed the character of Timothy Richard Tebow. I hope it will bring out the best in the fans and they put on a classy display. Then, I expect the Miami fans to root for their team and cheer when Tebow is sacked or intercepted. When the game is over — a game, afterall — may they get on with the tough job of living.
You may be right that no other franchise would think of doing this, but I haven’t done the research. It is certainly different, albeit very inspiring, to recall the year that Chicago Cub Rick Monday saved the American flag from being burned at Dodger Stadium. For the rest of the year, he got standing O’s in stadiums around the country. I was very pleased that the Dodgers then acquired him.
YA, I just wanted to know what “the beast” thought about the Denver/ Miami game today?? The one he made such steep accusations about?? Where he typed IN BOLD LETTERS all that crap about Tim Tebow?? The same game he said Tim Tebow would never have a chance to start?? Well Mr. “ROCK OUT WITH YOUR SOCKS OFF”, I am so happy to inform you that you are eating your words. Maybe you should stick to writing about things you know? Say, how to be a d-bag? And also, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it when Tim Tebow ran it in for the 2 pt conversion….I think that play was for you!
Actually..I think Tebow looked just about as horrible as a QB could for 3-plus quarters. He made a few nice throws down the stretch, but considering he had two weeks to prepare for the Dolphins sorry defense, he actually proved to me that he’s not an NFL starting QB. If you look at it any other way, you’re blinded by the Tebow light. Let’s see what happens when he plays a real team. He was, what I thought he was, not good.
OH wait I have a better idea how about you quit your day job and, I quote, “start performing circumcisions in Vietnam”?? I don’t believe anyone would miss ya.
Are you wearing Jorts as you write? Just curious.
Just curious, were you one of those kids who never got picked to play kickball? So, now you’re a “sports writer”, and I am using the term loosely, and you get to talk smack about people who actually have talent? Listen don’t get your panties in a twist, all I was saying is that you were totally and completely wrong about your predictions for this game. Get over it.
Another item not talked about is that Tebow gets so much hype for beating the worst team in the NFL. He does make it exciting, but he’s over-hyped. On the other hand we have Cam Newton playing like a vet on an awful team and everyone just says “meh” Oh and the Panthers beat a team with three wins instead of no wins. Why is there so much hype about Tebow? Is he really that polarizing or does the media hype him so much to make him polarizing? He may be the best college player ever, but that means nothing at the next level. The Beast is right we have to wait until he plays a real team. If he starts winning a bunch of games and taking his team deep in the playoffs we can put a crown on his head. Until then everyone needs to chill.
Eating crow is a U.S. colloquial idiom,[1] meaning humiliation by admitting wrongness or having been proved wrong after taking a strong position.[2] Eating crow is presumably foul-tasting in the same way that being proved wrong might be emotionally hard to swallow.
I hope you both enjoy a BIG OLE slice.
One thing we do know is that he is a winner. What a game today. I only doubted Tebow because just like many young players they have to prove themselves. Well he has proved himself as a winner in the NFL.
Thank you! I totally agree. I don’t understand why ppl said he wouldn’t be any good in the NFL?? I know that college and pro are two very different things, but how in the world can someone as good as he was in college NOT be good in the pros….ya know?? Not saying he is going to win the super bowl (fingers crossed though), but he did do a great job of winning his division. Anyway, I am giving you guys hell cause i like your columns….usually ;)
Thank you sir for coming in sideways, but no one was putting a crown on his head. Again, all I was saying was he was completely wrong in his predictions. End of story.
Correct the Beast was wrong this time, and will be wrong again. Not sure it warranted assuming he had a rough childhood or he should change his vocation to international mohel to get your point across, but if that’s the way you roll so be it.