The key to Mike Davis’ brilliance: He never fit in anywhere
I’ve been an avid reader of Mike Davis’ columns for the New York Magazine since he wrote about the greats of the NFL last fall. I thought of him and Bill Parcells and George Halas and all of the sportswriters who came before him as he was doing what he always did — taking his time until he found a great story and then going for broke.
He had one of the best voices in the country.
He would tell me, “You’re going to want to sit out here,” when he’d stop in at the New York office.
And I have to think that’s why he ended up in the news — because he was in the news. I was there when he was. I was watching him on Sunday when the Giants and Cowboys played in Dallas.
You were just an intern, and he was the only reporter there at the stadium covering the event. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful way to remember what he did for us.
I also remember how he always asked what was coming next for the Giants. He would then tell me he had a story, and I would sit back and listen for a few minutes and then he’d go on.
Well, on that day, two days after winning the Super Bowl, Mike asked me the question I was waiting to hear him ask. I asked what was he going to do when he got out of college. And he said, “I’m going to a junior college in the Florida panhandle.” Because he wanted to give it a shot. And that’s what he did. He went to Belen Jesuit.
He left a couple of years later and went to Florida International University. And then he came back to be a football coach at Penn State. But when he came back to New York, he had his sights set on two things — college and the NFL. He had his eyes set on a school after his time in college. Then he had his eyes set
