The U

[Andy]

does anyone have a weirder fanbase that the University of Miami?  I work around the OU Stadium, and a lot of them came in this week for the game.  I talked to a bunch of them, and they were all nice, pretty cool, upper-middle class to upper class people.  Very friendly, Very cool.

Then there is the other Miami fanbase.  Traveling packs consisting of 4-7 dudes and one skanky chick.  Oversized Miami jersey's with the sleeves ripped off to show off their tribal armbands or other flaming tattoos.  Grillz. Etc.... Talking loud, trying to stare me down, etc...

Weird combination they've got going down there.

[chrisfoll577]

i think no other football progam in america so perfectly synthesizes arrogant elitism and brutal thuggery as well as the miami hurricanes. no wonder when bc plays miami, the fans up here dub it 'the catholics versus the criminals'. and let's not forget that shameful brawl vs fiu last year.

[youtube=425,350]FNypDGoC_8M[/youtube]

[Andy]

all of The U's new rules are probably pretty standard to college football teams but one.  can you find the one I'm talking about?

[Josh]

These are all true. I suppose that in normal college towns there are "townies" who maybe have a little bit too much invested into the college teams. Miami's equivalents would I guess be 2 Live Crew, Latino gang members, and chongas. Home games are quite a scene and totally bewildering for opposing fans.

Although I know of Jesuit schools (BC and Notre Dame) versus Miami games being referred to as "Catholics vs. Convicts". I've seen ND tshirts with that on the front, then a favorable score on the back with the words "PAROLE DENIED".

The guns thing is related to an incident in July of 2006 where a backup safety was shot in the ass in his front yard and future first round draft pick Brandon Meriweather returned fire. And probably also Bryan Pata, who owned lots of guns before he was shot to death in his apartment complex's parking lot in November. The case is unsolved and it's not known whether or not his affinity for guns was related.


But on the other hand,

[buffcoat]

I've hated the U for years, probably because of my brother being a big fan but also because they were the worst behaved sports team I've ever seen.  Does anybody remember that Arkansas game?  It was one of the ugliest things to watch I've ever seen.

If Miami football and Duke basketball were both on fire, I would go crazy trying to figure out where to squirt the lighter fluid first.

However, by far the craziest college football fans are from Marshall University.  I went to an App St/Marshall game in the mid 90s and they were rubbing it in like you wouldn't believe to people who didn't care about App or were too busy packing their suitcases to get out of town for the weekend.

[Andy]

here's the classy reaction of the UM thug fans to some jackass who showed up to their home opener in an OU jersey.

[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=99AcB_RzE6o[/youtube]

[Andy]

btw, I know that these are the thug fans and the jackass in the OU jersey deserves what he gets

[Fido]

does anyone have a weirder fanbase that the University of Miami?  I work around the OU Stadium, and a lot of them came in this week for the game.  I talked to a bunch of them, and they were all nice, pretty cool, upper-middle class to upper class people.  Very friendly, Very cool.

Then there is the other Miami fanbase.  Traveling packs consisting of 4-7 dudes and one skanky chick.  Oversized Miami jersey's with the sleeves ripped off to show off their tribal armbands or other flaming tattoos.  Grillz. Etc.... Talking loud, trying to stare me down, etc...

Weird combination they've got going down there.

Isn't what you're describing just kind of the nec plus ultra of American football fans in general?  (I count myself as one, more or less.  Not a fanatic, just watch some games and pay attention to it from time to time.)  You've got your rah-rah go-team fans, supposedly the good people of the world, who root for their team... because they root for their team, and because football can actually be a lot of fun to watch.  And then you've got your rabble, your loudmouths, your not-so-good people of the world.  They may not necessarily be much stupider, but they sure act like it.  Miami fans just sound like a more extreme version of the basic constituencies of American football fans.  It's not really the thinking person's great pastime, but it can be a lot of fun to watch.   

[chrisfoll577]

Although I know of Jesuit schools (BC and Notre Dame) versus Miami games being referred to as "Catholics vs. Convicts". I've seen ND tshirts with that on the front, then a favorable score on the back with the words "PAROLE DENIED".

it's a really common mistake, but notre dame is a holy cross brothers school, not jesuit (to those of us who went to jesuit colleges, it's a major distinction that probably matters very little in the real world).

oh yeah, i gagged looking at that si cover. i needed to look at this wholesome image to settle my mind (apologies to andy).

[Andy]

Isn't what you're describing just kind of the nec plus ultra of American football fans in general?  (I count myself as one, more or less.  Not a fanatic, just watch some games and pay attention to it from time to time.)  You've got your rah-rah go-team fans, supposedly the good people of the world, who root for their team... because they root for their team, and because football can actually be a lot of fun to watch.  And then you've got your rabble, your loudmouths, your not-so-good people of the world.  They may not necessarily be much stupider, but they sure act like it.  Miami fans just sound like a more extreme version of the basic constituencies of American football fans.  It's not really the thinking person's great pastime, but it can be a lot of fun to watch.   

you make a really good point.  the types of fans that miami has are similar to those of any normal football school, but to greater extremes.

[buffcoat]

Chrisfolls

Unfortunately, the Klan and some of the bottom-feeding parts of the public at large had a different reaction to that heart-warming photo.  Bet you can't guess why.