“The U Part 2”: What if Butch Davis would have stayed at Miami?

By Fernie Ruano Jr.

Butch Davis, the Jimmy Johnson Rat Pack loyalist turned mid-90s University of Miami emancipator, makes an admission halfway through the first segment of “The U Part 2”, Billy Corbin’s two-hour documentary sequel chronicling the football program’s last national championship run before being engulfed in an NCAA rules violation and later its fall from prominence, that most Hurricanes fans, especially those in Coral Gables, have probably been waiting to hear for quite a while:

“I wish I would have stayed at Miami,” said an unapologetic Davis, who coached the Hurricanes from 1995-2000, leaving Coral Gables for the Cleveland Browns just days after the Hurricanes, bypassed to play the Oklahoma Sooners in the national championship game in favor of the Florida State Seminoles, defeated the Florida Gators 37-20 in the Sugar Bowl, finishing the season 11-1. “I regret leaving (Miami).”

While “Part 2” renders the 1999 non-existent, the documentary splendidly details the heavy lifting and reconstruction Davis did in his six seasons at UM, including stockpiling a talent-rich roster, which featured the likes of Frank Gore, Santana Moss, Jonathan Vilma and Clinton Portis, among others, and one Larry Coker, his successor, reaped the benefits of. Coker won a national title and would have scored himself another if not for Terry Porter’s controversial OT pass interference call that went against Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.

The documentary, which vividly captures how the football program, most notably in the late-80s and early-90s interjected itself in the social consciousness of a city fused of drugs, women and street creed, recounts the unraveling of former UM booster Nevin Shapiro from high-rolling caretaker to imprisoned Ponzi schemer. It concludes with current coach Al Golden’s unfulfilled expectations (still) to put a once proud program, and one with an unprecedented history, back on its feet.

Which begs the question: What if Butch Davis, a tireless, no frills recruiter with a pulse on Miami and the inner city kids he was targeting (even if he had no idea who Trick Daddy was), had never left the University of Miami? What if Butch Davis, not Al Golden, was still in charge of a program deeply ingrained in our conscious, even though most of us never went to school in Coral Gables?

Just maybe, maybe, we would have never met Nevin Shapiro, Jacoby Harris and Terry Porter; Or Billy Corbin, who is off to Puerto Rico to do some crazy spinoff of “Cocaine Cowboys”, his 2006 documentary of 70s and 80s bloodied-Miami. And speaking of going to unforeseen heights to stay on your feet, or off of them….

Rumor has it hometown pop tart Ariana Grande, all of 21-year-old Arianna Grande, reportedly begs her staffers to carry her around whenever she’s too hot to walk on her own. It’s gotten so bad the former Nickelodeon princess insists she be “carried like a baby” because walking is just too big for her. Well, with Christmas around the corner, here’s a great gift idea for Ariana unless she disappears forever or something, which would do a lot of us a lot of good. (http://www.target.com/p/tike-tech-all-terrain-x3-sport-single-stroller/-/A-11317617?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=11317617&CPNG=Baby&kpid=11317617&LID=9pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=11317617&kpid=11317617&gclid=COOZ_vfqyMICFQ4S7AoddVAA0A)

….My bald head is captured for approximately three seconds in The U Part 2” following the on-field chaos following Miami’s 27-24 victory over Florida State in 2000… “A heartfelt thank you should go out to the Dallas Cowboys for participating the 2014 NFL season. You gave your fans plenty of frills and thrills this season, and didn’t even need Michael Sam… Joe Philbin’s future in Miami is as good as fried; so is Ryan Tannehill’s…. Kurt Warner reportedly considered a return to the quarterback-starved Arizona Cardinals; the entire city of Seattle is laughing right now, while trying not to spit their Starbucks…. The Buffalo Bills – the BUFFALO BILLS – scored 19 points in a football game against the Green Bay Packers.  Please, clip and save… Mark Sanchez dressed up as Mark Sanchez last night against the Cowboys…. As long as Rob Gronkowski is standing on his two feet, the New England Patriots will keep winning. And Tom Brady will look like the best quarterback ever… Chris Bosh has turned into a pretty decent three-point shooter, hasn’t he? Steelers vs. Patriots, Packers vs. Seahawks in the conference championship games, anybody? What was that about Derrick Rose, again? Breaking: LeBron James is still alive… Trading for a fast second baseman and a quality starting pitcher was nice, but the Miami Marlins are still missing a quality catcher and first baseman; third base is iffy, too… The Mets are armed, the Cubs are closer. The Dodgers are a happier bunch, the Pirates are not. The Blue Jays are the best team in the AL East, the New York Yankees are not. The Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners are awakening…. I recently had a dream that the Chicago Cubs, with Jon Lester pitching eight scoreless innings in Game 7 and Anthony Rizzo, hitting a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the seventh, defeated the Boston Red Sox in the 2017 World Series.

 Do you want to know more about this 305-reeking, beach-bumming, Cuban food-obsessed dude? Well, then.. You can connect with Fernie @wordbyfernie (Twitter) and Fernie Ruano (Facebook) and visit http://www.latinbeatsvibe.blogspot.com . Who knows? If he really likes you, he might even give you his email.