Review of Rakontur’s "The U" documentary

I love that the entire nation had two hours of “The U” shoved down its collective throat on Saturday evening. The numbers are in and the Rakontur doc will officially go down as the most viewed documentary in ESPN’s storied history.

Moments after Tim Tebow failed to take home the Heisman trophy, the only Florida team on the minds of 2.3 million viewers; the University of Miami.

So much for “The U” being deemed ‘insignificant’ these past few years.

Unapologetic. Aggressive. In your face. “The U” was real. The good, bad and ugly were exposed. Sensational at times? Sure. But that’s to be expected regarding the most influential college football program in recent memory.

Opinions varied the morning after. If you’re a Cane, your chest was puffed out as this piece served as a reminder regarding the most dominant run the game has seen in the modern era. For two hours, you reveled in those glory days. When it ended, you called friends or family who lived through that era with you. The anticipation for this documentary was a kin to the energy felt before a big game; checking the clock all day, every hour feeling two.

When it was over, you felt like you won. There was a buzz in the air and even though the haters would continue to hate, they couldn’t deny what they just saw. They’ll still nitpick the ‘thuggish’ behavior, but in the same breath they had to admit that UM kicked the ass off everyone in their path; opponents, the administration and anyone not part of the U Family.

For the Cane haters, casual fans or folks who never say past the dark skin, over the top scoring celebrations, 202 yards in penalties or the depiction of the city of Miami in the 1980s – more fuel for their fire. Former Canes did nothing to endear themselves to the haters two decades later. Their on-camera bravado and recollection of the events reeked of the same ‘swagger’ show on-field in their hey day.

“The U” let the outsiders behind the curtain. The old adage, “It’s a Canes Thing, You Wouldn’t Understand” — Rakontur finally let you behind the curtain.

Folks from the northwest, south, midwest and left coast – if you didn’t live through Miami in the 80s, you’ll never truly appreciate why these players, fans and the overall program is the way it is. Light a match at anytime back then and the city would’ve exploded. A certain energy was in the air the entire decade.

58-straight wins at the Orange Bowl between 1985 and 1994 didn’t just “happen”. It was the players, the attitude, the rickety stadium and every rabid fan in attendance. All the critics quick to trash a private school with an off-campus stadium for poor fan support – you obviously weren’t there for the 27-10 shredding of top-ranked Notre Dame in 1989. I defy you to find me a stadium louder than the OB that night.

Throw a 34-20 win over Florida State in 1994 on that list, as well.

It got pretty raucous when Ken Dorsey found Jeremy Shockey for the game-winner against the Noles in 2000. Same for the 2002 content when Xavier Beitia fired a potential game-winner wide left and the ’92 showdown where Micheal Barrow decleated Tamarick Vanover.

Speaking of Florida State, how many times did you rewind the DVR for the ‘Seminole Rap’, followed up by Cane commentary where old schoolers reminded everyone who was boss? The defending national champs roll into the 1988 season opener – at home, ranked No. 6 while the Noles muster up some faux hope to go with an overblown No. 1 ranking.

Miami 31, Florida State 0… and louder than hell that night, too.

Just like the team, this fan based showed up ready when on the grandest of stages. Canes might’ve bagged on on the those noon kickoffs against Temple, but damned if wasn’t a bunch of hellraisers when it was ‘go’ time. This oft-criticized fan base got rowdy when it needed to.

When was the last time such dominance occurred in the college game? When can you recall the “nation’s best” getting that shredded by a team outside the top five? Shut out. Shut down. Flat out embarrassed on national TV. Rakontur reminded us that six times Miami faced top-ranked teams during that span.

The Canes won all six.

This out-of-nowhere program did things nobody had done to date. Things that nobody will ever do again. Miami changed the game, making college football seem more like the NFL than ever before. College kids who were superstars and that much better than the other guys.

Stronger. Faster. Better.

Penn State may have upended Miami in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, but needed seven turnovers to eke out that four-point win. The Canes racked up 445 total yards to the Nittany Lions’ 162. 22 first downs to 8 first down. Five Vinny Testaverde interceptions later, Penn State didn’t “win” the game. Miami lost it.

