Bold Move By The Miami Hurricanes To Go Full Military Camo For Their Game vs Stanford This Weekend
Can Miami do this? Is this allowed? This Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida is Military Appreciation Day. The jerseys are being worn in an effort to honor the troops. Which I would clearly think means this does not constitute stolen valor. But to be honest, I've always been a little unsure on where exactly that line is. I'm not military. It's not my call. I'm sure Miami's heart is in the right place. I suppose the main question to ask when it comes to stolen valor would be, "Will what you are doing cause people to mistake you for being in the military?"
In this case, the answer is obviously no. Everybody knows Miami's football team is NOT Army, and are in fact, the Miami Hurricanes. Now if Miami's offense comes out in the flexbone on Saturday night and runs a flawless triple option down Andrew Luck's throat all night long, that might be a different story. But if Carson Beck goes out there and tosses 4 interceptions again like he did last Friday, I promise nobody is mistaking this for Army.
I've seen a handful of people online say these jerseys stink. I think they're pretty fine for what they are. Personally, I wish they would lean into the camouflage even harder and match the pants with the jersey. Maybe even match the helmet. Maybe import a bunch of trees and create a thick woods surrounding field so that their players really blend in with the environment.
The more I think about it, this could be a pretty bold coaching move by Mario Cristobal. His team was thumped by Louisville last weekend. They can't afford drop back-to-back games in the ACC. And when you wear camo jerseys to honor the military, you can't let yourself lay a stinker. I'm sure Hard Rock Stadium will have tons of veterans in attendance on Saturday night. They'll probably be on the field during the game. The Hurricanes should be terrified to not perform up to expectations. To not finish tackles. To not try and run through the chest of every defender they come across. If Miami can manage to channel the power of the U.S. Military, they should be able to run Stanford out of the building.
Maybe a bit of a waste to play your "break glass in case of emergency" military uniforms on Stanford. But on the flip side… you can't let yourself lose in these uniforms. If Miami comes out and plays soft. If they're missing tackles, taking dumb penalties, pulling up on balls thrown across the middle because they're scared to take a hit… they're not just letting themselves down. They're letting America down. Against the west coast elites of Palo Alto, California too. Would be a real shame…