Saving Silverman.
I like that.
Not the movie, the column. Although you gotta love having your last name in the title of the movie.
Welcome to the first of our Wednesday Weekly Love Affair we are going to spend together. Allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste. Apologies to Mick Jagger. I’m certainly a man of taste. And for this weekly exercise, I am a perfect blend of Jack Black, Steve Zahn, Jason Biggs and Bruce Silverman. Here’s my breakdown: 57% Silverman: I have to be myself right? 22% Black: The comic genius with the musical references, the great timing and range. 18% Zahn: the voice over guy (I do those too) the everyman, wacky actor. 3% Biggs: the good looks, the bad luck and the right size.
Do I need saving? Sometimes and today, I need to be saved from the Orange Bowl. I grew up in the REAL Orange Bowl. Little Havana. Park your car for 10 bucks in some Cuban guys’ yard and pray you still had rims when you got back. Jets wins over the Dolphins! Prince, Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles in concert and of course, The U, before and after the Hurricanes only needed one letter to be understood.
The Orange Bowl I refer to is the 2012 version. Let’s run it down. Not played in THE Orange Bowl. They tore it down. Built a baseball stadium there for…uggggh…a column for another day. The game played in a stadium named after a company no one has ever heard of, Sun Life or as I call it on my radio show, Sun Lifeless Stadium. Aptly named after the recent seasons played there by its current and former tenants, the Dolphins, Hurricanes and Marlins.
This year’s “Classic” is a less than stellar match up between the ACC Champion Clemson Tigers and the Big East Champion West Virginia Mountaineers. A game that just makes your spine tingle (a reference to the late Jim Mandrich, who played his best games as a Dolphin in the REAL Orange Bowl) goose bumps for the rest of you. Right?
WRONG! This is not a battle of two teams worthy of a major bowl game. These two teams should be meeting in the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl, my favorite named bowl of the year!
Seriously, #24 in a major bowl game??? Clemson is a good team but sorry, WV fans, you’re #24. Boise State was 11-1 and lost their only game by a point and they played in the MAACO in early December. If the BCS had any guts or relevance Boise would have been playing against the Tigers.
Alas when it comes to the current system we all suffer through, #24 can actually play in January. It’s kind like saying to twins, “Christmas is December 25, you Johnny, can open your presents on December 22 and Timmy, you can open your presents on…NEVER!” Poor Timmy.
Poor us. We deserve better. Boise deserves better. Even West Virginia deserves better. Certainly a storied bowl like the Orange deserves better.
The good news is there are a number of really good bowl games before this one. May I recommend the Outback Bowl between Michigan State and Georgia, the Rose between Wisconsin and Oregon and/or Cotton’s Kansas State vs. Arkansas?
After all, the Cotton used to be a major bowl, too bad the Orange isn’t one this year.
Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Save the Orange Bowl!
Originally written and published for BeyondUSports.com by Bruce Silverman
FYI: The REAL Orange Bowl was originally named Burdine Stadium. The Hurricanes played for the inaugural game there on December 10, 1937 against the University of Georgia and lost 26-0.
Nice article, had no idea the Orange Bowl’s original name was Burdine Stadium. Can I assume (we know what happens then) that this was Mr. Burdine owner of Burdines Department Stores – A Florida Store.
Hard to believe that old building is gone. Lots of fantastic memories for me as a kid, young adult attending Dolphin Games, UM Games, Concerts and a spotter for high school football.
Yes David, Burdine Stadium was named after the founder of Burdines, the Florida Store. Great history in that old building. I will have to write more about it soon. Only cost $340,000 to build it in 1936-37 and it’s a shame that the old building got the treatment it did. A shame the city would build a new baseball park for a couple of guys that will only sell the Marlins and profit from it, but they wouldn’t work with the guy that put the bowl on the map, Joe Robbie. Typical Miami politicians for you!