It was an era where only Miami could beat Miami. Itself or some shady refs in South Bend. Rakontur reminded the nation how bogus that Cleveland Gary fumble in the 31-30 loss to the Irish in ’88. How many times have you debated that game with some Notre Dame elitist claiming that it was a good call.

Sweet Lou, that phantom fumble almost makes Terry Porter’s late Fiesta flag look ticky-tack.

Between 1986 and 1992, UM arguably had 50/50 odds of winning a title at the end of each season. Over that seven-year span, three championships won, two left on the field in the title game and two occasions where the Canes were the best team in the land at year’s end, but mid-season losses cost Miami a shot at a title.

“College football was hit by a decade-long hurricane” — tagline from ESPN’s preview for “The U”– damn near an understatement when you see a 78-6 run over seven seasons.

The reason for that run, is two-fold. Aside from college football simply being ripe for change, it was a blend of visionary coaches -the right guy for the job at the right time – as well as a collection of unique, hard-hitting, brash, talented characters with a true will to succeed.

In that era, football or bust was the only way to describe it. A ticket to a better life for you and your family, there was nothing recreational about Pop Warner or Optimist League football. It wasn’t a game. It was a culture. Only the best of the best made it and it was the stiffest competition nationwide.

Stronger. Faster. Better.

Hometown kids finally staying home in the early 80s, instead of taking their talents north. It’s what Howard Schnellenberger referred to as “The State Of Miami” and it became the blueprint for success in Coral Gables. Shannon is following the path his predecessors succeeded with and in time, will have Miami as “back” as one can be in the modern game, chock full of big money and much more parity.

Shannon is three years into his rebuild and is two classes away from having nothing but ‘his’ kids on the roster. That is the day to start judging this era, much like Butch Davis is remembered for the cupboard he stocked 2000-2002, instead of his early career flubs. The guy who they flew a “From Champs To Chumps” banner for during a home game was revered a few short years later when his rebuild was complete.

To the point where he had enough talent to overcome his game day blunders, as did his inexperienced and incompetent predecessor.

The “Thug U” moniker will be en vogue again for the critics who took in the piece. Rakontur definitely played up the ‘bad boy’ angle, which is to be expected. Rakontur’s Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman are 31 years old, putting them around nine years old for that 1987 championship won over No. 1 Oklahoma. Eleven for the ’89 ring and thirteen for ’91.

I’m 35 and too am a ‘child of the eighties’. I saw four Miami championships between third grade and senior year of high school. My family watched ‘Miami Vice’ together on Friday night and rolled to Little Havana for game day the following morning.

A far cry from Lincoln, Nebraska and board games on Friday before some wholesome ‘Huskers action on Saturday and some on-campus pre-game festivities.

“The U” was the greatest show on earth if you grew up during that run. Part Muhammad Ali, part rock concert, part WWF – you got it all in one with the Decade of Dominance era Canes and I completely get why Corben and Spellman told the story from the perspective they did. This wasn’t a story about the Canes; it was about their Canes and why they embraced that era.

Melvin Bratton. Michael Irvin. Alonzo Highsmith. Bennie Blades. Jerome Brown. These guys were ‘gods’. No one else stares down top-ranked Oklahoma during the coin toss, eyes locked and telling them, “I ain’t scared of you, bitch” – hours after calling opposing players in the middle of the night, describing the beating that was coming.

C’mon now.

This isn’t revisionist history from an overzealous fan base. These guys were cut from a different cloth. Wise beyond their years, in sync as a program, reloading every off-season – there’s a reason the collegiate Canes were indeed bigger than the hometown Dolphins. Some former Fins took offense to that notion, but facts are facts.

Between 1986 and 1991, it was a 67-5 run for the Canes and three titles won. The Dolphins went 50-45 during that same span and left the beloved Orange Bowl for Joe Robbie Stadium. UM took over the stadium the two once shared and put its orange and green stamp on it for good. Owned. Back then there was one show in town and it was on Saturday, not Sunday.

