(woman) In Virginia. high-school football is a way of life.
It's bigger than Christmas Day.
My daddy coached in Alexandria. He worked so hard. my mama left him.
But I stayed with Coach. He needed me on that field.
Up until 197 1. in Alexandria there was no race mixing.
Then the school board forced us to integrate.
They combined the white school and the black school into one.
called T. C. Williams High School.
That summer. a black teenager was killed by a white store owner.
and the city was on the verge of exploding.
- You've caused enough damage. - This is my store.
Move left! Move left! Hut, hut!
(overlapping shouting)
Come on, Kurt. Don't let Ray back you down like that. You're twice his size!
Oh! What are they doing? If they keep on playing like that, we'll lose every game!
I didn't think that was so bad.
(broken glass)
That's good, Gerry. I can see you've been working.
Thanks a lot, Coach. Um, listen, with the schools integrating and all,
some of the guys are worried about losing their starting positions.
That's something that we're gonna have to figure out.
But you don't worry about that now, you just keep at it, all right?
Yes, Coach.
Guys! Guys! It's coming down.
It's coming down at the store!
They wanna burn the place up 'cause that colored kid got shot.
Come on, man, let's go.
- Hey! - Come on, guys!
Hey!
- Coach. - Just get Sheryl to the school now, Herb.
Burn it down! Burn it down!
- Whoo! - Hey, that's my car!
Get in the truck.
Gerry, Alan, Ray,
if you ever wanna play for me again, get in the truck, now.
You boys are gonna cool off, come to my office, help me finish packing my things.
Gerry, son, your heart's in the right place,
but you oughta know better than to embarrass the coach like that.
Hell, why don't you just kick 'em all off the team?
I don't wanna play with any of those black animals. What? I see him.
Who are you?
I'm Herman Boone. I'm the new assistant coach.
Well, from the looks of things I'd say we got about all the help we need around here.
Why ain't you outside there with all your little friends, hollering?
This was the time that was arranged for me to meet with Coach Yoast.
- I never miss an appointment. - Well, maybe, um...
Maybe you just better reschedule.
Coach Boone, the school board made the decision to put you on my staff.
- I did not hire you. - Well, I came up here to coach at G.W.
I didn't ask the schools to redistrict. I didn't ask to be assigned to your staff,
so I guess we're both in a situation we don't want to be in.
But I can guarantee you this, Coach.
I come to win.
Win? Coach Yoast has been nominated to the Virginia High School Hall of Fame.
15 winning seasons.
Well, I won a couple titles down in North Carolina.
That's double-A ball. This here's Virginia, we play triple-A.
What an opportunity for me then...
to learn...
...from the best.
(* ''I Heard it Through the Grapevine'' by Marvin Gaye)
- Are those people the movers? - No. Looks like they're moving in here.
Lord, how many of them are there?
Only takes one, then we're gonna be overrun by 'em.
Mommy, where you taking my teddy bear?
Come on, y'all. Oh, ho-ho.
Where is everybody? Nicky, yes.
Look there, here comes some more of 'em.
Well, that's Dr. Day, that negro from the school board. What's he doing here?
It's not fair, my daddy's head coach.
This is gonna be his Hall of Fame year. You're gonna take that away from him?
No one is trying to take away your daddy's future place in the Hall.
But the school board has decided that negro, Herman Boone,
is gonna be the head coach at T.C.
You can't just walk in here and take my daddy's job away!
That is enough, Sheryl. That's enough.
- Sheryl! - Oh!
It's all right. I feel the same way.
It's those agitators and race-mixers I feel like taking a swat at.
Troublemakers in the Berg are ready to put a torch to the city.
You want us to burn up like Watts?
Every head coach in the system is white. We had to give them something.
It's the world we live in, God help us all.
I believe in the seniority system, Dr. Day.
Coach Yoast has done a fine job with his program.
- Job should be his. - Under ordinary conditions it would be.
But we are living in an extraordinary time.
I left North Carolina because I was passed over for a job that I had rightfully earned.
