Excitement could be felt as several thousand Miami fans poured into CanesFest

With less than a month to go until the opening kickoff to the Miami Hurricanes 2022 football season against Bethune Cookman September 3, the anticipation is getting higher and higher. Never was that more evident than Saturday when several thousand Miami fans flowed into the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility for CanesFest.

They had the opportunity to meet all of the Hurricanes players, staff, and more. One word that was common among fans we spoke to about this upcoming season – Excitement. 

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had this kind of excitement around the program,” Hurricane fan Kenneth Cleveland told CaneSport. “Those of us who’ve been around the program for 30-40 years, we knew what it was like when we were good. The swag never left Miami, the hard work did and now the hard work is back. You can’t wear that uniform and think you can live off of what everybody else did. You got to go out and earn it.”

With the Mario Cristobal era underway in Coral Gables, the fans have already begun to notice the change and that is something that excites them. Whether it be Cristobal snagging some of the nation’s top recruits, to his demeanor or emphasis on hard work and discipline, the fans are all in with unconditional adoration and support.

“What coach Cristobal is doing and what he’s bringing back home is just something out of this world,” Miami fan Humberto Herrera said. “I know that you can’t win games on paper, but it’s starting to feel like The U from back in the day. I know that we can’t live on yesterday, we have to look to tomorrow, but that’s all we have. We start with hope and dreams, right? And I believe that we’re on the right path. We’re on the right track to having decades and decades of just pure stardom.” 

The player fans were most excited to see was no other than QB1 – Tyler Van Dyke. After a great end to the season last year where he threw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in the final six games; the hype is obviously well deserved. Van Dyke was named to many pre-season honors including the Maxwell Award watch list, an honor given to the college football Player of the Year at the end of every season. 

“That just’s a bad boy right there,” Cleveland said about Van Dyke. “That boy is a gunslinger and he ain’t got no fear. When it comes to his teammates, and you see the guys rally around them like that, that’s a leader, that’s what we need. If he doesn’t get a Heisman in the next year or so, I’d be really surprised.” 

Another name fans were also excited to watch this season was Georgia CB/STAR transfer Tyrique Stevenson. After posting 43 tackles, 2.5 for losses along with an interception and four pass breakups, Stevenson earned an All-ACC Honorable Mention. 

“I think that was the guy on defense that nobody noticed,” Hurricane fan Q said. “I think he did a hell of a job on defense last year.”

Two games Hurricanes fans have circled on their calendar – September 17 at Texas A&M and November 5 against Florida State at Hard Rock Stadium. 

One group of Miami fans, the ‘Metrorail Boyz, wants to make sure the Hurricanes presence is felt in the Lone Star state. 

“We’re going to invade College Station, the whole crew,” Miami fan JD said. “Texas A&M on the seventeenth is going to be that game. That’s the game we’re most excited about.” 

And with the Noles coming to town this year, fans in attendance were already thinking about revenge for last year’s heartbreaking loss.

“With what happened last year when we should’ve won, it is what it is,” Cleveland said. “But now, we’re gonna stomp their guts out.”