No tailgating. No cheerleaders. No booze. UM football opener is anything but normal.
The first sign Thursday was no ordinary University of Miami football opening night was the lack of traffic around Hard Rock Stadium. Two hours before kickoff, a thin stream of cars rolled into the parking lots with little to no wait.
Only 13,000 tickets were made available for the Hurricanes’ game against University of Alabama-Birmingham (20 percent of stadium capacity) because of the COVID-19 restrictions, and they were not all sold. An announced crowd of 8,153 masked fans were spaced out among 65,000 seats in the cavernous building.
It was the first South Florida sporting event open to the public since the pandemic shutdown in mid-March. The long list of rules and restrictions might have scared fans into staying home.
The jumbotron featured a “Social Distance Cam” that showed fans sitting in distanced clusters while The Police song “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” blared over the loudspeakers.
Missing were the familiar sights, smells and sounds of college football.
No cheerleaders. No marching band. No mascot. No beer. And very little noise other than the piped-in music.
Tailgating was strictly prohibited, robbing fans of the pre-game aroma of grilled burgers, bratwurst, and BBQ ribs. Fans were not even allowed to congregate near their car. No football tosses or socializing of any kind. Once fans stepped out of their cars, they were instructed by an army of stadium workers to put on masks and walk to the stadium entrances. A small group of fans was scolded for stopping to talk to a reporter.
Aware that tailgating was banned on game day, a couple dozen diehard Hurricanes fans have been tailgating under the University Metrorail station across from the UM baseball stadium the first Saturday of each month. They were there last weekend with UM tents and plentiful food spreads.
Face masks are required at the stadium at all times for everyone over the age of 2, except while “actively” eating or drinking. Open-chin triangle bandanas and face coverings containing valves and mesh are not acceptable.
No alcohol is being sold at the stadium during UM games this season. “Alcohol impairs the ability to make rational decisions and has been shown to dampen immunity,” said the school’s official stadium policy.
“I’ve been going to UM games since the 1980s, and normally, we’d have a big tent, booze, a giant TV, tons of food, and we’d be partying in the Blue Lot with 20 other people,” said Carlos Collada of West Palm Beach, who attended the game with three friends. “We’d usually get here four hours before the game, and six hours before for the FSU game. Even though we can’t do that right now, and it feels strange and empty, we weren’t going to miss a chance to see the Canes play.”
UM students are not officially permitted to attend the first two home games. Nothing would have prevented a UM student from buying a ticket and attending Thursday’s game, but the crowd seemed devoid of college-aged fans. There was no official university involvement for student fans — no free tickets, no student section, no giveaways.
Instead, the university held a pep rally/mock tailgate on the Coral Gables campus intramural field before the game. Students sat in socially distanced circles that were drawn onto the field while cheerleaders performed.
Back in the stadium, no cash was accepted for concessions or any souvenir purchases. Fans were asked to download a stadium app to their cell phones to order food and beverage with express pick-up locations.
Hand sanitizers could be found at every turn. The bathrooms were converted to touchless.
“I’ve been a season ticket holder since the Orange Bowl days, over 20 years, and I’m not missing anything,” said Derek Coe of Coral Springs. “I’m here through and through. When I heard they were letting some fans come, I was 100 percent in. If you take your precautions, wear your mask, wash your hands, social distance, I think you’ll be fine.”
Although he said he missed tailgating and the pre-game Canes Walk, Coe was overjoyed to be at the game. He ate at home before heading to the stadium.
“I’m just excited to be here seeing the Canes play. Driving down the Turnpike, your blood starts to get heavy, starts pumping, come off the Turnpike, see the lights, The Rock, it’s Game Day! As long as I can see the kids play, that’s all that matters.”
Armenita Davis flew in from Dallas for the game. Her son, Jarrid Williams, is the Hurricanes’ starting right tackle. He is a graduate student who transferred from University of Houston to Miami for his final season. Davis wore UM gear, a mask and carried a clear bag with gloves, hand sanitizer, a package of masks, and Clorox wipes.
“Jarrid is my only son, so there is no way I was missing a chance to see his first game as a Hurricane,” said Davis. “I feel like the school and stadium will take the precautions they need to. I’m glad football is continuing. I understand this is such a dangerous time, such an unusual time, and COVID is no joke; but we have to do something because staying in the house is depressing. When I told my friends and relatives I was flying here, some of them said, `You’re crazy.’ But I am really happy to be here.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 10:04 PM.