Hurricane Ian: Real Life Interrupts Our Football Fantasy

As Miami Hurricane football fans we are addicted to sports and fantasize about winning another National Championship. Sure, we all want to see "The U" get their 6th National Championship ring. That would be very nice indeed.

But today, real life makes all of that seem so irrelevant and unimportant.

Earlier today Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida as an extremely highly rated Category 4 storm. It is likely to go down as one of the top five strongest hurricanes to ever hit The Sunshine State. This is not a good thing.

The official impact point was Cayo Costa near Fort Myers, but as one of the largest storms in terms of sheer size it's impact will be felt State-wide.

This powerful hurricane will not only be life threatening, but incredibly devastating and very long lived for those who live in the area. While it followed a very simialr track as Hurricane Charlie in 2004, another Cat 4 storm that devastated Punta Gorda where it took a decade to rebuild, Ian dwarfed Charlie is size and scope and will also have a significantly larger impact.

One of our long-time bloggers RoachCane lives in Englewood-Venice area that is very near the central impact point. In late August, my wife and I had dinner with Roach and his wife when we were on our vacation in Manasota Key Beach near Englewood. We had a great time reminiscing about the UM glory days and shared a delicious seafood meal together. Good times with good people.

Here is a previous article I wrote in 2019 about him and his amazing coaching accomplishments: Roach Coach

Today as the storm made landfall I was very concerned so I texted him to see how he was doing. I asked if he evacuated or hunkered down.

It turns out he stayed and was hunkered down with his wife in their "safe room", an interior closet with no windows. He thought that they may have lost part of their roof and that the situation was bad and seemed to be getting worse.

In times like this, football or any sport becomes completely irrelevant and insignificant. Real life, and real people, always matter so much more.

We hope and pray for Coach Roach and all other people in the path of this deadly hurricane. May they be safe and protected from harm.

Comments

[YooperCane]

Prayers for you all Florida 🙏

[Old Skool]

Prayers for Sota and Wally as well.

[Sarasota 'cane]

I’m safe in Stuart, FL at a relative’s house. I evacuated my Mom from Naples along the way. Thanks for the kind thoughts.

[KYcane]

🙏🏻 For Roach

Also Kenny

[HerbieIbis]

Man I hate it for u guys having to go through this. I hope everything turns out for the best or as best as it could be.

[Terrance M Sullivan]

Praying 🙏 For All My Canespace Florida Family Love ❤ You! Stay Safe!

[DallasTX Cane]

Hope everyone was safe today.

[AeroCane]

Hoping everyone in Florida especially southwest and central made it thru the evening ok! I’m in st Augustine (not on the water) and we’re fine.

[VA Cane]

Sure hope all are safe;God be with you and keep you and all your love ones safe.Think of each of you and loved ones in prayers be safe.
VAC

[Ohio_Cane]

Prayers for all of U down south. Stay safe!

[MLALUMNI 1970]

I am safe up here in Michigan. My place on the Atlantic side is okay. I am south of Cocoa Beach and Cape Kennedy. I pray that you all are safe. Hope to go back down before November. Safety and love to everyone .❤️

[CGNC]

That storm was nasty and a huge rainmaker - I am on the east side in west palm so only had Tropical Storm winds, etc., but it started raining here in bands much earlier, but everything ok, just ALOT of water.

Prayers to everyone on the SW coast and above. Part of the Sanibel bridge is destroyed

[HerbieIbis]

Well folks, it looks like Ian is going to be paying me a visit at least close enough. Thankfully it ain't no 4. Up here in North Myrtle Beach about 3.5 from the beach.

[DallasTX Cane]

Prayer for Tua. Man, horrible. But Teddy B doing excellent job. I’m starting to like these ‘Phins.

[AeroCane]

Be safe Herb!
Hope Tua is ok!
McDaniel did his best Mario impression and lost the game! Running into the line on 3rd and short and going for too many field goals.

[VA Cane]

We are supposedly getting a lot of rain from this monster but I can deal with that. Hope all are safe and well.
Prayers for all in FL.

[MLALUMNI 1970]

Just checking in. I am still in Michigan, but hope to return to Fla before November. I only escaped because I am on the Atlantic coast side. Climate change is all of our faults. We have to face that the future is in our hands. Enough preaching.
On to the Canes. Anyone have any suggestions, answers, or solutions to our team??

[The Herb]

Been hammered most of the morning early afternoon with wind gusts and rain and now that Ian is on land the wind gusts around 55 and constant and just lost power. I'd hate to see what 150 looked like.

