Watching Sports, UM Style
Since the beginning of this semester, I had been looking forward to two weekends ago. It was going to be a weekend where I would be able to watch two of the nation’s top baseball programs, and view numerous All-Americans. Instead, I ended the weekend ashamed to be a Miami Hurricane, and removing the Hurricanes sticker from my truck.
In my two years at UM, I have attended numerous Hurricanes baseball games. But that weekend, it was different. For a change, the student body came out to support the team. And that was evident due to the demeanor of the crowd. On Friday, a spectator stood up in the middle of the game and started mocking the University of Florida for nothing more than being a public institution. The chants of “Public school! Public school!” rang throughout the stadium. Real classy.
As impressed as I was by that Friday afternoon showing, Saturday afternoon provided an encore that shadowed the main performance. Halfway home, one of our UM batters roped a pitch into the Gators’ dugout. After the ball barely missed several UF ballplayers standing on the dugout step, and bounced around in their dugout, our home crowd cheered. We cheered for injury. While the crowd roared and the Florida fans looked on, I could not help but bury my face in my hands and shake my head in embarrassment.
When I came to Miami, I was not the biggest Hurricane fan, but I vowed that I would be. In my two short years here, I have found myself continuously repulsed by the conduct of the Hurricane faithful. As a fan, I am associated with a reputation that precedes itself. This young budding fan is now weltering in a garden of weeds.
Geoffrey Yovanovic
Sophomore