For a year designated as a time to rebuild, Miami University's hockey team went farther than many expected, but not as far as we dared to hope. Just participating in the NCAA tournament final, the school's first, was a great feat. While the editorial board of The Miami Student applauds the RedHawks' achievement of earning the runner-up title, we disapprove of the biased manner in which ESPN broadcasted the game.
Too often announcers mentioned this was Miami's chance to win an NCAA championship for the first time in any sport. While the veracity of the fact is undeniable, it emphasized Miami's underdog status in a way that seemed more dismissive than inspiring. The broadcasters clearly did not expect Miami to win, but it seemed as though they did not even recognize Miami was competing at all. Boston University players weren't alone out there on the ice, and their fans weren't the only ones in attendance either. Although there were plenty of Miami fans in the stands, cameras seemed to skip over them in favor of Boston's supporters. We know the colors of both teams are red and white, but it was fairly easy to distinguish between the two sides given the events of the game.
While Boston was favored to win and its recognition was well deserved, Miami is not a complete unknown and deserved more respect and balance. Toward the start of the game, announcers mentioned at least once Boston was 40 minutes away from a national championship. More than time stood between Boston and victory. And though Boston was leading with one goal, Miami too could have been 40 minutes away from a national championship. The announcers noted Miami had gone into this year knowing it was to be spent rebuilding the program, so they should have also seen - from the fact Miami made it to the championship game at such a time - the capability and potential of the team.
Furthermore, we observed with annoyance the use of the parenthetical "Ohio" to identify Miami. We appreciate the university made the effort to discourage the use of the phrase "Miami of Ohio" in media coverage. Our school is Miami University or just Miami. It simply isn't necessary to mention Ohio at every mention of the school. The audience doesn't have to know the location of every school. For example, not everyone knows where Gonzaga is, but one doesn't see "Washington" in parenthesis after its name, and no one feels the need to point it out. Moreover, the extreme differences in team colors mean Miami University is not likely to be confused with the University of Miami, especially in this case. We need to stop adding "Ohio" to our name ourselves and stop letting others do it as well. Making it to an NCAA final should be enough for our team to be recognized as a legitimate contender and for our school to be recognized without an addendum.
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