Last Saturday during the 3rd quarter of the Miami versus Florida International game, a bench-clearing brawl broke out. Punches were thrown, helmets were being used as num-chucks, and the ever so popular new fad as to stomp on your opponent was alive and kickin’.
The whole thing started off after a point after point the Hurricanes up 14-0, and an FIU player body slammed the Miami kicker after some scuffling between some linemen. Things got out of hand quick, as Miami players started taking off their helmets and swinging them at Florida International players. At one point an FIU player was on the ground and being stomped by a few of the U players, most notably Brandon Merriwether. After this fight took place Miami players got in a circle, raised their helmets to the skis, and began jumping up and down celebrating their supposed “victory” in this brawl.
Miami has handed out 13 suspensions for the fight, 3 of which are starters, but if you ask me, that should only be the beginning of the punishment. If the Canes ever want to get rid of the “Thug” and “Dirty” logo that has been stamped on them, then it must start by cleaning a mess that they have created.
Sure, these Miami players claim that FIU started the fight and that they were only acting in self-defense. To that I say bull crap. Why should anybody believe a word that comes from Miami anymore? This is a team that was involved in a scuffle with Louisiana State after a bowl game a few years back, and who also pulled some similar antics at Louisville as well. I will not even go into embarrassing the school by pointing out the alum that went there who ended up in jail or rehab.
Miami has created an image for themselves, and it is a bad one, like it or not. Honestly, they can take a giant leap in getting rid of that image. They can turn this thing into a blessing in disguise.
Two things can happen in the next week or so. One of them is that Miami could do the right thing and not participate in any bowl games this season. That is what South Carolina and Clemson did and neither school is looked down upon because of it. Also, they should sit Brandon Merriwether for the remainder of the year. You may be thinking I’m sounding a little bit harsh, but I honestly was thinking of suggesting expulsion for the kid.
The other thing that can happen is something that I believe will happen, and that is Miami will suspend these kids for a game, and go on like nothing happened. That would leave pretty much no room for the Miami football team and school itself to recover, and would have all the Miami haters out there saying “I told you so”
That brings me to my next point. I wonder what Charlie Weis would do in this situation? I wonder what Charlie Weis would do if his players celebrated after winning a brawl during the middle of a football game? What would he do if Darius Walker, Brady Quinn, and John Carlson became the 8th floor crew and wrote rap song, which has lyrics that would make Snoop Dog blush and have it end up on the Internet? Well, he can’t legally kill the kids, but I’d be willing to bet the punishments would be much harsher than Miami could have come up with.
Honestly, had Charlie Weis been in Larry Coker’s shoes, and reviewed the game tape, I can assure you that the two things I mentioned above may have happened already. 1. They pull themselves out of bowl eligibility. And 2. Brandon Merriwether is suspended for the remainder of the year. You can also bet that the majority of the suspensions given out by the U would not be enough for Weis, as most of them would be seen as 2 or 3 game suspensions in his eyes.
Thankfully, Charlie is our coach. A coach who has class. A coach who made the guarding “The S” a complete bore for Michigan State, as he never intended on doing anything in the first place. Nothing like the Miami incident has ever happened at Notre Dame unless you count the pre-game fight in 1988 between Notre Dame and…you guessed it. Miami. Notre Dame players who have been caught by the police in the past 20 years can be counted on one hand, and the graduation rate of 95 percent isn’t half bad either. Notre Dame would never stand for the stuff that Miami let’s slide. And Miami fans wonder why the media loves Notre Dame so much and hates on Miami. That’s like picking between a priest and a crack dealer.
Case in point, this is just a short little write up on how lucky we all are to be Irish fans. We have a squeaky clean team with a squeaky clean image. I know that all Irish fans are looked at as snot nosed, and have that “holier than thou” attitude. So what? I have that attitude, and I’m sure many share it with me. Why shouldn’t I be proud of my team? After all, Notre Dame is where schools like Miami wish they were.
Nail on the head.
What exactly was that which happened on the NOTRE DAME SIDELINES after a MSU player got tackled out of bounds. Were they just helping him back onto the field? All 50 of them? Charlie showed a lot of “class” claiming he’d been punched, when video shows no MSU player even near him. Kept his team from getting a personal foul though, didn’t it?
Real class and sportsmanship there.
This is the reason why so many think so little of Notre Dame. Most of their fans live with blinders on.
In case your not sure what I meant by 35 days; it is actually a bit less but maybe this will refresh your memory.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kk0F3uI3T90&mode=related&search=
Not long with the power of the internet…
Simply responding to the rather grand statement that both Tyler and Joe Theisman (on MNF) made.
“Nothing like the Miami incident has ever happened at Notre Dame unless you count the pre-game fight in 1988 between Notre Dame and…you guessed it. Miami.”
I would expect a little more scholarly research from alumnus of ND. I would also venture to guess that almost every major program has had an incident like this in their past, whether 35 years or days ago. Who are you or I to judge? I don’t excuse what happened, but I think the media and public are jumping on this because it is Miami.
How long did it take you to find that video? And we are talking about an incident that occured 35…that is three five…35 years ago. Give us something from the 1990 or above. There are plenty of “The U” videos out there of them acting like THUGS because that is what they are. Almost annually between them and FSU.
What has Miami doen to show sportsmanship? I could go on for ND, but I am searching high and low for 1 with Miami.
Go Irish!!
You should watch this video before mentioning that this fight would never happen at Notre Dame.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1zgzXSbuyB8
This is ridiculous…you should do a little research before you start talking. Notre Dame has had their fair share of bench clearing brawls in the past and it’s not that a school has chosen to recruit thugs to their school. However I have you know in order for a UM player to be eligible to play in a game they have to hold a certain academic standard. Hence the reason for early season suspensions & one of the reasons why Butch Davis will not come back to coach…because that makes recruiting even harder. Notre Dame and every other school; including all professional sports have all had their fair share of bench clearing brawls & it is absolutely ludacris for a human being to call UM or FIU thug schools…fights happen in sports & just because the majority of players in all major sports (football, basketball, baseball) are minorties does classify them as thugs…
Fights happen in sports because of the high level of competition that is associated in the event…that includes the ridiculous fights in the seats/stands…
One of the largest sports to draw bench clearing brawls including fights in the stands is SOCCER/Futbol…the largest sport in the world…does that make all soccer players that fight thugs or teams they play on?????
Think before you speak…it’s ridiculous that a program of which all other programs wish they were at (that level) has a couple of fights during their down period and they are known as Thug U…
No matter what is said and if the research is done…no other program in the last 20+ years have fostered more 1st round draft picks, and have won more titles…oh yeah and thier is only one Univeristy in this country known simply as the “U”
I am a graduate of Notre Dame as well as a graduate and full-time faculty member of the University of Miami. I am astonished and embarrassed that President Shalala has not expelled both Reddick and Meriweather. Be proud of the things that make Notre Dame and Miami such different institutions.
Robert R. Kemper, Jr., MD, PhD
In alphabetical order, Boston College, Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Rice and Virginia have been lauded by the American College Football Association more than any other teams for academic achievment. All of those are clean programs. Of them, one could argue that only BC and ND (once upon a time UVA) play top-25 football.
I think it is time for a strengthening of values and academics across the NCAA. Maybe the Jesuits and the Holy Cross fathers should conduct a seminar for college coaches nationally?
I love Notre Dame, and always will, but there was the pregame brawl with USC in 1989. The MSU brawl last month. OT Ryan Harris pulling the face mask, etc. Be careful.
Roger L. Butler
You said it perfectly.