In 1988, Notre Dame and Miami faced off in a legendary, yet controversial college football game forever known as “Catholics vs Convicts.”
Notre Dame had dominated the Hurricanes in the past, but that changed in the early 1980s when Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson took over and Miami started signing big-time recruits. Afterward, Miami began to thrash the Irish, including a 58-7 obliteration in 1985.
That bad blood reached a climax in 1988 when the Hurricanes traveled to South Bend to face its bitter rival in a clash of undefeated teams. But this time, Irish fans had a devious trick to taunt the Hurricanes with.
Before the season, a few Hurricanes players were arrested and had their scholarships revoked. So when the team showed up to the game, they were greeted with the infamous “Catholics vs Convicts” shirts created by three Irish students. That slogan symbolized cultural ignorance and racism and marred an otherwise incredible game that Notre Dame pulled out, 31-30.
That moment also opened the floodgates of ignorance that followed and tarnished the Hurricanes program for decades.
Fast forward to the present and that ignorance has resurfaced as Miami travels to Cal for a Saturday matchup, the first ACC game for the latter.
Instead of t-shirts, fans have taken to social media to call the game “Woke vs Coke”, a moniker with political, social and cultural inferences.
Many feel it’s harmless fun, but for those of us who know better and recognize racist undertones, this isn’t a laughing matter in the least bit, especially in today’s political climate in America.
The images speak volumes about the intent.
At a time when an anti-DEI movement has swept through the South, books are being banned, voting rights are being attacked, Affirmative Action has been abolished and other rights we’ve cherished for so long are being limited or eliminated, college football fans have inserted their ignorance into the mix by taking a page from the past.
The new name provides fodder for those who love to spread hate and inflame an already angry group that has no qualms with showing their racist side. As a matter of fact, they take pride in it and wear it as a badge of honor under the false guise of patriotism.
Some will say that it’s not that serious and that it’s just harmless fun. Some will point out that it’s simply an entertainment reference i.e. “Scarface” and the “Cocaine Bear” movies. Others will say to get over it since it’s “just a game.”
But when athletes are being told “stick to sports” and “shut up and dribble”, these sayings have cultural, social and political significance that cross the fun line and don’t stop running.
The social media images, which also include memes of the Cal Bear wearing a sweater with the word “Communism” on it, prove it.
It took decades for Miami to remove the stain of the “Convicts” moniker, and now both the Hurricanes and the Bears might possibly have a new wave of ignorance to fight, one that can’t be settled on the field.
