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And that's where SOTU was for one night. SHOTS Miami - a trendy bar/lounge in the Wynwood section of Miami hosted the Miami New Times Best of the Web Awards. The food trucks were out, the music was pumping, and the Apothic wine was flowing like the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates. The friendly crowd became even more so as the complimentary social lubricant went to work.
When 9PM rolled around, the awards were announced. I was fortunate to be there to accept the award for our team. Over the past couple of years this blog has gone through a ton of changes. With a new name and a more diverse approach to covering our beloved Miami Hurricanes, we feel we've been able to provide great content to 'Canes fans and have had a blast along the way.
As is typical with awards speeches, we'd like to start off with thanking the University of Miami Hurricanes. Without you, dear orange, green, and white, none of this would be possible. We would all have to find something different to dedicate our passion and free time to. And that would suck.
UM's Athletic Department is pocket aces. Thanks to the group over there for giving us media access to cover 'Canes sports. Likewise, without the student-athletes at The U giving their all, we'd wink out of existence.
Obviously, we owe this award to our readers and 'Canes fans everywhere that were prodded, pleaded, and coerced into voting. Without our readers taking the time to bubble in 50 things just to cast a vote for us we would have never taken home the gold. Thanks for reading SOTU and being part of our 'Canes community!
Since they all couldn't be there - some due to geographical restrictions and others due to chronological concerns, I'd like to give a shout out to our team, led by the ubiquitous Jerry Steinberg, and in no particular order: Juan Toribio, NOVAcane (Michael Grunewald), dorseyitis (Mike Seay), Daniel Tummeley, John Pickens (Brett O.), Scott Salomon, Cameron J. Underwood, Charlie "STRAUZER", cane49p (Ricky Paolillo) , Craig T, Joe Garcia Jr., Larry "The Amigo" Milian, and our newest additions, Josh Maser and julian.gamble.45. Yes, that Julian Gamble! Lt. Philip Nolan and Issac_Koppel aren't with SOTU anymore, but they will always be a part of our team. Hoops consigliere Josh Frank gets props too.
We'd also like to thank the folks at SB Nation for allowing us to do our thing, especially Luke Zimmermann and Mark Ennis. And last but certainly not least the The University of Miami, and all the fine people from SID Chris Yandle, Chris Freet, Amy Woodruff, and all the wonderful people in Coral Gables who make our lives easier on a daily basis.