Canzano: Miami vs. Oregon title game meant to be?
Let's play an 'alternate universe' game.
ATLANTA — Three months ago, during the University of Miami’s bye week, Mario Cristobal and I had an extended phone conversation on a Sunday afternoon.
We spoke about his two sons, Mario Mateo and Rocco, who are now in high school. We talked about the debt he owed his alma mater. Before we hung up, I asked Cristobal what might have happened had Miami never hired him.
Would he still be at Oregon?
“It always works out best for everybody,” he told me. “What’s meant to be is meant to be.”
Miami beat Mississippi, 31-27, on Thursday in the Fiesta Bowl. It was a landmark victory for Cristobal and his program, catapulting the Hurricanes into the Jan. 19 national title game.
I watched that College Football Playoff semifinal on TV from Atlanta. I’m here for Friday’s Peach Bowl, where Cristobal’s previous employer — the Oregon Ducks — are one victory away from the CFP title game themselves.
Miami vs. Oregon?
Is that matchup meant to be, too?
I keep thinking about the 1998 film “Sliding Doors,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The end of the movie is a drag. However, a device used in that film beautifully captures the concept of parallel universes and alternate outcomes.