A brother's promise: Why one Miami Hurricanes fan has worn full uniform to games for 14 years

One look at Shelton Douthett sitting in the stands at a Miami Hurricanes football game and you may be puzzled.

With shoulder pads, a helmet, cleats and a full uniform, Douthett can make people wonder why a Hurricanes player is in the crowd instead of on the field, or why someone is pretending he’s on the team. Douthett has heard all the criticism and jokes, and he understands. In a sport where fans dressing in outrageous costumes is common, it’s rare to see someone go to the extent he does.

But the meaning behind Douthett’s gameday outfit goes beyond dreaming about being on the team roster. It's a story of how deep brotherhood goes and how to keep the legacy of his “other half” alive.

"I'm just a regular guy, keeping a promise to my brother," Douthett told USA TODAY Sports. "It basically represents the love me and my brother have for this school and for each other."

The start of their Miami fandom

Miami football wasn’t ingrained in the Douthett household, and the fandom started by chance. In 1995, Douthett’s mother — a Miami police officer — worked sporting events in the area, and she was given tickets for Miami’s home game against Syracuse. She gave them to her husband, who took Douthett and his older brother, Wayne, to the Miami Orange Bowl.

They were immediately hooked.

"From that point on, we just fell in love with the 'Canes," Douthett said. 

The Douthett brothers became regulars at Miami games, tailgating and buying single-game tickets as often as they could for more than a decade. Douthett said other fans recognized them because he would wear a No. 32 jersey and his brother wore a No. 72 jersey, "so he was like the lineman and I was like the receiver."

The Douthetts officially became season ticket holders in 2009. So stoked to be at every home game, the Douthett brothers decided to get a head start on the season and go to the big road opener against Florida State. 

The game was an instant classic. Sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris led a comeback victory over the ranked Seminoles. What made it even sweeter was an iconic photo taken after the win of Harris throwing up the "U" with Miami fans. In the stands, you can see the Douthett brothers.

The photo captured the end of a great trip for the brothers, but unbeknownst to them, it would be the last Miami game they’d attend together.

'We had to put everything on pause'

Not long after the Florida State game, Wayne developed a cough. Described by his brother as a "gentle giant," Wayne wasn’t the type of person to complain about much, especially when he wasn’t feeling well.

The family figured the cough was a cold, but one night, Douthett woke up to find his brother sitting up in bed, coughing and heaving. He knew this was something serious, and told his mom they should take his brother to the hospital. There, the family learned Wayne had walking pneumonia. 

The illness resulted in a two-week hospital stay, but it wasn’t long after Wayne’s release that he needed to return because fluid was building back up in his lungs. During this time, the brothers couldn't attend Hurricanes games like they had most of their lives.

"I didn't feel right going to games without him because that was my best friend, like my right-hand guy," Douthett said. "We had to put everything on pause because he was priority."

The deal

Even though they weren’t physically at games, the Douthett brothers made sure to watch all the action from the hospital room. The first home game that season was against Georgia Tech, and when Miami did its signature entrance through the smoke, Wayne asked his brother a question.

"When are you going to do that?" Wayne said.

"Do what?" Douthett responded.

Wayne then pointed to the players running out in their full gear, Douthett recalled. He wanted him to dress up as a player, and they had the memorabilia to make it happen. Douthett made his brother a deal: once he got out of the hospital, in their first time back in the stadium for a game, he would wear the full uniform. 

"I didn't really take it seriously. I thought it was just a joke," Douthett said.

The loss of 'my best friend'

Douthett hadn’t been to any of the first three home games that season, but Miami had an in-state road game against UCF that October. His mother encouraged him to go to the game, saying he needed a break to get his mind off what was happening with his brother.

But the night before the game, Douthett couldn’t sleep. He had a bad feeling in his stomach, like something was off.

It was around 3 a.m. when the Douthett family got a call. It was the hospital. 

At the age of 23, Wayne Douthett had passed away.

Douthett recalled how it didn’t feel real hearing the news. The family went back to the hospital to see Wayne one last time. The walk down the hallways to the room felt like the longest journey. When the family entered the room, that was when the reality of what happened sunk in.

"I completely lost it," Douthett said. "This whole weight of grief and everything. I lost my best friend and it just ate at me."

The days and weeks after his brother’s death were hard. Douthett had trouble accepting he lost his brother and it put him in a "really dark place."

The start of a tradition

It wasn’t until weeks after the funeral that Douthett became inspired by his brother’s legacy. 

