To Chain or Not To Chain?

To chain or not to chain that is the question. It came out this week that Miami may be retiring The Turnover Chain. Fans and former players engaged in multiple arguments about what the fate of the chains should be. At the height of the Turnover Chain it was one of the coolest things going in college football, but by the end of last year it was the bud of lots of jokes for a mediocre football team.

The Beginning

It was an inauspicious start as Miami caused a late turnover against Bethune Cookman and the chain was placed on Malek Young on the sideline. It was talked about on the broadcast as almost a “hey look at this.” As the season progressed the chain took on a life of its own. The Canes were very opportunistic that season causing a ton of turnovers and the chain seemed to have superpowers. By the time Miami reached back-to-back games against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, ABC and ESPN were eating up the chain like it was a 20-piece wings from Flanagans.

Solo D had the Turnover Chain song blasting all over college football and Miami seemed to be back. The pick 6 Trajan Bandy had against the Irish was the crescendo to a 10-0 start. Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst started the disrespect as he talked trash about the prop after Wisconsin’s Orange Bowl win over Miami.

2018 saw the 1st new evolution of the chain when the U was replaced with a gold Sebastian which was awesome at the time, but in retrospect seemed to change the value of the chain. In 2018 Miami was really good on defense but the offense struggled mightily and no matter how much Miami's defense tried to keep things intact, the offense wasn’t good enough to translate turnovers into wins. The signature moment was the comeback against FSU when the Canes came up with back-to-back turnovers to complete a 27-7 comeback win.

By the time 2019 got here and Manny Diaz was named head coach, the chain got its 3rd inclination and TouchDown Rings were brought on as a reward. Miami was a football team that was in full rebuild mode and the celebration props seemed foolish when discipline was lacking, and the sideline excitement seemed contrived. Miami finished 7-5 and the allure of the rings and chains seemed to be only good for fans and t-shirts.

The low point was in the 2021 opener against Alabama where the Canes broke out the chain while getting blown out, then had to put in back in the box when the play was overturned by review.

What To Do?

Miami has always been trendsetters in college football, and after the chain came out in 2017 it seemed that everyone had some sort of turnover prop. We saw chainsaws, pimp robes, thrones, trash cans and even the purse (FSU). I understand where fans now want to pile on that the chain hasn’t equated to wins, but I don’t think one equals the other. Miami wasn’t winning because of coaching (or lack thereof), poor development of players, and a 15 year entitlement amongst the program. Former players like Alonzo Highsmith took to Twitter and blasted the chain.

So where do we go now? Why not bring it back? Bama still has the ball out belt and National Champion Georgia has the “Savage spikes”. Miami will win because of hard work off the field and discipline by the new coaching staff. The kids seem to enjoy it, and if the Canes can start by winning the coastal, the chain won’t look so foolish. The rings can kick rocks, but let’s make the chain a staple like the smoke and 4 fingers.

What do you think? Keep the chain, or no?

It’s a Canes Thing