While the reader comments at the bottom of the webpage are mostly scathing, I believe the point is completely missed by those readers. This team is excited and eager; everyone's wanting to learn...to get better. Too many players in the NFL have an arrogant, cocky attitude; they they know all they need to know and that their peers just need to play better to win. This is not the case in Miami this season. These players under Joe Philbin are learning. They realize they DON'T know everything and they hunger for knowledge. As I said yesterday in another thread, I've been a fan for 41 years but this is the first time in a very very long time I've truly been excited for an upcoming season. I can't wait to see the Dolphins mop the floor against the rest of the NFL, especially the Jests and the Patsies.
In the movie "Field of Dreams", Kevin Costner heard the voice say to him, "If you build it, he will come" Well, taking that quote to a degree..."If you win games, they will come"
feel sorry for that program, it's funny that execs keep making the same mistake, they had no idea the consequences they would be facing leaving the orange bowl.. Let me ask you a question Todd, do you think the recruiters of clemson bring in recruits to Death Valley for a night game to sway their judgement as to where to play ball? Also, do you think a college program like Miami can compete with other programs who have elite venues that provide special atmospheres like an Oregon?
Mike Wallace loves the Dolphins’ “college mentality” Miami has competed with and dominated those teams at times. It helps when you go visit UM and run into a bunch of HOFers. The atmosphere sucks at games, but there is still plenty UM has to offer.
as an prior Canes fan growing up before going to Clemson, me too, Deej. yes. any game really. I'm not saying the following to fluff up Clemson. Just providing legitimate reasons why top state of Florida recruits like CJ Spiller, Sammy Watkins, and Florida's #2 recruits the past 3 years [Mackensie Alexander, Travis Blanks, and Tony Steward] come here. These guys bleed orange BTW. Clemson's campus and surrounding area is beautiful; the campus, team, and coaching staff have a very connected, family-like vibe that players & recruits adore; one of the loudest stadiums in football (owns a few of the top decibel recordings in NCAA history); one of the best game day atmospheres (routinely voted highly in this regard); offers one of the better traditions and "most exciting 25 seconds in college football" (rubbing of the rock & running down the hill); just won The South's Best Tailgate last season beating out Ole Miss & Bama (out of 510,000 votes); and has outstanding facilities (brand new, on-campus, indoor practice facility as nice as any in the country; also a separate full size indoor track facility). Here are some quotes, most notably this first one by Urban Meyer:[TABLE="width: 100%"] [TR] [TD="class: post-body, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, colspan: 2"]“I remember when I was coaching down at Florida, we would always lose kids in recruiting battles to Clemson (he lost Spiller to us). I would tell my coaches that we shouldn't be losing kids to Clemson. Charlie Strong responded ‘coach have you ever actually been to Clemson?’ I hadn’t but I’ll tell you what, I’ve been here now and I get it. This is an exceptional, special place.”[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] --Hershel Walker after at 13-3 loss at Clemson (his only regular season loss at UGA): "I came here knowing it would be loud and that Clemson would hit me hard, but to me, the noise was the biggest factor. I know I didn't concentrate as well because of it." --UNC All American Marcus Jones: "Everything just seems like a hushed roar. Thats all you hear. You really cant hear anybody standing next to you. You just have to shake your head and pretend like you heard what they said. I think its just the mystique of Clemson and seeing the guys coming off the hilltop and the way the stadium is shaped." --Steve Young: "Death Valley really lives up to its image. I was impressed with this stadium. When you put 80,000 people in there, it really feels like they are on top of you. I would hate to be Georgia Tech or whoever else comes in here." --Former Clemson running back Rodney Blunt on running down the hill: "When you get to the bottom its like you're in a hole and all around you are nothing but Clemson fans. Its like the crowd is one big voice. You feel like little kings." --NFL All Pro Michael Dean Perry: "The rock has strange powers. When you rub it, and run down the hill, the adrenaline flows. It's the most emotional experience I've ever had." --Former Clemson All American Jerry Butler: "Running down the hill is still talked about everywhere I go. Players who played against Clemson when I was in college remember us running the hill and thinking we would gain some type of spirit. The adrenaline rush was unbelievable for a Clemson player and quite a shock for the opponent." UM fans can pretend this stuff doesn't matter but it does, immensely. Past & present Clemson players & recruits speak about it HEAVILY, and with respect to Stringer I think it's slightly naive to believe past UM HOFers from a different time and somewhat different place (since there's no more Orange Bowl) can overcome it all, especially when this generation of players not being alive to witness the record setting Canes of old. Show a kid Clemson on game day, its beautiful scenery; let him feel the pre game player