On to Florida

Rocktober came to a close with a week-long trip to Miami with Mrs. Beav. Before we left, however, I moseyed out to the Carrier Dome to catch the Syracuse Orange take on the Akron Zips. So with the Orange desperately needing a win to stay in bowl contention, I made it a point to get out and support the team. Plus I'd never seen the Akron Zips in person, so it was an opportunity to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. With a 3:30 kickoff and 4.5 hour post-game drive and a flight to Miami lurking the next morning, there wasn't a lot of room for tailgating before or after catching the Syracuse game. So my brother, father, and I kept it simple before kickoff and nursed a couple of beers throughout the game en route to an Orange victory. The Zips started the game off with a scare, however, converting a Syracuse turnover into a touchdown on their second drive. The Orange used a healthy dose of running back Delone Carter and a strong defensive effort (Akron gained 0 yards on the ground) led by LB Derrell Smith to secure the 28-14 win. It wasn't the prettiest of performances by the Orange, but it sure beats losing and at this point SU will take 'em any way they can get 'em. Bienvenido A Miami After the game I drove home, got a quick sleep, and was at the airport at 6 the next morning to go to Miami. Mrs. Beav and I touched down in "the city where the heat is on all night on the beach till the break of dawn" at about 11AM and made our way to Landshark Stadium for the 4:15 Dolphins vs Saints game. It was my better half's first NFL game, and it was my first trip to Landshark Stadium. Needless to say, we had a lot of rookie observations that stuck out. First, the tailgate scene was like none other I've ever encountered. Not necessarily better, just unique. Having grown up in the Northeast I am used to chilly October football games, not sweat-your-bag-off humidity and lathering up with sunscreen. Seeing as how we had just traveled from shitty weather back home and now everybody was scantily clad, I was not about to complain. And speaking of scantily clad, there was an abundance of fake breasts gracing the premises, and few of their owners- if any- were shy about showing off these assets. Miami is a flashy city for sure. Moving into the game, we got to our seats just before kickoff as the Mrs. was feeling the South Florida heat already and was a bit woozy. After some hydrating she settled in for the rest of the game and was fine...As long as the dbags who sat behind us took a break from commentating play-by-play, which was pretty much never. It felt like we were watching a game with narrators, only the narrators had a tendency to argue with each other and borrow sayings from NFL Films clips like "You gotta bring it every Sunday baby!!" and "Welcome to the NFL!!" It was pure cheez, and purely annoying. The Dolphins opened the game on a roll, opening up a 21 point lead in the 2nd quarter, only to squander it in the second half by abandoning their strength as a running team in favor of 3-and-out pass-filled drives. This allowed the Saints to get back in the game, and eventually squish the fish at home by 12. Turn up the Heat By Wednesday, I had my fill of sitting around not catching live games. So we loaded up the family truckster and were off to the Miami Heat season opener. The New York Knicks happened to be in town, and the local papers penned this as one of their more fierce rivalries. Personally, I can't say as I knew this but then again I am not the most avid NBA fan on the planet by any means. Also coinciding with opening night was the jersey retirement ceremony for Tim Hardaway, highlighted by a long-winded speech by former coach and current GM Pat Riley. The Heat boss took the liberty of comparing Hardaway to legend Magic Johnson, which made the speech a little more amusing. One aspect of the Heat fanbase that was refreshing was that it was a very international and ethnic group of fans. The Heat game day team does an excellent job of marketing their product to this audience, using multiple languages to interpret bigger moments in the game. By the end of the night the Heat had asserted themselves as the superior team, burying the run-and-gun Knicks. One more for the road A couple of days and a killer sunburn later we found ourselves back on the live action circuit. This time we paid a trip to FIU Stadium, home of the Florida International Golden Panthers. The Panthers played host to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, and all 150 of their fans. It was the final game of our trip. If you're like me and you've never been to South Florida this time of year but you're headed for a visit, let me say this: be prepared to sweat. The temperatures have not yet reached that cool/comfortable zone which visitors from colder climates covet. As a result you end up sweating your nuts off if you do anything in the sun. That said, kickoff was at high noon at FIU stadium during our visit. Apparently the university generally holds its games at night as a relief from the heat, but since it was Halloween they opted to go with the early kickoff. And in making this decision they may have chased away the fans who belonged in the other 19,000 seats of the 20,000 seat venue. But I digress. We were there to watch a football game and, god willing, we'd do it. Sure, maybe we hoped for a blowout so we could escape the heat with a clean conscience, but that doesn't mean we gave up. Ultimately, we found seats in the sliver of stadium that had shade and watched most of the game under cover. The first half was slow, and the game was quite sluggish until the 4th quarter. With less than two minutes to go, a 4 point lead and a first and goal inside the 5, the Ragin' Cajuns needed a TD to seal the game. Guess what? They didn't get one. The FIU defense held tight and forced a field goal, putting their offense on the field only needing a touchdown to tie. The Panthers' offense did just that, driving the distance and scoring on a fourth and goal pass with less than 20 seconds remaining. OT Did I mention something about rooting for a blowout earlier? Well it must have been wishful thinking, because the game we were treated to went to overtime. FIU took their possession and converted a field goal. ULL got the ball, drove inside the 10, had a penalty go against them and settled for the field goal attempt. One last time, FIU's defense saved the day and blocked the field goal to preserve the win. Afterwards we got the f-outta Dodge, as they say. That wraps up a pretty wild Rocktober's worth of live games. Hope you enjoyed getting some takes from the various atmospheres we visited. Up next is likely a trip to Northeastern or Bryant this weekend. We'll see. We may even wind up getting some Bruins or Celtics takes in before then. Either way we will keep you posted. Be good. Beav