Orange Bowl's last dance

I guess it's official. The Orange Bowl will be no more. The home of the Miami Hurricanes, countless Orange Bowl games, and three of the five UM national championships will be torn down after this season.

It will not just be a loss to the University of Miami and the city, but also to college football. You cannot lose one of the great college venues without losing a little bit of the game itself. Imagine having your high school gym demolished – you know, the place where you first laid eyes on your wife, danced that first dance and had your first kiss. You would feel nostalgic, even sad. No more going back for those reunions where you kindle those old flames and memories. The place is just – GONE. Well, the University of Miami family will begin to feel those pangs of grief on Saturday night, when they play their final game in the "OB" against the Virginia. It's the last dance.

College football stadiums almost have magical powers. They are refuges from the "real world," places where fans can escape their daily grind or even major tragedies. When I broadcasted Virginia Tech's season opener this year in Blacksburg, the Hokies' stadium almost felt like a group therapy session; the fans, team and community coming together to continue their healing process after the shooting incident in April. A great stadium can influence the outcome of a game, players' performances and even act as an aphrodisiac; enticing and addicting new fans.

There is a storied history at the vintage Orange Bowl spanning 70 years. The magic might have started with the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins team who played there until 1986. But there is no doubt that college football is what the Orange Bowl will always be remembered for.

This outdated steel structure could absorb the mood of the crowd and throw it right back at the opposing team. When the Orange Bowl got rockin' for a big-time game, there was no louder or more electric stadium in college football. The Hurricanes own the NCAA record for the most consecutive home victories – 58 games – which seems incomprehensible in today's college football landscape. That record is not only a tribute to the great teams that played there, but the intimidating atmosphere of the OB.

Tradition is king in college football, and the Orange Bowl has one of the most recognizable ones. Who knew that some cheerleaders and a few fire extinguishers spewing "smoke" with the 'Canes running out of the tunnel and onto the field would become such an indelible image of college football? The 'Canes also take credit for inventing the "four fingers in the air" at the start of the fourth quarter – signifying their dominance over their opponents in the fourth quarter. I'm not so sure about that one – but if Wikipedia says it, it must be true.

With so many huge games played there, both for the University of Miami, and the Orange Bowl Classic, it is impossible to recount all of them. The "Miami Dynasty" which encompassed five national championships (three won in the Orange Bowl itself) began in the Orange Bowl Classic on Jan. 2, 1984. The No. 1-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers came to town to play the Hurricanes who were unranked entering the 1983 season. A back-and-forth classic game; it all came down to Huskers coach Tom Osborne's decision to go for two, and the win, in the waning minutes. Turner Gill's pass was batted down in the end zone and Miami won its first national championship.

I talked to Mike Rozier, the Nebraska running back who won the Heisman Trophy that season, when he was being enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame this past summer. I asked him if he thought they should have kicked the extra point, tied the game, which would have most likely made them the national champs. Without hesitation he said, "All the players told Coach Osborne that we wanted to go for it – there was no question about it." Playing to win – I like it.

As a young graduate assistant coach for Florida State in 1980, I was on the sideline at the Orange Bowl when FSU lost to Miami 10-9. I stood there again later that season when the Seminoles played Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, and unfortunately lost again. I was at the Orange Bowl Classic as a spectator, a very rare occurrence for me, for the 1993 national championship game. In my first year at Auburn, we went 11-0, but were ineligible for postseason play. I was even voted "Coach of the Year." But I sat in the stands of the Orange Bowl in the rain (everyone knows that it always rains in the Orange Bowl for at least a few minutes) and watched and cheered as my father and his Seminoles won their first national championship; beating Nebraska in one of the classic matchups between Bobby Bowden and Osborne.

You can't talk about big games in the Orange Bowl without mentioning arguably the most famous play in the history of college football. Of course I'm talking about the Miami-Boston College game in November of 1984. "Hail Flutie" – 'nuff said.

Think of all the incredible players who called the Orange Bowl "home." Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Michael Irvin, Jerome Brown, Warren Sapp, Ray Lewis, Jim Otto, Edgerrin James, Gino Toretta (hey, he WON the Heisman Trophy), Bennie and Brian Blades, Jonathan Vilma, Cortez Kennedy, Russell Maryland, Sean Taylor, Devin Hester, Jeremy Shockey, Vinny Testaverde (who I believe is older than me and still on an NFL roster – wink, wink) just to name a FEW.

A whole bunch of great coaches have walked the south sideline of the OB. Check out this sampling: Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Butch Davis, Dennis Erickson, Larry Coker, and now Randy Shannon – and some assistants – Sonny Lubick, Dave Wannstedt, Tommy Tuberville, Nick Saban, Greg Schiano and I'm sure a bunch more future head coaches.

I'm sad to see the end of this era. I picked Miami to beat Virginia on Saturday night, the ol' girl deserves to go out in style. Hopefully the last dance in the Orange Bowl will be Sebastian the Ibis doing a celebratory "Soulja Boy" (ask your teenager if you don’t know what it is).

Terry Bowden is Yahoo! Sports' college football analyst. For more information about Terry, visit his official web site.

Send Terry a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Updated on Friday, Nov 9, 2007 8:15 pm, EST

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