ritual first hand (Tiger Walk & the bus ride through the south's top voted tailgating experience); let him rub the rock and run down the hill to experience the "most exciting 25 seconds in college football" in front of 80,000+ cheering fans before kickoff; let him feel the incredible experience & energy of the game itself and its deafening noise; take him to the top notch indoor practice facility a few hundred yards from the stadium and show him the indoor track field; then follow it up with a day at Dabo's lake house with all the players, coaches, and their families. Then show a recruit UM's hour drive from campus to Sun Life Stadium; let him run out of the smoke into a nearly empty stadium before kickoff and see the game in front of a half empty crowd; let him see the stadium quickly empty out post game and sit through a boring bus ride back to campus as it all quickly deflates the entire experience, meanwhile Clemson's post game is still roaring with life; on rainy days, let the recruit see players take a boring bus ride to Nova University's practice bubble; show him UM's mediocre on campus facilities; let them see an empty campus on weekends; then tell him "but look, there's Michael Irvin!!" "Doesn't he make it all better!" "Why want any of what Clemson offers when you can occasionally bump into Michael Irvin". No, see above. Some of the great local Miami talent will still choose to stay local but I don't think Miami will ever become a yearly power again until they upgrade their facilities and add a stadium near campus; otherwise they don't have anything on these top programs that are modernized and do have all this stuff. For instance, here's Clemson's indoor practice facility & indoor track facility. Stuff like this is SIGNIFICANTLY more eye opening than seeing a friggin Hall of Famer walking down the hall. A HOFer offers nothing as far as football goes. It's nothing but temporary & fleeting nostalgia. Any recruit serious about his future won't prioritize Michael Irvin & Company over his actual college experience and what the football program itself offers. UM can have all the kids they want who think meeting a HOFer and Miami's success before they were born are the most important thing about their college decision making process. Or if you want to know what it's about, here's a YouTube clip that Clemson's current commit DeShaun Watson (#1 QB in the country) tweeted "Get chills when I see this video!". [video=youtube;z7PsvarItWQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7PsvarItWQ[/video] Compare that to UM's pre game/running out of the inflatable helmet: [video=youtube;ZCYqxrRc0SE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZCYqxrRc0SE[/video] ESPN's Game Day noise meter at Clemson, 117 db, "by far the loudest all year". [video=youtube;_xx0Xk4fxUo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_xx0Xk4fxUo[/video] What the stadium actually sounds like (pretty cool comparison actually): [video=youtube;GtTGRMv1DmM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GtTGRMv1DmM[/video] Deej, go to this page 5 link to the Clemson thread to see more alluring images of it all that draw these kids away from Florida. Not saying Clemson is the best thing since sliced bread but it along with other top programs offer so much nowadays that UM and many programs simply do not. http://www.thephins.com/forums/show...rs-thread-(future-champions-of-the-ACC)/page5
Not recently they haven't.... and it's mostly b/c Miami isn't a top notch program anymore. Running into HOFers doesn't make up for all the amenities and great game day atmosphere & experience UM is lacking that top programs offer. Question, does the nostalgia of meeting Michael Irvin the first time provide one of the most adrenaline rich experiences of a recruit's life that puts knots in his stomach and occasionally leaves him puking b/c of it? No? Didn't think so. That's a common reaction from recruits getting the full Clemson game day experience through the eyes of a player.
I meant to include the word currently, cause I think that energy and excitement maybe becoming even more important in this modern day when it comes to where top recruits sign.
I'm not sure how any cane fan can watch that pregame video you posted and think the stadium has not been a factor in the deterioting of two football cultures..to engage or not to engage, that is the question, I'm 100 percent confident what the answer is and how the negative impact insues...that's really sad man..lol, love watching the three people, father and kids by the railing, if those folks were in a stadium that put them closer to the action they would be standing on their feet screaming their *** off, not sunlife, Instead you get a golfers clap and checking the ole blackberry lol.
We have two programs players that do not get adrenaline from their fans, do we not think sustained adrenaline helps performance in players, do we not think inspiration from a crowd can elevate a performance....do players not find motivation and energy from their crowd....of course they do..just not in sunlife.
I wouldn't say the Cane games have a college feel. I grew up a Canes' fan and later attended UM for grad school. In between I went to UF (undergrad). I had been to many UM games including the national championship bowl game against Nebraska. When I went to my first Gator game I was shocked by how much more collegiate it felt at UF. Now I've never been to a Clemson game. They sound great. But UM games almost have a pro feel to them at least by comparison.
