In the latest installment of college football chaos, the two Miamis are attacking each other. Call it the Battle of the Miamis.
Miami University (in Ohio) quarterback Brett Gabbert tried to establish his school as the "real" Miami, even though the actual city of Miami is located in Florida. There, another Miami school resides, the University of Miami. For the sake of clarity, the Miami in Ohio will henceforth be called by their mascot, the RedHawks, and the Miami in Florida will be called the Hurricanes.
One can imagine Gabbert was getting frustrated with the confusion of sharing the same name as another school, and he told reporters this past weekend that the RedHawks plan to show the Hurricanes who the real Miami is on Sept. 1.
In Week 1 of the college football season, the Hurricanes will host the RedHawks for what should be an exciting but slightly confusing matchup. Go Miami! Er, which one?
Miami RedHawks QB Brett Gabbert wants to set the record straight
Fifth-year quarterback Gabbert is essentially sticking the Miami flag in Ohio and claiming the name to be his, but in truth, the Hurricanes have established a much more popular following in recent history.
Even though the RedHawks were founded over a century before the Hurricanes, it's the latter's football program that has grown into a more well-known brand across the nation. The Hurricanes hold a 3-0 lead in the all-time series against the RedHawks. Between the undefeated Hurricanes and the fledging RedHawks, who really deserves the title of the real Miami? Records speak for themselves.
Gabbert and the RedHawks may be able to pull off an upset against the Hurricanes this week, beating their alleged Miami copycats for the first time, yet history still favors the school in Florida.
In any case, despite what Gabbert believes, this country is indeed big enough for two Miamis, especially since neither college football program is thriving of late. Last year, the Hurricanes went 5-7 in Mario Cristobal's first season as head coach while the RedHawks went 6-7 in Chuck Martin's ninth season.
Battle of the Miamis? More like Battle of the Mids.