For Davis, struggles all too familiar

History repeats itself.

There, I said it.

I know it’s cliché, but doesn’t the fact that the phrase is abused more than Cubs fans enhance its credibility? It’s just true.

For example, in 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg and plunged to the depths of the ocean after being declared “unsinkable.”

Four years later, her sister-ship, the Britannic, with a multitude of improved safety features, hit a German mine and sank as well.

And if that’s not enough to convince you, take a look at Butch Davis’ third season at UNC. The Tar Heels are now 4-2, but the team’s best win was against unranked East Carolina (4-3).

When Davis coached at the University of Miami, he got off to a great start. In two seasons, he had gone a combined 17-6 while nursing the school’s program back to health from the NCAA rules violations it had accumulated before Davis was there.

But in 1997, his third season, the Hurricanes went 5-6. It was their worst season since 1979.

And here’s the kicker. Are you ready? One of the chief components to that season was a lack of depth — offensive line included.

Sound familiar?

I know UNC hasn’t gone 17-6 over the past two seasons, but it would be a lie to say that Davis hasn’t brought a renewed atmosphere to UNC football compared to three years ago.

Now, there are two ways to look at this phenomenon.

The first option is to throw in the towel and expect the past to run its course once again. You could start looking at basketball recruiting instead of football while bored at work or in class.

And you could go ahead and blurt out the phrase that’s repeated almost as much as the alma mater: “I can’t wait ‘til basketball season.”

But if this is you, then I also have good news for you.

In the three following years that Davis coached at Miami, he never had a team that won fewer than nine games in a season. In his sixth year, the Hurricanes finished 11-1 and were ranked No. 2 in the country.

So if history is repeating itself, maybe it won’t be that bad in the long run.

The second option is much simpler. If you don’t believe a word of what I’ve said, then there is just one thing left to do — leave.

Leave the stadium or wherever you are immediately and go find a tree. Make a fist and knock on that wooden trunk like it was the door to heaven.

Because even if you believe UNC will have a really productive remainder to the season, you can’t help but wonder if history is repeating itself.

And just in case it is, you don’t want to be the one who sat there and let it happen, when you could have just knocked on wood.



Contact the Mark Thompson at markdt@email.unc.edu.