Gave it to a white coach down there, couldn't even tie up his own football cleats.
Now you are asking me to do the same thing to this man? I can't do that.
(woman) Herman?
Folks in Carolina say you marched with Dr. King.
Say you stood toe-to-toe with the Klan.
- Said you're a race man. - That's right. I'm also a family man.
Coach Boone, black folks have never had anything in this city to call their own
except humiliation and despair.
Dr. Day, excuse me. Herman, I think that you better look outside.
( applause. cheering)
So you see, we need you, Coach Boone. Come on.
Coach Boone, I'm Charles Campbell. This here is my boy, Julius.
He can be the finest defensive end in the whole state if you push him to it.
- I heard a lot about your boy. - You're like a answer to our prayers.
Wait a minute, now. I'm not an answer to your prayers,
I'm not a savior or Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King or the Easter Bunny.
I'm a football coach, that's all. Just a football coach.
You're our coach. You're our coach!
(chanting) Boone! Boone! Boone! Boone! Boone!
(knocking)
What do you want?
- Is Coach Yoast here? - We're busy.
Interviewing for head-coaching jobs.
Got 11 offers and certainly no time for you.
Well, come on in. I've got an office out back.
Look, I can't even spell diplomacy and I'm sorry about the way things went down,
but make no mistake, I am qualified to be this school's head coach.
Well, sure, you've been in, what, four or five programs in the past ten years?
- With four or five championships. - This isn't about me.
- I'm worried about my boys. - I ain't gonna cook 'em and eat 'em.
The best player will play. Color won't matter.
From the looks of our little situation we got us here, I'd say it's about all that does.
Yeah, you're right. We in a tough spot, Coach. You, me, the whole city.
I think that it would go a long way to smooth things over if you would stay.
Work on the staff, be a defensive coordinator. Assistant head coach.
- Work under you? - If that's the way you see it.
Good night, Coach.
It's been a rare privilege to have lived here as long as I have, coaching your boys.
- I'll be taking the year off... -( man) No.
...after which I'll be moving to Loudon
and taking the head-coaching job at Loudon High.
- (boy) Don't go, Coach! - I say boycott T.C. Williams.
Tell 'em, Fred.
Our boys aren't playing for some Coach Coon.
Coach, he stole your job. I'm not playing for him.
I started a petition and I'm sitting this season out.
Only place you're gonna sit is right back in that chair, Gerry. I appreciate it, though.
- Boycott T.C.! Boycott the school! - Stop this, Fred.
You know none of these boys can afford to go to some other district just to play ball.
They sit this one out, they put their futures on the line.
Coach, I'm out too. I'm not playing for no thief.
Don't do this. Don't make this any harder for me than it already is.
- Coach, if you go, I go. -(boy #2) I only play for you, Coach Yoast.
- (boy #3) Don't go, Coach. -(boy #4) You can't leave us.
(chanting) Coach Yoast! Coach Yoast! Coach Yoast! Coach Yoast! Couch Yoast!
I've coached most of these boys since they were your age.
I've seen 'em grow up in front of my eyes. Almost like they were my own kids.
Almost.
This is a heck of a time to be abandoning them to look out for themselves, ain't it?
So, what are you gonna do?
We gonna play some ball, y'all.
Black inside, black inside, black inside. Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh!
Hey, yo, Petey. How many yards you figure you gonna get this season, bro?
You know I ain't one to brag, Big Blue, but I figure on at least a thousand.
''I ain't one to brag.''
Didn't I tell you how them white boys weren't gonna play for no brother?
Well, who needs 'em, baby? From now on,
the Titans is gonna be powered by soul power, bro.
* He said soul power
(whistle)
Shut up.
(player) Wait. Shh!
Put your hand down.
- You smilin'? - Yes.
- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.
- Why are you smiling? - 'Cause I love football. Football is fun.
- Fun, sir. - Fun, sir.
- It's fun? - Yes.
- You sure? - I think...
