Should I Raise My Son As A Miami Hurricanes Fan?

My beautiful wife and I recently had our first child together, a boy. Following one of my favorite TV character Ron Swanson’s parenting methods, his name and picture shall remain private.

After experiencing the initial joy of fatherhood, I eventually had this thought: Should I raise my son as a Miami Hurricanes fan?

Please, stay with me. I just want to talk it out while listing some pros and cons of cheering for the Canes. I understand this is a Miami Hurricanes website so the obvious answer is yes...probably.

Pro: I get someone to talk with about everything Miami

Sadly, my wife and step kids do not share my love of everything Miami Hurricanes. Worse, my dad knows and cares less and less about the Canes every year. This leaves me with no one local to dish about Miami sports with, good and bad. Instead of talking to myself like a crazy person, my boy and I can have pointless conversations about the state of all things Miami Hurricanes. That makes me happy.

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Pro: Miami appears to have a consistently good basketball program

Coach L has his program humming after back-to-back Elite Eight and Final Four appearances the last two seasons. More importantly, the guys on the hard court have been fun to watch! College basketball can be a rough viewing experience, but I thoroughly enjoyed most of Miami’s games these last two years. Watching Canes football the last two seasons..not so much.

Being that my last name is Schiffman and my wife is a petite woman, I don’t see my boy making it to the NBA. Doing analytics for an NBA team? Maybe.

Con: Distant memories of championship football

Unless Coach Cristobal gets the Canes rolling this season, we fans will continue to hold onto the 2001 team for dear life. There have been some awesome teams since then: 2013 FSU, 2018 Clemson, 2019 LSU, 2020 Alabama, 2021 Georgia. The 2001 Canes still take the cake. While it’s cool having bragging rights for the greatest college football team of all time, it would be nice to have some current success. My boy doesn’t know who Ken Dorsey is. (Sigh). Hopefully, he gets to know a national championship-winning quarterback later this decade or the next, the way I got to know Kenny D.

If my boy wants to play football, I’m all for it. I could see him being a skilled cornerback or slot receiver. “Schiffman with the touchdown!” Sounds pretty cool. Youth football here we come!

Photo by Jon Soohoo/WireImage

Pro: Miami has a consistently good baseball team..kind of

As a kid, I remember watching many a Miami Super Regional and College World Series games featuring the Canes. Lately, not as much. Miami has flat-out choked in some recent years as the Regional or Super Regional favorite. So far in 2023, they look good. Canes baseball needs to regain their clutch gene.

If it’s up to me, my boy will follow baseball just like I do, extremely casually.

Con: No benefit of the doubt, ever

The above sentence is a good lesson in real life. In sports, not so much. The Canes have been boned by so many calls on the football field over the years that I’m not going to list them all. The 2003 Fiesta Bowl hurts the worst for me, by far.

My boy will have to learn that he can never expect the benefit of the doubt when it comes to anything outside of the player’s control. It can be extremely frustrating, but we Miami fans are used to it by now.

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Pro: He will have to share in my torture

I want my son to have the best life possible. When it comes to sports, a little disappointment never hurt anyone. I have suffered my fair share as a Canes fan, with some coming as a kid. Watching the 1992 and 1995 National Championship game losses sucked. Not to mention seeing the Orlando Magic in person with my dad blow games one and two at home in the 1995 NBA Finals.

Those experiences were meaningful in how bad the losses were for the team. I wasn’t all that broken up about them. I was as a kid. The 2003 Fiesta Bowl was a different story. Damnit. Did I mention that game again? Not sure why. It’s not like it still bothers me, possibly more than it should.

Con: He will have to share in my torture

I was lucky enough to witness some incredible Canes football growing up. Hopefully my son will too. Hopefully. The next ten years of Miami football will shape the way he views them as he continues to grow up. The way the basketball team has been playing the last couple of years, he might be looking forward to March instead of January. That would be tough.

Verdict:

My son will be raised as a Miami Hurricanes sports fan. He has to be. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to pass down this obsession to him.

Plus, he already has a few Canes onesies, so what the hell.

GO CANES!