Flag Planted: Home Grown Swagger
The idea for the Miami Hurricanes “HOME GROWN SWAGGER” wallscape that proudly resides near the intersection of I-95 and I-395 in downtown Miami originated this past spring.
After holding encouraging early conversations with Miami Athletics Director Blake James and Associate AD for Development Jesse Marks, Hurricane Club member and Golden Cane donor Sean Fetterman now likens his original concept to a territorial flag reaffirming Miami’s commitment to South Florida football.
The wallscape, which resides near North Miami Avenue and NE 13th Street near the Adrienne Arsht Center, was installed just before the start of fall training camp and will remain in place for another month.
“We wanted to make a statement,” Fetterman said. “I sat down with Blake and Jesse and said, ‘Rather than a billboard for ticket sales to promote The U, why don’t we do something a little more creative, where everyone can relate and get excited?’”
Featuring nine Hurricane football standouts that hail from the three counties that comprise South Florida, the wallscape has been widely shared on social media outlets – more so than even Fetterman ever imagined.
“The feedback has been tremendous,” he said. “We positioned it around camp starting and when everyone is getting excited about the new season. It’s about the kids – they work hard, and deserve to be shown in a positive way.”
Displayed on the wallscape are five student-athletes from Dade County (Artie Burns, Chad Thomas, Deon Bush, Herb Waters and Jamal Carter), three from Broward County (Nick Linder, Jermaine Grace, Tracy Howard) and one from Palm Beach County (Kc McDermott).
After Miami Hurricanes graphic designer Leo Ramos plotted the layout – and with approval from the compliance office, Fetterman and athletics administration – the project was set to be installed in early August.
“It was an amazing process,” Fetterman said. “The message – the importance of kids in this South Florida community – is all that we were focused on.”
Fetterman, along with fellow Hurricane Club members Frank Mennella, James Sallah and Robert Mandell, saw an opportunity to take their support for the Hurricanes to new heights with the installation.
“These kids are working like crazy, and our program has a great foundation in place to be successful,” Fetterman said. “We need to be positive, and have to stand united. I’m hoping this is the first of many of these to pop up across South Florida.”