Wayne attended The Marian Center, a school in Miami with the goal to "educate and empower persons with diverse abilities." The Douthetts decided to create a scholarship fund in honor of Wayne on gofundme and donate the money to a family chosen by the Marian Center. Seeing the generosity of those donating made Douthett want to do something special to honor his brother as well. Then he remembered their conversation during that Georgia Tech game.  

"I thought about what he was talking about in the hospital while we were watching a game and I was like, 'You know what? I'll do that,' " he said. 

The perfect opportunity came after the regular season, as Miami was selected to face Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. So, Douthett bought shoulder pads, cleats and everything needed for the bowl game to fulfill his brother’s request.

Putting on the gear on gameday gave Douthett mixed feelings. He questioned whether he should go through with the full uniform, especially since his brother wasn’t there to see him do it. But he remembered it was a promise, and he went into the stadium.

Douthett recalled people staring at him and talking about him in the stands. Eventually, some Wisconsin fans approached him to ask what he was doing. After sharing his story, the rival fans were touched. By the end of the game, the Wayne Kevin Douthett Memorial Scholarship Fund had around $500 donated by Badgers fans.

Miami uniform becomes popular

The Champs Sports Bowl was just the beginning. Douthett continued to wear the full uniform to games, often matching the team exactly. About two years after the first time he did it, Douthett’s story was featured by the Canes' athletics department, and more fans donated to the scholarship fund.

"It just snowballed into something really, really big," Douthett said. 

The appreciation even crosses rivalries. Last season, after Florida State blew out Miami, a photo of Douthett walking back to his car appeared on message boards, with fans poking fun at him. But some Seminoles fans chimed in and told people about his story, and now he’s gone from being a meme to becoming someone Florida State fans want to buy a beer.

"It just snowballed into, 'OK, we don't like Miami, but this guy is off-limits,' " Douthett said. "A lot of FSU fans came to me, talking about 'I can't wait to see you up in Tallahassee this year.' "

But some people — mainly online — still troll him, especially when anything bad happens to the Hurricanes, or say he suits up for attention. Douthett accepts it because what he does "is not a usual thing," and he takes every insult with a grain of salt because he knows the reason he does it. And if people take the time to learn, he’s glad to tell anyone about his brother.

Meeting the 'Canes

Douthett buys all the uniforms, helmets and gear himself, but he did get some financial relief for the black "Miami Nights" uniform this season. The team heard about Douthett’s story and Miami football director of equipment operations Sam Nichols coordinated a visit to practice for Douthett ahead of the game.

He got to meet head coach Mario Cristobal and some of his all-time favorite players, like Jason Taylor and Alonzo Highsmith, who he said seemed just as excited to meet a big-time fan. They told Douthett he’s an inspiration to the team.

Then, Cristobal gifted Douthett a "Miami Nights" uniform with the No. 32 on it, the same number he used to wear alongside his brother.

"It made me break down," Douthett said. "It just meant the world to me."

Afterward, Douthett got fitted by the equipment staff for the full uniform, so by the game, he had the same look the players wore. And as if the week couldn’t get any more special, the game was against Georgia Tech, the same team Miami played when the promise was made 14 years ago.

The legacy of two brothers

Even though Wayne never got to see him put on the uniform, Douthett keeps memories of his brother on his accessories. He has worn cleats with "gentle giant" written on them, and on the back of his helmets is the No. 72, for the jersey Wayne wore and was buried in. There are also 14 hurricane decals, one for each year since his death. 

"Every time I put it on, it feels like he's with me," Douthett said.

Wayne is also part of his gameday traditions. Before heading to Hard Rock Stadium, Douthett stops at his brother’s grave. He’ll get to the stadium more than an hour before the game starts, and he’ll walk around the entire stadium. Then when he gets to his seating section, he taps the wall twice. 

"It’s basically saying, 'Me and you, we’re here. Me and my brother are here. We're here together,' " he said. "It's a bittersweet ritual. It was very, very hard to do it the first couple of times, but it just got easier and easier, and the love I get from everybody else, it just makes this more rewarding."

Douthett plans to always wear the uniforms to games he attends, he just hopes he can always fit into them. He says he goes to the gym to maintain his "football shape."

Looking back at how his tradition has evolved since he first put on the helmet, Douthett finds joy in how a promise between two brothers can inspire college football fans. Even if Douthett is the one wearing the uniform, the love he gets lets him know Wayne’s impact is strong within the Hurricanes fanbase.

“It makes it feel like my brother has something to do with it too,” Douthett said. “He's a part of ‘The U’ and what it all represents. It makes it all worthwhile.”