The Last Game Ever Played

I have been attending University of Miami athletic events since 1972.

When I was only 10 years old my father took me to see a University of Miami football game in the Orange Bowl on a Friday night. We sat in the employee's section in the upper deck on the north side of the stadium when only about 20,000 fans would show up for a game. Miami High played on Thursday or Friday nights in the OB also and could draw about 10,000 against their rivals.

But I didn't care how many people were there, I only cared that my dad took the time out of his busy work schedule to take me to the game and watch the Miami Hurricanes play their hearts out for the fans against what was almost always superior talent. It was a blast and I cherish those memories.

And I got to see players like Chuck Foreman and Burgess Owens. Rubin Carter and Dennis Harrah. Eddie Edwards, Ottis Anderson and Fred Marion. Those guys were heroes to me and as great as any player on any team at the time.

We often lost but it was always a treat to spend time with my dad and maybe have a hot dog (mustard/relish) and a coke and cheer for the team wearing orange and green. Those were good times for a young kid growing up in Miami.

Since that time long, long ago I have attended so many UM sports events that I can't even begin to try to tell you the whole story. Along the way there were so many glorious victories and some stunning defeats. At home and on the road I was there to watch the rise and fall of many great UM teams in several sports. It was a roller coaster ride through history with so many good and bad times.

Last Wednesday night I attended the Miami vs UCF baseball game in Orlando on the beautiful campus of the University of Central Florida.

And as it turns out that may be the last game ever played.

The baseball stadium at UCF reminds me of the UM baseball stadium back in the late 80's and early 90's. Back in the day in Coral Gables I was part of a group that called ourselves the "Right Field Rowdies". We would hang out behind the right field fence, drink some beer and fire up the grill (and maybe a few other things) and watch the smoke blow across the field at Mark Light Stadium.

We would yell things, sometimes borderline offensive, at the right fielders of the opposing teams as they stood in right field. It was wrong, but we were young, and dumb, and drinking, and well you get the picture. We gave them hell, intimidated the players and it often worked to our advantage.

The funny thing was we never got harrassed, or removed or escorted out of the area behind right field. That would certainly never be allowed in today's athletic events. I guess those were the days.

At the most recent game at UCF, the opposing fans were friendly, the game was played in typical fashion, and Miami won 3-2. But as I stood there in that stadium, among many other fans, I had this thought run through my mind that:

"This could be the last game I, or anyone here, ever sees."

The Corona Virus seems to have taken the world hostage. You can't go out in public or even be in large crowds anymore. You are advised not to congregate in more than groups of 50 people. But at the ballgame nobody seemed to care.

Sports events and entire seasons are being cancelled all around. The sports world has been turned upside down and ESPN has nothing to show on it's 24 hour news feed. The only thing I have to possibly say is this: 

Maybe I was at the last game ever played.

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