Sadly, so much of that dominance was overshadowed by off the field antics, some of which seem tame two decades later. As pioneers, the Canes edgy urban flair didn’t mesh with conservative America – the same way the city of Miami didn’t mesh with the rest of the country.

The Canes weren’t choir boys, but accusations of illegal use of calling cards, Pell Grant fraud and other scattered arrests were absolutely blown up by mainstream media. The country hated Miami, so anti-Cane articles are good business. Piling on UM became the thing to do, though Miami didn’t do itself any favors living up to the perception at times.

Take any four year run Miami had in the 80s and put it up against Florida’s off the field issues since Urban Meyer got on board. A media darling, Meyer has been referred to as a “disciplinarian” in the past. Such is the case when you have over two dozen arrests since taking over.

Carlos Dunlap, the latest. Suspended for a DUI days before the SEC Championship game, the senior defensive end became the 27th Florida arrest since 2006. Some more of the Gators’ Greatest Hits : 2006-2009.

Dawayne Grace, battery and theft. Avery Atkins, domestic battery before dying of drug overdose. Brandon James, felony drug possession. Ronnie Wilson, use of a semiautomatic rifle in a dispute. Tony Joiner, breaking into car impound to steal back girlfriend’s car. Torrey Davis, driving numerous times on suspended license. Cam Newton, burglary. Carl Johnson, violation of sexual restraining order.

Lest not forget Jamar Hornsby, one of few players Meyer has booted. Pretty tough to skirt around the issue regarding running up a $3,000 tab on a stolen credit card; swiped from a dead girl, no less.

Perception became reality and the Canes took more heat for end zone celebrations than these recent Gators have taken for over two dozen embarrassing arrests under this current regime. For those keeping score it’s Florida 27, Miami 1. UM’s lone arrest, the long-gone Robert Marve for punching a car mirror.

Yet Miami remains “Thug U”.

All in all a reason to embrace that unapologetic picture Rakontur painted. The college football world sees Miami the way it sees it. Nothing can change that – good, bad or indifferent. It’s not the Miami way to run from that history. Own it. That’s who the Canes were and because they backed it up, nobody had any room to say anything.

I hope this current crop of Canes tuned in Saturday night. For the fans, a simply documentary. For those players, it was their family tree. They have a name to live up to and even if you don’t buy into the antics, buy into the responsibility, mindset and ability to dominate.

That bravado was what made those old school Canes tick. Find what makes you tick. It’s turn the corner time. Reconnect with some of those old timers. There’s a lot of wisdom to be gained from their experience. No one better to teach you how to win than your current head coach, on board for the past twenty-five years. Just two shy of matching Florida’s arrest total.

“The U” ended with a thud. Edited down to fit that two-hour ESPN time frame, a rushed ending and a story unfinished. Images of the Orange Bowl getting demolished in 2007, with thirteen year old audio from the loss to Washington, ending the 58-game streak. Video of Butch’s hiring, combined with footage from his career-opening flop at UCLA, 31-8.

I felt like I was watching the end of Scorsese’s “Casino” – the Sam Rothstein era Sin City crashing down and new school ‘Disney’ Vegas taking over.

Completely left out, the fact Miami overcame five years of probation and dozens of lost scholarships for the Pell Grant scandal. The program was taken to its knees and Davis rebuilt the right way, setting the stage for a 34-0 run that began his final season in 2000.

I appreciate that this piece wanted to focus on a particular sliver of Hurricanes football history, the resurgence and resiliency of this program is as big a story as the swagger. The grittiness of the city is ingrained in UM. Miami is a fighter. Despite the odds, it finds a way. It adapts. It survives.

“The U” was a reminder to the nation, when the Canes are on – look out. We’re not going to see 1986-1992 again, nor does ‘back’ have to mean a 2000-2003 type of run. Miami is a simply a few pieces from being as good as anybody currently in the game.

Once there, instinct will take over. The Canes are again chock full of hometown kids and when it’s time to represent Miami, those kids will make the difference.

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