My parents were both Miami alums. My mom graduated summa *** laude and my dad received three degrees including a doctorate. From early elementary school they took me to games on Friday night. I loved it. They were more enjoyable than the Dolphin glory years games a few years later, which we also attended as season ticket holders.
I never considered attending the school because I wanted to go away, and I wanted a top journalism school with a praised daily student paper. Originally I was accepted to Missouri and scheduled to stay at the Mark Twain Residence Hall. Not until my dad told me we needed to shop for winter clothes did I begin to have second thoughts. We actually went to the store and bought a few heavy items before I got home and felt sick to my stomach. I took a ride around the block on my bike and decided that USC, my second choice, suddenly seemed a heck of a lot more appealing. I told my dad I changed my mind. He asked if I was sure. Yep. We called Missouri and cancelled, paying a small fine to the residence hall.
Fortunately I hadn't said no to USC. But they were already finalized for fall enrollment. I managed to get delayed enrollment until spring. So I spent a semester at Dade South and also taking clep tests. Saved lots of cash.
To my surprise, the base courses at Dade South were more challenging than the pre-major courses at USC. My dad told me he knew that would be the case. The Miami Dade professors in that era were full timers and very dedicated. They were highly educated and trained, and frustrated that they were forced to teach first and second year classes when they were capable of far beyond that. Basically, they cheated and taught more advanced stuff, regardless of the title of the course. I really had to step up my game. But once I got to USC it was a joke. I looked around the room as if to say, are they serious? It was cupcakes. I remember a math class teaching subsets and nobody in the room knew what it was. When I started taking the upper level courses and it was a culture shock. Exactly the opposite. The journalism professors were big shots in the Los Angeles media. They knew their craft and wouldn't accept anything sloppy or second level. Tons of writing assignments and if you botched anything they let you know about it.
Nowadays I understand the Miami Dade system has eliminated the full time professors and the classes are a comparative joke.
Anyway, the Canes were nothing when I enrolled at USC. I took some ribbing when I wore my Canes shirts. But when I was a junior the football team woke up and I started to hear some positive mentions. Your cute little team is decent for a change. Obviously they expected it would be short lived and relatively minor. Truthfully, I agreed with them. I never assumed anything beyond an occasional minor bowl.
To this day I'm not fully accepted or welcome on USC boards because I claim greater allegiance to the Canes. Lots of USC alums doubt that I went to school there and force me to prove it. They can't believe anyone would be a bigger fan of another team than their alma mater.
I don't understand the beef. The Canes feel like an investment that paid off. I'm still a fan of USC and root passionately for them. Second favorite. But I can't get myself to follow the roster closely. That was reserved only for my school years, when I covered the team for the Daily Trojan, or the DT as it's known in SC circles.
The two teams never face each other and seldom compete for the same recruits. Only a couple of times have they occupied high poll positions simultaneously. I can remember '88, semi '02, and briefly in '03 and '04.
On Canes sites I've taken some grief for failing to smooch the program. Laughable. I'm not going to pretend the move to Sun Life was anything but a disaster, an ignorant move that regulates the level of the program. Likewise the gameday experience at Miami is not college football at all. It is comparable to attending a junior college as opposed to one of the great universities in the country.
More than anything, there's nothing to hate at USC. The rivalry with UCLA may be nearby but it isn't overflowing mockery and distaste. That's why you have plenty of SC students and alums who actually have greater animosity toward Notre Dame.
With the Canes, there's a marvelous and deserved target in the Gators, otherwise known as Orange, Blue and Mostly Yellow. I can't imagine abandoning or diminishing my hatred for the Gators, even for one lonely day. They ran away in 1987 and now we own them for all eternity. Well earned. I love to laugh at the Gator Mom bumper stickers that I see virtually every day.
