Examining Miami’s Swagger: FINAL: Miami 21, Oklahoma 20

After a few first downs killed the Sooners in the final minutes, we were left to ponder another Miami win and this brilliant moment from the postgame interview with Jacory Harris:

ABC’s Lisa Salters: Now I see on the side of your head, it says ‘u swag’? What does that mean?

Jacory Harris: It says U Swag! I’m not trying to be too confident or arrogant, but that’s something we gotta bring back to the program.

Now that Miami’s officially back—and emerging from their murderous first four games at 3-1 makes the soul of that program officially resuscitated—the word “swagger” figures to be bandied about with regard to the ‘Canes more than ever before. It’s already become a cliche among media to refer to any team with a particular attitude, flair, or confidence, as having “swagger,” but with the Hurricanes, it’s even more prevalent. Why?

Well, because Miami invented not only the term, but the idea. They were the first team ever to make “Swagger” into an art form. What’s the idea behind the word? Absolutely unity, and a collective disregard for the opponent, and an impulse toward winning in demonstrative fashion. Or, to put it in less academic terms: ass kicking, with style wherever possible. Total, unrelenting dominance.

That’s why it’s so insulting when today’s media tosses the term around as though it’s some playful detail. It’s not; a team with true swagger is a very powerful, scary thing. And Miami invented it. Witness this account, from Bruce Feldman’s excellent book on the Hurricanes teams of the ’80s and ’90s:

Miami couldn’t wait to get a crack at [Brian] Bosworth. The ‘Canes were number two in the country, and the game was going to be on National TV. Kickoff was high noon. “We couldn’t sleep,” said running back Melvin Bratton of game day. “It’s five thirty in the morning, and I’m just lying there looking around. Me and High [roommate Alonzo Highsmith] are like kids at Christmas. We are so ready to get in their ass. Oklahoma’s been getting all the hype. It’s all Bosworth this and Bosworth that. We are ready to tear his ass up. I was going crazy. I said, ‘High, f—- the Boz and f—- that fade haircut of his. Let’s call that sumbitch and wake his ass up.”

Bratton had read in the paper that the Sooners were staying at the Fontainbleau Hilton. He dialed up information and got the number for the Hilton’s switchboard. He called the Hilton and asked for Bosworth’s room. The front desk told Bratton the phones were turned off. I said, ‘Tell him it’s Melvin f—-in Bratton’ and Alonzo’s in the back ready to the lamps out of the walls. She says, ‘Melvin, I know you from high school and I don’t like him anyway. I’ll put you through.’ […]

“Is this Boz?” Bratton yelled into the receiver.

“Yeah…”

“Well this is Melvin f—-in Bratton and Alonzo Highsmith, and this is your f—-in wake-up call mutherf—-a! And at high noon, we’ll see your sorry ass in the Orange Bowl and we’re gonna kick your f—-in ass.”

About ten hours later, the Hurricanes did just that, winning 28-16, and humbling the number one team in the country. And that, my friends, is swagger.

And while today’s win over the Sooners was decidedly less demonstrative, it’s a step in the right direction as Miami attempts to recapture that elusive quality that once made them so compelling. It’s rare for a team to have that kind of attitude and match it with the ability to back up their words, but those Miami teams could. Can these Hurricanes? Probably not. At least not this year.