The Gospel According to Mac.
If you didn’t know ESPN was releasing a 30-for-30 documentary on former Buffs coach Bill McCartney and his 1990 championship team, I’m not surprised; the University of Colorado tends to fly under the radar, and that’s all the more reason why you need to make sure you take this “gospel” to heart.
In the 20 years since Coach Mac retired from the University of Colorado, this documentary may very well be one of the more important moments in program history. Why? Because we all need to be reminded that being a Colorado Buffalo means something.
I’m a proud Buffalo alum, but I was also 9 years old the last time the University of Colorado finished the season inside the top 10; I was still a few years away from getting my license the last time the Buffs had a winning record. There’s an entire generation of football fans that have no idea the University of Colorado was ever a powerhouse football program — who believe the Coach Mac everybody is referring to is Mike MacIntyre.
When Coach Mac left Boulder, he left. Everything that made him and his teams so special were gone, and they’ve yet to find their way back. Today, if you want to catch a glimpse of the legacy Coach Mac has left on the University of Colorado, you’re best bet is to catch his grandson, Derek McCartney, playing defensive end for the Buffs on Folsom Field.
It’s a shame.
The Buffs were once the center of the college football world; they went through a five-year stretch where they never once were unranked, finished inside the top four three times and won a national championship. Now, you might have a hard time getting someone from Florida to tell you what conference they play in.
The University of Colorado needs The Gospel According to Mac. Their fans need The Gospel According to Mac. ESPN describes the film as, “the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story of Coach Mac’s controversial national championship run, and the two seasons that followed with multiple arrests and strife between his mostly African-American players and the Boulder police,” and that’s only the start of it.
The truth is that if what had taken place with these Colorado Buffaloes took place today, Mac’s Buffs would hold a much more prominent place in the history of college football. The fifth-down game? Mac’s daughter becoming pregnant with his quarterback’s baby? Racial tensions? It’s like a script from a Hollywood movie.
And if this film teaches us one thing, it’s that the Buffs have lost their identity. They’re just … there, and that’s how the rest of the nation views them, too. Not only do the Buffs need to remember the days of Coach Mac, they need to start embodying them, making their history a much more significant part of their present.
I don’t care how old or young you are, every single Buffs fan needs to know about Bill McCartney and what he meant to the University of Colorado.
Please, make sure you tune in to The Gospel According to Mac on ESPN.