Now you're thinking. First you smile, then you're thinkin'?
- You think football is still fun? - Uh... yes.
- Sir. - Yes. No...
- No? - ...sir, sir. Uh...
- Well, it was fun. - Not anymore, though, is it?
- Is it? - Not right now.
No, it's not fun anymore. Not even a little bit.
Uh... no.
- Make up your mind. Think. - No, no.
Since you thinkin' now. Go on, think. Is it fun?
- No, sir. - No?
- No, sir. - Absolutely not?
- Zero fun, sir. - All right. Listen up. I'm Coach Boone.
I'm gonna tell you all about how much ''fun'' you gonna have this season.
We leave for camp, Gettysburg College, August 15th, 7:29am.
If you report at 7:30, you will not be playing football this season, you will be watching.
You will wear a jacket, shirt and tie.
If you don't have one, buy one. Can't afford one, then borrow one from your old man.
If you don't have an old man, then find a drunk, trade him for his.
'Cause I can guarantee you there isn't a bum on the street
that looks as raggedy and ridiculous as what I'm looking at right now.
This is no democracy.
It is a dictatorship.
I am the law.
If you survive camp, you will be on the team.
If you survive.
- Check 'em in, Coach. - Checkin' 'em in.
I'm Coach Hinds, your offensive line coach.
Yell out your name and positions, starting from the right.
Petey Jones, running back. The running back, y'all.
Whatever, Petey! Get outta here.
- Jerry Harris, quarterback. - Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Rev.
- Rev? - It's just a nickname.
And who in the name of heaven might you be?
I'm Louie Lastik, offensive lineman.
Naval family, just moved here from Bayonne.
Someone said football, so I come runnin'. What's going on, everybody?
( door opens)
With him calling the shots, ain't none of us gonna see nothin' but the bench this year.
He ain't callin' the shots. You'll play.
You have just disrupted my first team meeting in an unacceptable fashion.
This is my team now. Either you're with that or you're not.
I'm here, ain't I? Let's talk football.
- Let's talk football. - I run the defense...
As a part of my team strategy.
I have never seen an assistant coach's name in the newspaper for losing a game.
I want a job for Coach Tyrell. He's been with me for ten years,
I won't leave him out in the cold. You don't get me without him.
You're overcooking my grits, Coach. All right.
I will allow Coach Tyrell to coach a special team.
But I will have my eye on him...
...and you.
(* ''Express Yourself'' by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band)
Good morning, good morning, Coaches. How are you?
- Good morning to you. - Looks good today, doesn't it?
Just wanted to let you know what the offense is doing.
- That's an awful skinny playbook, ain't it? - Well, I run six plays, split veer.
It's like Novocain. Just give it time. Always works.
See you on the bus.
Be patient, Bill. Your time will come.
- Herman, here we go. - Here we go.
How can I help you boys?
I'm Gerry Bertier, the only all-American you got on this team.
You want any of us to play for you,
you reserve half the open positions for Hammond players.
Half the offense, half the special teams.
We don't need any of your people on defense. We're already set.
- Uh-huh. Don't need none of my people. - Mm-hm.
What'd you say your name was? Uh, Jerry?
Gerry.
No, you must have said Jerry, like Lewis. Which would make you Dean Martin, right?
Ladies and gentlemen, I've got an announcement to make.
We got Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin going to camp with us here this year.
Jerry tells the jokes, Dean sings the songs and gets the girl.
Let's give 'em a round of applause.
Where's your folks, Gerry? Parents, are they here?
Where are they?
- That's my mother. - That's your mama?
- Mm-hm. - Very nice.
Take a good look at her.
'Cause once you get on that bus, you ain't got no mama no more.
You got your brothers on the team, and you got your daddy.
Now you know who your daddy is, don't you?
Gerry, if you want to play on this football team, you answer me when I ask you:
Who is your daddy?
Who's your daddy, Gerry?
Who's your daddy?
- You. - Uh-huh. And whose team is this?
Is this your team? Or is this your daddy's team?