[AeroCane]

Keep safe herb
Hopefully you have a generator

[Harry Miller]

UTSA up 31 to 20 t end of first half over Middle Tennesse ST.

UTSA throwing the ball which is opening the run.

[MLALUMNI 1970]

I sure hope that the U digs into their deep pockets and donates whatever they need to help our brothers and sisters with what is needed.

[KYcane]

I’m happy to report that Roach is safe!

[MLALUMNI 1970]

Is anyone going to take over from Tom? Or if he stays, to help him out. He lives and breathes Canes!

[StillBasura]

He will stay. We’ve heard this song several times before. In fact, he already came back in the last blog. He’s not going anywhere.

[KYcane]

He’s not going anywhere.

Posted by: StillBasura | October 01, 2022 at 02:39 PM

#drama queen
🤣

[MLALUMNI 1970]

Don’t scare him or worse, don’t piss him off!❤️

[StillBasura]

Don’t put this on us, maryLou! This is squarely on the canes!!

[VA Cane]

He will be fine. The man is passionate about family friends and Canes football. I wish he could play for me; he hates losing and he has no issue expressing it. Hes been a fan a long time....he feels the ups and downs....the great great times....and he wants to get back to greatness...even if he has to endure the same football we have experienced since Jan 03 Fiasco in The Fiesta.....I bet hes gone Dorsey once or twice in his life....love it! Passion Desire Winner!

Got to love it!

Hope all are well be safe....and as Fleetwood Mac would say....Then Play On....if ya never heard it get the lp or cd...rocks!

Always VAC

[AeroCane]

Mario is so very disappointing! Sticking with TVD! He’s not the coach I thought he was and I really don’t expect much from him or the team and they sure won’t fire him! Sorry Harry and others: we ain’t gonna sniff an acc title with Mario at the helm. IMO

[86Cane]

#drama queen
🤣

Posted by: KYcane | October 01, 2022 at 04:16 PM

Oh my dear, the pain is too much to endure.

...places back of hand to forehead...sighs

[CGNC]

Posted by: AeroCane | October 03, 2022 at 07:36 AM

Sigh. I thought for UNC he would start Garcia. The team coming out flat is the exact same way the Ducks came out against Utah.....twice last year

[Terrance Sullivan]

"Manny Al Randy" Cristobal is the overhyped Head Coach supporting a Overhyped Tyler "Only Had One Bad Day" Van Dyke. Ww will pee down our legs again and conversely UNC will make us their Trick on the Stroll andike It SMDH! Take UNC and the Points. UNC 52 Miami 30!

[The Word From The Herb]

Dam, already throwing Mario under the sand.
Well, The Herb can understand your frustrations. I can't understand changing offenses, when a kid was rolling playing in a spread. In this day and time maybe Bama and a few others can run a pro style and make it work but that ain't us.
Also defensively we don't have the speed at corner to press man, at least not with Ivey or Stephenson. Maybe if the Dee line was getting into the backfield quickly maybe those 2 heroes could.
The way I see it, we have issues at LB, CB, WR and RB with all the injuries. The QB issues are a combination of a new offense not suited to Van Dyke, poor route runners, drops and elite talent at Wr.
I guess that about sums it up and unless we change that snails pace offense, we will make a porous UNC defense look like the number one unit in the land.
Manny tries to eat up the clock by running but with an extra Man in the box that will end up being a bad idea.
Spread offense 41 pro style 20.

[AeroCane]

T Sully
We only score 30 if Garcia comes in early enough to spark the O
Herb, I can’t see us holding unc that low
Mack hates the canes
PS I hope I’m terribly wrong and we win 35-31

[HerbieIbis]

Mario tries to eat up the clock.

[VA Cane]

3 yards a cloud of dust, punt.....2 runs incomplete pass punt...Hedley will be bz....

[HerbieIbis]

Van Dyke will go 15 for 28 for 120 yds. His longest pass completion will be 15yds. Go up to the line of scrimmage get set and then everybody stands back up, giving the defense all kind of time to get ready.

[AeroCane]

Our only hope offensively is if TVD sprains an ankle or a pinkie (LOL) in warm ups and gattis gets a headache and they let Garcia call his own plays LOL

[HerbieIbis]

It is amazing to watch teams who run the spread, Rpo, pistol, air raid or anything other than pro style and no matter what the level, Wr's are running open all over the field. We on the other hand, can't shed the CB's who are wearing our shirts for us. The routes take to long to develop as well.

[86Cane]

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