I'm not sure its the adrenaline thats an issue. There have been studies that concluded the advantage created by home field is with the refs. Hostile crowds result in favorable officiating. I would think that a crowd could just as much hurt a player's performance as help it.
Those studies are bogus, you cant measure what kind of impact a close loud crowd can do for the home team, Intense crowd noise can scatter the mind of the opponent, intimidate, how could Seattles, Ravens or the old Cane crowd hurt their own players performance.? Specifically the noise and closeness of the action, how in your opinion do those things hurt a home team? You seem to be questioning the very foundation of a true home field advantage.
People react to different situations in different ways. Added adrenaline could lead to someone being overaggressive. The home crowd could make players nervous. Ultimately I think these things even out for the players.
Great home crowd gives home team juice..if a few get nervous that doesn't mean it washes out the advantage collectively being motivated by their fans energy...56 home game winning streak, ravens dominance at home, Seattle would tell you that nerves were not affecting their teams.. When you have the extreme like our situation your talking about hoping that all the players come intrinsically motivated to start the game, and can they sustain their energy throughout the game.. Our venue makes it harder for our players from both programs to win games.. Can you actually tell me that cane players have no way of being affected negatively by what you saw above?
I believe the scientific research. It concludes that home field provides an advantage. The advantage isn't from players playing at a higher level, the advantage is from refs being influenced by home crowds.
Imo, The idea that a certain level of energy from a crowd cannot elevate a players performance or give a player more juice at critical times and or not affect the opponents central nervous system is preposterous, also the idea that an extreme case of the opposite cannot hurt those players is equally preposterous...this is a game played by humans, not robots..emotion is all part of it.. And your point about the refs is also relevant, when the crowd reaches a certain level of intensity and decibel level, the ref is more inclined to give the home time the call, if it's like a morgue, notsomuch.
Emotions are definitely part of it. It works both ways though. More juice could mean someone is over anxious or not completely focused. It could mean someone hesitates because they don't want to let down a stadium of their fans. I'd like to think that when an athlete is in the zone, he's unaware of his surroundings.
My bad, Raf, I only meant the fact that UM is a college who plays there. I was just trying to make a funny.
No Mike, that means we are "trying" to get a winning record". Coming from a team that reaches the Playoffs is the norm over the yrs. Hungry means we havnt been fed lately.
Apparently he is apologizing for saying this. I dont see who has a problem with what he said, the only "experts" that *****ed about this were SAS and Brainless. Personally I would end every press conference with "Skip Bayless is a ****tard" if I were an athelete. Svreamin A is only slightly smarter so I wouldnt call him a ****tard, but he has come close to ****tard territory.
Agree completely Deej. Re-watch UM's pregame energy level or lack thereof as players enter the field; then compare it to Clemson doing the same and tell me the crowd doesn't spike players' adrenaline to the max nor jolt their motivation to play their best b/c they know there's more at stake than just letting themselves down. [video=youtube;ZCYqxrRc0SE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZCYqxrRc0SE[/video] [video=youtube;Jvuee1-Mjio]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Jvuee1-Mjio[/video] Players routinely speak about feeding off the energy of the crowd. Of course the energy needs to be there to feed off it. I'm not even a player and I can feel the stadium energy fueling me. It's obvious as day; all you have to do is look at how it affects the fans themselves. You get half the stadium going loud & energetic and it empowered the other half to follow. Then suddenly you have the entire stadium rockin'. Without a chunk of the stadium first getting started, the rest of the stadium would still be seated and moderately silent and the adrenalin would be absent. If the crowd can feed the crowd itself to become pumped up and motivated as fans then it sure as **** can do the same for the players who are at field level feeling the brunt of it all.
When it's for the home team, the adrenaline is honed in on an aggressive focus, and can lift a player when tired that can be a platform to push themselves thru thresholds of fatigue.. Hence the results you see all over special venues that have the specific intimacy I'm talking about.. There will be ebb and flows, the opponent will sometimes be able to block it out and be able to execute, but not all the time, sometimes the intensity of the crowds energy and decibel level will make them make nervous decisions.. Please look at that video Todd keeps posting and try and put yourself in the minds of the athletes that are coming out to play in it, if your gonna sit here and tell me that that cannot have a negative impact on the mindset if a football team, then I'll just bow out now, there's nowhere to go in the convo.. This is an epidemic problem for these two franchises, and something I predicted would happen a long time ago, eventual deteriotion of the cultures to be specific.