- Yours. - Mm-hm. Get on the bus.
Put your jacket on first, and get on the bus.
Uh, Dean.
Fix that tie, son.
All right, listen up, listen up. I want everybody off the bus.
Let's go. Follow me, everybody. Let's go. Right now.
- (player) Why we gotta get off the bus? -(player #2) What are they doin', man?
All right, everybody off the bus.
Listen up. I don't care if you're black, green, blue, white or orange,
I want all of my defensive players on this side,
all players going out for offense over here. Right now.
Let's move. Let's move, let's move, let's move!
You and you, offensive bus, sit together.
You and you, defensive bus, sit together. Get comfortable, too.
Because the person that I have you sitting next to
is the same one that you'll be rooming with for the duration of this camp.
* 'Cause, baby, there ain't no mountain high enough
* Ain't no valley low enough
- * Ain't... - Blue, shut up.
I don't want to see your smilin' and shufflin' minstrel-show singing on this bus.
You, too.
Got that right.
You can shut up, too.
(* ''Spirit in the Sky'' by Norman Greenbaum)
* When die and they lay me to resttt
That's my bed.
* Gonna go to the place that's the best
* When I lay me ddown tto die
And that's his bed.
* Going up to the spirit in the sky
* That's where I'm gonna go when I die
I ain't looking at that for two weeks, man. Take it down.
You can close your eyes for two weeks for all I care.
Why don't you look at your wall and I'll look at mine.
I'll look wherever I want to, and I don't want to be looking at that for two weeks.
Then you better use your x-ray vision, Superman,
and look right through it, 'cause it ain't coming down.
Fight!
Hey, hey, hey, fight! Who is it?
Bunch of tough guys.
You look like a bunch of fifth-grade sissies after a cat fight.
You got anger. That's good. You're gonna need it, son.
You got aggression, that's even better. You're gonna need that, too.
But any little two-year-old child can throw a fit.
Football is about controlling that anger.
Harnessing that aggression into a team effort to achieve perfection.
Some coaches, they cut a player if they think he's not up to snuff.
Or they think he's hurting the team.
This is a public-school program.
I will never ever cut a player who comes out to play for me.
But when you put that uniform on, that Titan uniform, you better come to work.
We will be perfect...
...in every aspect of the game. You drop a pass, you run a mile.
You miss a blocking assignment, you run a mile.
You fumble the football,
and I will break my foot off in your John Brown hindparts.
And then you will run a mile. Perfection.
Let's go to work.
Hit! Hit!
Come on, move. Move, move, move those feet.
Get up, boy! Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up!
Keep that head up. Keep those heads up!
Keep those feet moving!
(Boone) Everything we gonna do is change. We are change.
We gonna change the way we run. We gonna change the way we eat.
We gonna change the way we block!
We gonna change the way we tackle!
- We gonna change the way we win! - Defense is desire.
- Fire and desire. - Defense, go! Come on!
Get up. Get outta here. Go run. Go!
(grunting)
(grunts)
Keep those legs moving!
Keep moving! Keep moving!
Keep that ball with you till you get out of the briar patch.
Show me, son! Show me, 'Bama! Show me, 'Bama!
Jump on that ball carrier like a starving man on a Christmas ham.
- Hut! - To the left! Move your feet!
Fumble, fumble, fumble!
What is wrong with you?! Why are you fumbling my football?
- My blockers were... - Your blockers?
Your blockers ain't got nothing to do with you holding the ball!
Did your blockers fumble the football or did you fumble the football?
- I did, sir. - All right. How many feet are in a mile?
- How many feet are in a mile?! - I don't...
5,280 feet.
You pick this ball up, you run every one of 'em!
You're killing me, Petey! You're killing me!
That man is in far over his head.
You're gonna have to cover for him on defense, Coach.
And 44 stack, 50 monster, pin 40. Just can't allow those other teams to score.
No, we can't. But I'm not exactly talking about football.
Bill? Um...
Arlene's outside. She's waiting to pick up Sheryl.
