Rating of
3/4
U: Better Believe It
Chris Kavan - wrote on 09/03/12
As a life-long Nebraskan, I was brought up to despise Miami (and Oklahoma and Colorado... and, you get the point). College football is a big deal here, but love 'em or hate 'em, you can't deny The U has gone through phenomenal changes, making them a powerhouse team, certainly in the 80s - 90s (that this documentary focuses on). Even if two of biggest games is focuses on comes at the expense of my hometown Cornhuskers (the 1983 and 1991 National Championship Games). Despite how good they were on the field, it seems most of the attention was given to what went on off the field: criminal records and 2LiveCrew bounty payments (and we all know how well bounties are currently playing off on the pro stage) - still, they completely turned around not just football, but brought in quite a bounty for the university itself.
Yes, the players were arrogant - in fact, it's pretty much laid out that the reason college football came up with an "excessive celebration" rule was directly related to the Miami team - but behind that attitude there was talent to back it up. There were plenty of ugly incidents and the mid-90s weren't nearly as good as the 80s, but Miami did something even more amazing: it brought together a shattered community at a time when racial tension was at an all-time high and that legacy cannot be faulted. I may have been conditioned to actively hate The Hurricanes, but this documentary helped open my eyes to just how important the team was to not only college football, but Miami as a whole.
