Brawl in Miami

TallySaint · 10-16-2006, 11:02 AM

Brawl in Miami: You could've seen this coming

Bob Gabordi - Tallahassee Democrat - 10/16

We all could've (and should've) seen this type of ugly, downright disgusting, event coming. In case you missed it, 13 Miami Hurricanes and 18 Florida International Golden Panthers were suspended by their leagues after a big brawl in the middle of the field Saturday. It was worse than that. One player was seen on video stomping on another player who was on the ground. Helmets were taken off and slung as weapons. Afterwards, the players were less than contrite; talking as if a fight that anywhere else would have landed them in jail was a badge of honor.

For all that, they got one game suspensions. An online poll on ESPN.com as of 10 a.m. showed 80 percent of the nearly 30,000 respondents thought the punishment too lenient. You have to wonder about the 20 percent who think otherwise.

I was ill watching it, and ill to have to explain it to my 12-year-old athlete in the making. Disgusting, yes. Surprising, no. Ignore the fact that these are two lousy football teams. It could have been any team under the wrong circumstances.

Larry Coker clearly has lost control of this Hurricane team and is likely to be fired. It might even happen today. That's probably best at this point. Losing control is the kind of thing that happens to a coach when major boosters hire airplanes to carry banners calling for his ouster. And when the talk show airwaves are filled with venom. Why should players listen to a guy that is going to be fired anyway?

These kinds of things build up at universities where all that matters is winning. No, make that where even winning isn't good enough; where winning every game is what matters. Football is not life and death, the saying goes; it is much more important than that. That should ring true pretty close to home, too.

There is a bandwagon trying to gain momentum at Florida State to get rid of Bobby Bowden, who has won more games than any coach in NCAA history, because the Seminoles have not competed for the national title recently. Never mind that the team is the defending ACC champions. Privately, boosters are worried about the impact of the Seminoles' losing. They are now 4-2 for the season.

On my blog last week, one person wrote in that he (or she) half expected FSU to lose to Duke on Saturday. I offered the person a quarter for every point Duke scored more than Florida State. FSU won, of course, 51-24. My children's milk money is safe.

I've even heard media pundits and "fans" use words like "deplorable" and "embarrassing" to describe what's happening with the FSU football program. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What happened in Miami Saturday is "deplorable" and "embarrassing." What has been happening at Florida State is football, a game in which sometimes you gotta lose.

http://www.tallahassee.com/special/b...seen-this.html

10-16-2006, 11:02 AM	#1
TallySaint 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tallahassee Posts: 1,367	Brawl in Miami Brawl in Miami: You could've seen this coming Bob Gabordi - Tallahassee Democrat - 10/16 We all could've (and should've) seen this type of ugly, downright disgusting, event coming. In case you missed it, 13 Miami Hurricanes and 18 Florida International Golden Panthers were suspended by their leagues after a big brawl in the middle of the field Saturday. It was worse than that. One player was seen on video stomping on another player who was on the ground. Helmets were taken off and slung as weapons. Afterwards, the players were less than contrite; talking as if a fight that anywhere else would have landed them in jail was a badge of honor. For all that, they got one game suspensions. An online poll on ESPN.com as of 10 a.m. showed 80 percent of the nearly 30,000 respondents thought the punishment too lenient. You have to wonder about the 20 percent who think otherwise. I was ill watching it, and ill to have to explain it to my 12-year-old athlete in the making. Disgusting, yes. Surprising, no. Ignore the fact that these are two lousy football teams. It could have been any team under the wrong circumstances. Larry Coker clearly has lost control of this Hurricane team and is likely to be fired. It might even happen today. That's probably best at this point. Losing control is the kind of thing that happens to a coach when major boosters hire airplanes to carry banners calling for his ouster. And when the talk show airwaves are filled with venom. Why should players listen to a guy that is going to be fired anyway? These kinds of things build up at universities where all that matters is winning. No, make that where even winning isn't good enough; where winning every game is what matters. Football is not life and death, the saying goes; it is much more important than that. That should ring true pretty close to home, too. There is a bandwagon trying to gain momentum at Florida State to get rid of Bobby Bowden, who has won more games than any coach in NCAA history, because the Seminoles have not competed for the national title recently. Never mind that the team is the defending ACC champions. Privately, boosters are worried about the impact of the Seminoles' losing. They are now 4-2 for the season. On my blog last week, one person wrote in that he (or she) half expected FSU to lose to Duke on Saturday. I offered the person a quarter for every point Duke scored more than Florida State. FSU won, of course, 51-24. My children's milk money is safe. I've even heard media pundits and "fans" use words like "deplorable" and "embarrassing" to describe what's happening with the FSU football program. Nothing could be further from the truth. What happened in Miami Saturday is "deplorable" and "embarrassing." What has been happening at Florida State is football, a game in which sometimes you gotta lose. http://www.tallahassee.com/special/b...seen-this.html
	My Guardian Angel wears a hard hat.