Don't keep your mother waiting.
- You want to talk to me, Coach? - I know you were at that riot in town.
That boy who was killed at the store, he was an acquaintance of yours?
- He was a friend. - I still don't condone civil disobedience.
If I was head coach, you probably would not be on this team.
But I like your hustle on that field, the way you attack the ball, finish the play.
You're a worker. I'm gonna pencil you in as starting strong-side defensive end.
- OK. - Julius?
I know friends don't come easy.
(girl) Gerry. you know where I am?
Do I know where you are? You're at home, I called you.
You want to know what I'm wearin'?
(giggling)
Oh! Don't do this right now.
Hey, man, what is this, Wild Kingdom?
Shut up, y'all!
Mating habits of the mountain gorilla? We all gotta use the phone!
- I gotta go. - Well, not till you say it.
No, no, no. Don't make me do this right now.
Gerry, you say it or I'm not hanging up the phone.
Say it right now .
- We're all waiting for you. - Sometime today, huh?
- I love you, sugar. - Ah-ha-ha! ''I love you, sugar''!
(overlapping shouts)
Get him! Get him! Get him! Get him!
What are y'all doing? 44 stack. You're supposed to know your jobs.
Campbell, you're playing selfish showoff football. Hold your man down!
Don't you single me out like that. What, you think I'm stupid or something?
Listen, I'm the team captain and I don't need you up in my face all the time!
(player) We're here to play football, y'all. Let's play football.
( sighs)
- Doc. - I got it.
Y'all didn't come out here to practice, 'cause champions pay the price.
Lookin' like a bunch of bums out here.
What you doing, man?
Eating lunch.
I see you eating lunch. But why you eating over here?
Why don't you go on over there, eat with your people?
Man, I don't have any people. I'm with everybody, Julius.
Yeah, he's just a light-skinned brother.
Yeah, and I'm a dark-skinned cracker.
(laughter)
Come on, Julius. He's just another blessed child in God's loving family.
(Blue hums ''Amazing Grace'')
Come on, Blue, let me...
(both hum)
(Rev) Lord, we come before you today
and ask you to soften big Julius Campbell's heart.
Look at that traitor.
And Rev? He better be praying I block for his black behind.
Yeah, but Ray, if you don't block, you're not gonna start.
I'll start. Then I'll just bide my time.
I got some plays we won the city title with last year.
Got some trick plays and stuff that might fire up the boys' imaginations a little bit.
Trick plays?
I think unless the boys start having a little fun
they're not gonna put points up on that board for you.
You worry about your defense. Let me worry about the offense.
All right.
Lastik!
I want you to tell me something about one of your black teammates.
Sir, yes, sir! I'm roomin' with Blue, sir!
And I notice that he wears leopard-spotted underwears! Bikini-style, sir!
OK, maybe somebody who's not your roommate.
Sir, I eat lunch with Rev. That's Jerry Harris, sir!
People call him Rev 'cause he's always praying
and he won't abide a foul tongue, sir!
And what is the Rev gonna do after high school?
I don't know. Go to college and all that, I guess.
What about you? You gonna go to college?
Oh, not me, Coach. I ain't a brainiac like Rev.
- You think you got a future in football? - Oh, heck, no.
I figure if I gotta be in school, I might as well hit some people while I'm at it.
All right, I like that. A self-aware man. I like that.
But if you don't go to college, it's not gonna be because you're not qualified.
So I want you to bring me your test scores at the end of every week,
- and we'll go over them together. OK? - OK.
- We'll keep that between you and me. - OK.
So, what kind of music does the Rev like?
Oh, me and Rev both dig on The Temptations.
- Oh, yeah? - * I know you wanna leave me
* But I refuse to let you go
* If I got to pray, plead for your sympathy
* I don't mind 'cause you mean that much to me
- * Ain't too proud to beg... - OK, all right. Stop begging.
Anybody else?
No volunteers?
Campbell?
Bertier?
No, huh?
Each one of you will spend time every day with a teammate of a different race.
