SUNRISE — From little league football to the national championship, Linda Fletcher has never missed one of her son’s games.
She is always in the stands when her son, Mark Fletcher Jr., takes the field for the Hurricanes. But she is afraid of flying, so Fletcher has spent the past three years driving to each UM game, whether that means a short trip from her Broward County home to Hard Rock Stadium or a cross-country trip to California’s Bay Area in a rental car.
“That was a really big deal, coming from Fort Lauderdale,” Fletcher said. “I had never been to California before. And then now it’s like, I’ve been to Texas so many times, I could drive there with my eyes closed. But, yeah, all those trips, we have made it very fun.”
This year, Fletcher and her family will be traveling in style. She teamed with Miami legend Michael Irvin’s production company, Playmaker Production Group, which gifted her a personalized RV in connection with Fun Town RV. She will get to drive the new RV to each of the Hurricanes’ games this year as part of their new web series, “Fetching Fletchers.”
Fletcher said she flagged down Irvin when he was on the sideline at a Miami game last year. They talked about her travels, and she said it would only be better if she had an RV. Luckily for her, Irvin knew the owner of the RV company.
“I’ve been blessed with this RV,” Fletcher said. “This one is a loaner for the season. But I’m very excited to have it. I think it’s going to be wonderful.
The trips will be a bit longer this year, as she will be making promotional stops at Fun Town RV dealerships around the country. But the new RV will allow them to drive in comfort.
The RV sleeps eight and comes equipped with televisions, a stove, refrigerator, bathroom and a separate bedroom. It is decked out in UM colors, footballs and palm trees. A picture of Linda’s late husband, “Big” Mark Fletcher, is on the door to the RV, as well. Big Mark, Mark Fletcher Jr.’s father, died in 2024. The elder Fletcher was a big UM fan and was thrilled his son stayed home to play in college.
“We went on so many different (recruiting) visits, and I would always dress with the colors. Ohio State, I put on red. For Florida, I put on the orange and the blue,” Fletcher said. “And then Mark would just come slipping in there … with anything on. So when Miami knocks on the door, Big Mark has on the hat, the shirt, the pants, and I was like, ‘Oh, so this is it.’ He was all ready for Miami. That was the best decision we ever made as a family, for sure.”
Driving the RV is a new experience, comparable to driving a large U-Haul truck. Fletcher has taken it on a few test drives as she prepares for the season’s first road trip: a 3,000-mile trek from a Sunrise campground through the South, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and up to California for the Hurricanes’ season opener against Stanford.
“I think I’m going to be a little nervous when the big trucks drive by, but I’m handling it,” Fletcher said. “I backed it in. I’m handling this thing, so I’m going to feel good. … I know the more I drive it, I’m going to be very comfortable with it.”
Fletcher won’t make the trips alone. Her son Keith and daughter, J’Sha, will be traveling with her, along with her granddaughter.
The trips can be long, and the Fletchers have stopped in some questionable areas when making their way to road games — Fletcher is thrilled she won’t have to scout for hotels on road trips. But she likes to keep the car quiet and peaceful, and the whole family has fun.
“We were on our way to Ohio once, and the mountains, the West Virginia mountains, I got all caught up,” Fletcher said. “And normally, I ride in the quiet, but I flipped on some gospel music going through those mountains.”
While many UM fans were thrilled that Miami played for the national title in its home stadium last year, it deprived the Fletcher family of another road trip.
“I really was a little disappointed,” Fletcher said. “I was so wrapped up in driving. They were like, ‘Linda, we’re giving you a gift. The championship game is going to be home.’ I was like, ‘I don’t get to drive?'”
The time and effort Fletcher puts into seeing her son play every week is not lost on the Hurricanes star.
“I’m just so happy that she’s getting some of the limelight now, because she truly deserves it,” Mark Fletcher Jr. said. “… I want y’all to know that that’s her. Everything that y’all (are) seeing on camera, that’s her behind the scenes. She’s just a great woman, and I’m just happy that it’s being shown to the world now.”
This year’s road trips will take the Fletchers to California, North Carolina (twice — Miami faces North Carolina and Wake Forest on the road), South Carolina and Indiana for a massive road game against Notre Dame. After that, UM could travel to the ACC title game and the College Football Playoff. “Fetching Fletchers” will document all of it from the road.
“I’m excited to share the ride,” Fletcher said. “And, really, a lot of people talk about flying. I couldn’t imagine some of the things that I really saw. You can’t see it from an airplane.”
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