CHICAGO — "U" better believe Miami's local fans were celebrating the Hurricanes' improbable 30-27 victory at No. 22 Duke Saturday night.
Dubbed the "Miami Miracle," Corn Elder scored on the game's last play after the Hurricanes lateraled the football eight times — conjuring memories of the 1982 Stanford-Cal play where the Bears prevailed and ran over a Cardinal band member in the process.
Miami, known as "The U," pulled off the stunner a few days after its head coach, Al Golden, was fired following the program's worst defeat ever: 58-0 at home to Clemson.
"This team sticks together and so do their fans," said Lakeview's Jessica Marques, the game watch chair for the University of Miami Chicago Alumni Club. "Cane fans are loyal. That is why we call it the 'U' family."
The Chicago club, which caters to the 2,000-some Miami alumni living in the city and suburbs, hosts game watch parties at Flagship Tavern and Grill in Lakeview. Marques said usually between 30-40 fans show up for the games, with nearly 150 coming for the big games against rivals like Florida State.
"[Flagship] feels like a home away from home for Canes fans," Marques said. "We have some classic South Florida specialty drinks on the menu that bring Canes fans back to their college days: the Category 5, Moose Juice and PK3."
Duke scored with six seconds left against Miami, but the Hurricanes pulled off the miracle comeback.
"When Duke scored the go-ahead touchdown with 6 seconds to go, there was definitely a feeling of disappointment that we let another game slip away," Marques said. "But then the Canes received the kickoff and they made the impossible possible."
On Sunday, the ACC, Miami's conference, suspended the on-field officiating crew and the replay official for two games after ruling they made multiple mistakes on the play, including missing a call that would have stopped the play before the touchdown. The conference ruled a Miami ball carrier's knee was down before his lateral, which should have ended the play.
This is how Miami's official Twitter account responded ...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
— Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) November 1, 2015For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