You will learn about him and his family. His likes, his dislikes.
You will report back to me until you meet every one of your teammates.
Until that time, we go to three-a-day practices.
You continue to ignore each other, we'll go to four-a-day practices.
Now is there any part of this that you don't understand?
* I've got a tiger by the tail. just wait and see
It's cool, right? It's got you rockin', right?
Yeah, it's cool.
Let's see. What's your daddy's name? I mean, you do have a daddy, right?
Look, I have a father and his name is Eric.
And what's he do? Oh, wait. He does have a job, right?
Two minutes to go in the game. The other team is out there, they're tired.
Fourth quarter. Fourth quarter. Fourth quarter.
OK. Here's comes the best part. Here it comes.
(* ''Let's Hang On'' by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons)
* Let's hang on to what we've got
Nobody from my family ever went to no college.
- I'll tutor you, Louie. I told you that. - I'm white trash!
I ain't gonna get no C-plus grades. I'm just down-home, no-good,
never-going-to-no-college, white trash, man! All right?
* They're gonna put me in the movies
* They're gonna make a big star...
Yes, this one. I mean, I don't even have to ask, but I will.
What do you think of this one?
Does the term cruel and unusual punishment mean anything to you?
Cowards won't block!
Cowards won't tackle!
Cowards won't go after fumbles.
(Blue) Coach, we need a water break. We been out here all day.
- What did you say? - I said we need a water break.
You need a water break. Water is for cowards.
Water makes you weak.
Water is for washing blood off that uniform, and you don't get no blood on my uniform!
- Boy, you must be outside your mind! - Hm.
We are going to do updowns until Blue is no longer tired and thirsty!
(toots whistle)
Coach!
There's a fine line between tough and crazy, and you're flirting with it.
(toots whistle)
( double toot)
All right, get some water.
(player) Water! Water! Water!
I'll take that.
- Hey, wait your turn, boy! - Who you calling a boy, cracker?
Quit it, jerks!
Come on! You're all acting like a bunch of sissies!
Quit it!
All right, man, listen. I'm Gerry, you're Julius.
Let's get some particulars and just get this over with, all right?
- Particulars? - Yeah.
No matter what I tell you, you ain't gonna never know nothing about me.
Listen, I ain't running anymore of these three-a-days, OK?
What I got to say you really don't want to hear,
'cause honesty ain't too high up on your people's priority list, right?
Honesty? You want honesty?
All right, honestly, I think you're nothing.
Nothing but a pure waste of God-given talent.
You don't listen to nobody, man. Not even Doc or Boone!
Shiver-push on the line every time, man. You blow right past 'em!
Push 'em! Pull 'em! Do something!
You can't run over everybody in this league.
And every time you do, you leave one of your teammates hanging out to dry.
- Me in particular! - Why should I give a hoot about you, huh?
Or anybody else out there? You want to talk about a waste?
- You're the captain, right? - Right.
- Captain's supposed to be the leader? - Right.
- You got a job? - I have a job.
- You been doing your job? - I've been doing my job.
Then why don't you tell your white buddies to block for Rev better,
'cause they have not blocked for him worth a plugged nickel and you know it!
Nobody plays! Yourself included!
I'm supposed to wear myself out for the ''team''? What team?
No. No, what I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna look out for myself and I'm gonna get mine.
See, man? That's the worst attitude I ever heard.
Attitude reflects leadership, Captain.
(horn blaring)
Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!
Wake up, gentlemen, it's late. It's 3am in the morning.
All right, listen up.
You will follow Doc, myself and the other coaches.
We're gonna take a little run through the woods.
If you get lost along the way, don't bother coming back to camp.
Just hitchhike your hindparts on home. Any questions?
Coach, this is a high-school football team. We're not in the Marines here.
Let's go.
(* ''A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall'' by Leon Russell)
* Tell me. where have you been
* My blue eyed son?
* Where have you been. my darling young one?
