It was a hot and humid January 1, 1984, in the Orange Bowl. Miami (yes, Miami!) was up 31-30. Nebraska had just scored a touchdown with under a minute left on the clock, and the Cornhuskers were going for the two-point conversion. They were going for the win, for the national championship. And guess what? Nebraska missed. Well, actually, the Canes' great defense stopped the Huskers. That New Year's night Miami won its first national championship -- the first of many to come. But almost as important as Miami winning the Orange Bowl that year was the fact that the game awakened my interest in sports. Sure I had been going to football games practically since I was born, but I had not really understood the game. I was always the one who would get the food and drinks for my family because I didn't care if I missed some of the game. I went to Super Bowls in Los Angeles and San Francisco where the Dolphins lost to the Redskins and 49ers. I even remember my mother making peach muffins for Thanksgiving in honor of the Hurricanes getting into the Peach Bowl. But, as Miami downed the ball twice to end the game, I realized that I loved sports. And not just football. The Mets were my team for a while. After all, my sister was born on October 16, 1969, the day the Mets won the World Series. But now there are the Marlins?and the Heat and the Panthers. So, yes, I am a Miami sports fan. However, most of my friends prefer to call me a fanatic, especially about the Canes. Well maybe it is true. I do have a shrine to the Hurricanes in my room. My family has travelled to two Sugar Bowls, to Michigan (remember that game), to Syracuse and to Tallahassee. Most summers, if I am in Miami, I go to some of the Canes' open scrimmages, and on Family Day my sisters and I get our footballs and posters signed by as many of the players as possible. (My older sister has hers framed.) We also own a green Ford Explorer, but we added an orange stripe so that it could be our "Canemobile." At the games we paint our faces. My younger sister runs for Syracuse. The day after the game she could not get the "Canes are #1" off of her legs. She had to hide in the corner of the weight room hoping that none of the Syracuse players would see her. We've been on television twice for our incredibly original designs. Some of the first songs we taught my younger brother, who is now seven, were the Hurricane cheers. It was very important to teach him these things early in life. And I would not even consider going to the University of Florida or Florida State for law school. I would never be a Gator or a Seminole. "What do we eat? Gator meat. Who do we hate? Florida State." My friend Erin once asked me if the Cane Mascot, Sebastian the Ibis, knows my family. And yes, I do watch the National Football League draft every year to see which Miami players will be selected. Also, if I have to watch a game on television, I have to watch the game all by myself and I always wear the same sweats and T-shirt. Ask my roommates, they think I am crazy. When Rachel Cytron, a former sports editor here at the DP, called my mother for the yearly parents weekend edition, she asked my mother why I was so obsessive about the Canes. My mother became very defensive and replied, "What obsession. It's not an obsession." OK, so maybe I am a little crazy, but to me the Canes are part of my culture, they are part of what being from Miami is all about. When you are from a town that everybody hates, that everybody makes fun of, you have to be defensive. Hey, if you want to start a fight with me just say something mean about my team. When I got to school here, all of my friends hated the Canes. And they probably still do. After all, they do make a point to call me if Miami loses and laugh at me. But hopefully I have enlightened them a bit. Personally, I think the main reason why people hate the Canes is because they are jealous. We win too often. It's not fair. We are too good. Now, after this year, you are probably saying that the Canes are finished. They will never be good again. You are probably thinking I will dump my team. But even if the Canes lost their dominance in college football, I would still stand by them. Anyway, I don't think they are finished. Everybody is allowed a bad year every decade or so. Meanwhile, everyone I know is having a good time teasing me about Miami's possible demise. Another question that many people ask me is why did I not go to Miami? Why did I go to Penn? I really think that question is self-explanatory. And while I am a Miami fan, I still love Penn sports. That is why I wanted to write for the DP. Okay, so I did miss a few home games to watch Miami on television. But I honestly have to say Penn sports have been just as exciting as Miami, especially this past year. I am not a traitor. Neither is my sister at Syracuse. The way we see it, we would be traitors if we all suddenly changed our loyalties and rooted against the Canes. My sophomore year, the Penn baseball team went down to Miami over spring break. I had great difficulty trying to decide who I would have cheered for. I did not make it to that game, but Miami probably would have been my choice. For all of you who actually read this column, I am sorry if I have made you sick writing all of these inches about a team, a school and a city that you probably despise, but as the bumper sticker says, "I bleed Orange and Green." Errin Camner is from Miami, Fla., and a sports writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian.
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