The Cotton Bowl U was our squad testing it and seeing how it would be received. Bill T (me) took the pic of Erics U!! It was the first test of the informal U....formalized in 1992 by the band. Marc and Val NEVER did the U. We idolized them as upperclassmen...spent thousands of hours every season..and in 1989 SUGAR BOWL NATTY team pic - not one U by anyone in Miami spirit, (Marc and Vals Sr year or post grad coaching) or the band did it. Let alone 5 drunk fans in sec U upper deck making claims nobody saw witnessed or has a single pic of..Until 1992 when officially endorsed by the UM AD, Admin and Band's meticulous rollout was the U a thing...thriving 30 years after a simple idea brought to wide release by 1991 cheer, BOTA, and with formal endorsement of the UM ADept. Chaykin, VALDEZ,Val (god rest his wonderful soul), and what ever front runners know they didnt create the hand u and collaborate across multiple groups to bring it to wide release and its status as one of the greatest marketing tool in UM HISTORY and an iconic identifier among the most widely known and recognized in American spots. Thems folks is the hard cold facts... Bill was the brainchild, UCheer team 1991-1992 did the work, and the U was gifted a tool so powerful by those that bleed Orange & Green from day 1 to year 30 and going. Facts vs alternative facts.
This definitely took off in the 2000's. I graduated in 2000. While I remember the Darth Vader thing, otherwise I don't think I did it once in those four years. Not in pictures, etc.
The U is known Worldwide for one reason and one reason only. The University of Miami Football Team. Donna Shula needs to shut it because she piggy backed off of that and damn near killed Football for us.
Awesome! When I graduated from UM..OK, "da U"..there was no gesture. I believe an indirect reason the U became the gesture of choice was due to ESON...followed by every other national media hater. They started calling us "Miami of Florida." I was so pissed. The "other Miami" is a university located in Oxford, Ohio. Their claim to fame was graduating some future football coaches..Paul Brown and Ara Parseghian, and Ben Rothlisberger. ESPN considered that more important than the actual football legacy. Typical.
Man, I hate to say it,"!! But you're so right"!! And I can't even say anything to defend it"?? Mr. Marcus Welby, but someday I hope & pray 🙏 that I can"?? 💯💥👍👌👏✌️
Very well done! I was at the U in the early eighties, i don't recall seeing one UM fan throwing up the U. It became a thing in the late 80s or early 90s. Great research Derryl! Go Canes!!!
UM's slide into mediocrity in the 2000's coincided with the 'U' thing catching fire, ironically. Once Ryan Moore did it after a TD on national television, that's what brought it into national consciousness. Excellent video, by the way.
I thought I saw Willis McGahee throw the U at the crowd after scoring a touchdown at an away game. I forgot what team Miami was playing against. Maybe we can find it by watching a Willis McGahee highlight RU-vid video.
Really well done! Only note is that John Routh is not the original Sebastian The Ibis. Sebastian was created by John Stormont in 1956. John Routh is the most legendary Sebastian. He put the character on the map: Gave him a the iconic look, swagger, posture. His moveset was created by John. The ‘Canes spellout is his creation.
I got just one word for you… Glorious! Well I kind of have more than one. It took you nine months to do this? Well I can definitely see why, initially I thought it was because of how graphic heavy the video was but then as the video went deeper and deeper into the history of the U I realized that that wasn’t the only reason why. Not only did you make this video mysterious because of its origins but you also hit all of the emotional beats with the 2 friends. Also, that was a lot of interviews that you did, I mean a lot. So many that I don’t even know how many offhand. I want to guess you had 8? The only thing I would really do differently would be to make all of the interviews look uniform compared to each other however I can tell you right now that that is way easier said than done. But damn you really over delivered on this one! Amazing job!
Seriously, this is a few steps above what I expect out of the best students in video journalism. And you are only in your second year as well. I could never make anything like this. The music selection is very effective. The interviews are clearly led and edited in a way that gets to the core of the information regarding the story. You withheld info from the viewer that made it engaging and surprising throughout. The visuals were perfect and didn't distract. I am most impressed by the audio of all things actually. The sequence about the imperial march theme was awesome. The audio chops between each interviewee was fascinating. This kind of stuff is the proof that someone needs to give you your own show in the future. And anyone who rejects you in the future is gonna regret it because it's a garentee that you'll succeed. Super happy about how this came out. Keep it up Derryl!
