The State of the Miami Hurricanes

Coming off of a dismal 6-7 season, the Miami Hurricanes are struggling to restore their legacy, trying to rebound from the aftermath of the Nevin Shapiro ponzi scheme scandal, the resignation of Donna Shalala, and the loss of key players such as Reggie "Duke" Johnson, Denzel Perryman and Phillip Dorsett. The identity of the program now seems unidentifiable, with the Hurricanes shedding its reputation as the pioneer Nike school, and becoming affiliated with Adidas. Moreover, in 2007 Miami-Dade County voted to demolish arguably one of the only landmarks in the City of Miami, the Orange Bowl. The decision to build the Marlins Park on the site made many Hurricanes fans vow to never go to a game again, and caused an outcry, as it would be reluctantly paid for by the county's taxpayers, even though it has been made known that the Marlins borderline fraud owner, Jeffry Loria, had the money to pay for the stadium that nobody wanted. 

Now, the Hurricanes have discontinued their matchups with the Gators and they haven't beaten the Seminoles since the days of Jacory Harris. If you know how bad Jacory was, it makes it seem depressing that Hurricane fans are hoping to slightly outdo a quarterback that only knew how to throw interceptions and couldn't make the roster of the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the CFL (Canadian Football League) as a backup more recently.

The Hurricanes won 58 home games in a row during their CFB domination period

It is a travesty that this city has given up on the team that essentially put it back on the map after the years of Miami Vice, winning an unprecedented five championships in 18 years, making Miami go from a town ravaged by race riots in the '80s, to a premier American city. However, now, the Hurricanes are losing to mediocre programs such as Pittsburgh and Louisville on a yearly basis. Long ago were the days when undisputed legends such as Michael Irvin, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Warren Sapp, Edgerin James, Jim Kelly, Devin Hester, Cortez Kennedy, Randal Hill and Sean Taylor dominated rival Florida and Florida State on a consistent basis.

The Hurricanes have had trouble exceeding 40,000 fans at Sun Life Stadium

In the upcoming 2015 season, the Canes will run out of the smoke, a different team. They will be led by rising sophomore's Brad Kaaya (QB), Joe Yearby (RB), Chad Thomas (DE) and Braxton Berrios (WR). Head Coach Al Golden is certainly on the hot seat, as he has seen no sucess at the 'U', and with a new president of the university (Dr. Julio Frenk) taking office September 1st, expectations for athletic sucess will undeniably exceed those of Donna Shalala, who essentially drove the program into a pit. She took over the university in 2001, the year of the greatest team in college football history, with the Canes dismantling the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Rose Bowl to win the National Championship. Out of the 54 players on that team, 37 made the NFL. 

Now, the Hurricane program has become basically a footnote in history and "that team from 30 for 30." It's going to be an uphill climb, but there will always be the possibility that the Miami Hurricances once again become the team that Miami once loved, and that everyone else hated out of jealousy. Shalala helped improve the University of Miami academically, making it the number 48 university in the nation. Now, let's see whether a new president will help bring the 'U' back to its rightful glory. 

Miami Hurricanes throwback highlights