The relatively well known saying that is the title of this blog has become fairly popular over the past few years. It came to mind as I was walking out of the Citrus Bowl the other night after the Miami Hurricanes were completely blown out of the Russell Athletic Bowl by the Louisville Cardinals 36-9.
So I thought I would put together a list of five simple wishes that many Hurricane fans probably had prior to the game, Miami's first bowl game in four years, that simply did not come true in Orlando .
Maybe in looking back, you might even say that these hopeful and optimistic prognostications were probably not very wise wishes to begin with?
Wish #1: We all wished that with the NCAA investigation finally over, and the supposed "cloud being lifted" off of the UM program, and with Miami being bowl eligible for the first time in many years, that Hurricane fans would have somewhere fun to go and something good to cheer about.
Result: The first part of this wish actually came true as several Canespacers attended the pep rally at Pointe Orlando on Friday and managed to spend some quality time walking around, eating and drinking in the popular I-Drive tourist area of Orlando. We met many UM fans for the first time and some that we have known for many, many years. The second part of the wish was a completely different story however as the Hurricanes laid a massive, steaming, stinking turd on the field at the old and soon to be renovated Citrus Bowl on Saturday night. There was little (sacking Bridgewater for a safety) if anything (0 points score by the offense until a late TD) to cheer for by those wearing orange and green in the stands. After four years of waiting for a bowl game the UM fans left the Citrus bowl either numb, or cursing or just shaking their heads while asking themselves: "What was that?" Be careful what U wish for.
Wish #2: As many here already know I wished all along that Miami would be selected to play in Orlando rather than Atlanta so I could attend the game since I, and many other Hurricane fans, live in Central Florida. I even bet my good friend and Canespace blogger Terrance a dinner over the bowl selection and won the bet.
Result: I regret making this wish. The game itself was absolutely miserable even though I was one of the few of the over 30 fans I met at the game who tried to remain positive even going into the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. The parking was horrendous, the traffic around Orlando during Christmas week is no picnic and even though it was a "local game" for me I still spent more of my hard earned money on a pitiful entertainment performance by the Hurricanes than I would have liked. The bet with Terrance is now one in retrospect that I wish I would have lost. Don't you find it just a bit ironic that Terrance (in spite of his plan to attend) never made it to Orlando for the bowl game while I did but wished I didn't? Like I said, be careful what U wish for.
Wish #3: We all wished that with 15 extra practices for the bowl game and a month to prepare that at the very least these two things would happen: (1) The team individually and collectively would get better and execute at a very high level; and (2) That the UM coaching staff would have the team well prepared and demonstrate their coaching ability.
Result: This wish became just another of many wishes UM fans have had to throw into the dumpster during the 2013 college football season. The Hurricane fans' wish list (realistic or not) that was drawn up before this season is too long to get into right now but we will return to that another time. However, the preparation, execution and coaching from Miami was bordering on non-existent based on the performance on the field during the Russell Athletic Bowl. The UM offense looked completely unprepared for the Louisville defense master-minded by Cardinal head coach Charlie Strong. The UM defense, while playing relatively well for most of the first half eventually got tired (or overwhelmed by the UM offensive ineptitude) and surrendered over 500 yards for the sixth straight game. The only highlight was season MVP punter Pat O'Donnell who boomed several nice punts during the evening. When all you have to cheer is your punter playing well (think Matt Bosher), you wind up leaving the game early and angry like many UM fans did by the end of the third quarter. Even though we stayed, we don't blame them for leaving, they never wished for this.
Wish #4: I had wished that UM head coach Al Golden would use this bowl game as a tool that could once and for all silence even some of his most vocal and harshest critics and as a step forward in dominating the recruiting wars that are sure to follow as Louisville joins the ACC in 2014.
Result: Much to my chagrin, this wish most certainly did not come true and in fact may have made matters even worse. Golden and his coaching staff clearly opened themselves up to even more criticism than they had endured at previous times this season. Miami had several chances at winning their division of the ACC this year but dropped the ball both times versus Virginia Tech and Duke. Losing to a basketball school like Duke had stung the worst until the debacle in Orlando versus Louisville, a team that many Hurricane fans hate and one that is joining the ACC next year. If you thought that former UM DL coach Clint Hurtt was stealing talent from South Florida before the game then what do you think he will do after that thrashing about the head and neck the Miami Hurricanes took from the Louisville Cardinals the other night?
Wish #5: Miami fans wished for a bowl game win for the first time in many years, a solid 10 win season for the first time in what now seems like forever and some serious positive momentum going into the 2014 season and the high school recruiting and signing period.
Result: So how did that wish turn out? Not so good U say? If this wish were a dream it would be a nightmare, which is exactly what the Russell Athletic Bowl game was for Miami Hurricane fans, players and coaches. The team showed up in Orlando but did not show up to play at the Citrus Bowl. What makes it even more disturbing is that before the game I talked to one of the player's parent who said that Golden met with them in Orlando and told them that: "The team is ready, the guys are really motivated to play!" How can you be so out of touch with your team that you have no clue who is motivated or what "ready to play" is? With all due respect, all I can say that if that demonstration of lack of preparation and execution that we all saw on Saturday night is what Al Golden thinks is "ready to play", then I would hate to see the opposite of that.
At this point of the article I was just going to wish all of the great bloggers out there in Canespace a Happy New Year. But then again this wishing thing hasn't turned out so well for us this year now has it?
Yes indeed, I think we must all be very, very careful what we wish for.
I will judge this coaching staff this year! So far Golden has been loyal and worked his ass off.
Happy New Year!!!
Posted by: Surfercane | December 31, 2013 at 04:16 PM