0:15 is my grandpa with the dark hair and I was a little girl in the audience somewhere

Hello- My name is Tony, and I ruin movies. ESPECIALLY the ones I love. Let's jump right in. Like all children of the 80s, I LOVED this film growing up. And it still holds a nostalgic place for me. But now that I am old, practiced in the study of history, and an avid film enthusiast, this movie kind of annoys me in just as many ways as it pleases me. For a number of reasons. 1) The History is all wrong- I know nobody goes to the cinema for realism. Otherwise, we would all just watch documentaries. The problem with that however is that people take these "Based on a true story" films and hold them up as gospel. I have had people breakdown and literally cry when they learn that some of their favorite films (Rudy, The Patriot, Pearl Harbor, Remember the Titans, Gladiator, Braveheart, Miracle, Troy- to name a few) are 98.9% BULLSHIT. I could write a book on how much is Inaccurate. Not "wrong". Wrong implies that they were trying to tell the history accurately but failed. This was deliberate choices to deviate from a real story. But so many things from the name of the team, the town, the size and strength of the team, the age and style of the coach, the road to the playoffs and championship, even the history of the team before "Norman Dale" arrives is pure fiction. They were not a small, horrible program with only 6 kids to chose from. Their coach was not a washed up elderly man who was kicked out of another school for hitting players. Again, I don't want to dive too deep because I am sure this will already be too long as is. 2) WTF with the military story? Again, Marvin Wood (whom Normal Dale is based on) did NOT serve in the Navy. In fact, he was only in his mid-20s when he took over the team. This was part of why he was able to win them over, because he wasn't too much older and the players found him relatable. But even if we forget that- Why TF did the writers chose to create this story line? Gene Hackman was 56 at the time of filming. So using that as his age, plus the his supposed story, he was 46 when he joined the navy?! When I served on active duty in the Marines (mid 90s - early 2000s), the oldest you could be was early 30s (Waiverable). But the oldest I was ever aware of was 34 as a new join. The Navy regs (when I last checked) would allow an enlisted sailor up to age 39 (conditional upon need for their skills, physical health, etc). But this is ANYTHING but common. So there is no way in hell he's joining at 46 years old. Then there is the weirdness of the fact that he was in the Navy 2-3 days ago (according to the principal), but left the Navy, got his discharge, moved across the country and had time to drive all the way to Hickory in that time? That's just Nutty. 3) Jimmy Can just switch to Turhune? Didn't they have school districts back then? They mention this "Switch to Turhune" notion several times. First here, then later with the mouthy kid at the first practice who walks out, encourages another kid to leave with him and switch schools. I don't know what Indiana's public school policies were in the 50s, but I know they do have things like school buses to coordinate, tax considerations, and general enrollment regulations like everyone else. Were students able to just change districts willy nilly? Not to mention the distance between schools in this giant expansive rural districts. Until I hear otherwise, I am calling BS on this possiblity. That's it for now. And yes, I do have too much time on my hands!

I love how the preacher begins with a touching missive about how he wants a coach with good Christian morals who will set an example for their boys and then immediately asks if he prefers man-to-man or zone defense.

Leadership counts. Leadership delivers. Leadership matters. Coach Norman Dale understood that better than anybody else.

Goodness grief just let the man do his job and stay out of the way.

0:55 every Syracuse fan

"I know what I'm doing!" - Norman Dale

Ain't no use talking sense to people who don't have any.

What if the team fouls out for real what do they do forfeit the game?

I love when he acknowledged the boos at the end by waving his game plan. And Strap's expression. He knows what's going on.

If we dont get Jimmy Chitwood back playing ball, we dont have a prayer!

Daniel Jeremiah sent me here

The Barbara Hershey look as well, and she doesn't oversell it. Hey, this guy just doesnt want to win at all costs.

Great movie and great scene. Rarely do you see people stick to their beliefs.

Exactly. The guy who posted this completely missed the best part of this scene. Shooter's reaction is what makes this scene special. It's like he missed the whole point.

A great way to get players to "buy-in"

aight...

@Namath1000 Exactly.