* I've stumbled up on the side of twelve misty mountains
* I've walked and I've crawled over six crooked highways
* And it's hard... Yes. it's hard...
Oh, no, no. Come on, man, can't take no rest.
Can't take no rest.
* A hard rain's
* A-gonna fall
Anybody know what this place is?
This is Gettysburg.
This is where they fought the Battle of Gettysburg.
50,000 men died right here on this field.
Fighting the same fight that we're still fighting amongst ourselves...
...today.
This green field right here was painted red.
Bubbling with the blood of young boys.
Smoke...
...and hot lead pouring right through their bodies.
Listen to their souls, man.
''I killed my brother with malice in my heart.''
''Hatred destroyed my family.''
You listen.
And you take a lesson from the dead.
If we don't come together...
...right now on this hallowed ground...
...then we, too, will be destroyed.
Just like they were.
I don't care if you like each other or not.
But you will respect each other. And maybe...
...I don't know, maybe you will
...learn to play this game like men.
(players yelling. grunting)
(whistle blast)
All right.
We'll be out here all night, till we get this thing right. Let's go.
On the ball, Rev.
Come on, everybody. Let's get it right!
Ready!
Set!
- Let's go! - Hut!
What was that, Ray? Whatever it is, it ain't blocking!
- Give me a break, Gerry. - You want a break? I'll give you a break.
Wait a minute. Wait, wait. Let them handle this.
...to Rev once, just one time,
I swear to God, I'm gonna hit you so hard, by the time you come to,
ooh, boy, you're gonna need a new haircut. You understand me?
Ha-ha! Let's play, fellas.
On the ball. Let's run it again.
Ready!
- (player #1 ) Stay on him, now! -(player #2) All right.
Set!
Hut!
- Get up. - Get off me!
Whoo! You all right, Big Petey?
- You all right? - You really stuck him, Campbell!
- Yeah, I love me a little contact, Petey! - This is left side!
- Strong side! - Left side!
- Strong side! - Aah!
(* ''Spill the Wine'' by Eric Burden and War)
- (chanting) What makes the team? - Defense!
- What do we play? - Defense!
* I was once out strolling one very hot summer's day
* When I thought I'd lay myself down to rest
- Hey, fellas. Look at that fruitcake. -(wolf whistles)
Gerry, just keep your mouth shut and get back on that field.
Coach Boone, I'm Colonel Bass.
I transferred here from Huntington Beach, California.
This is my son Ronnie, and he's a quarterback.
How you doing, Ronnie? This is Coach Yoast.
- My pleasure. - Colonel.
We're pretty set at the quarterback, Colonel.
But if the boy's any good, you may want to check out Wilson or Hamilton.
Well, I, uh, I met Coach Taylor. He won't let blacks play on his team.
The way I see it, if these boys can fight a war together,
they can play football together. Now, he's a pretty good runner.
* Spill the wine and take that pearl
Yeah, a fruitcake, huh?
- I think we can find a place for your boy. - Mm-hm.
With one or two conditions.
Hey, Sunshine. Sunshine?
- Hey, Sun. - Sunshine.
All that rubbin' ain't gonna make them golden locks grow back no faster now.
You know that, right?
* Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine
- Sunshine, huh? - Sunshine, yeah!
That's cool. I can dig it.
( Sunshine) Come on, now. Don't leave me hanging, bro. Come on.
- Hey, he got a little soul power. - Look at this man here.
He called me bro!
Hey, yo, man, hey. I liked him better with the long hair, bro.
Reminded me of Bertier's mama.
What? What?
How do you know what Bertier's mama looks like?
Brother, don't you know me and Bertier's mama went out on the town last night!
- What are you sa...? - Hold on, listen now.
Blue, why you talking about Bertier's mama like that?
See, now you making me angry, man.
Look like I ain't gonna be able to take your mama to the prom no more.
What you laughing at, Jerry Buck?
You need to tell your mama to shave them old legs of hers, bro.
And, Julius, when she's done, maybe your mama can borrow the razor
and shave that old nasty back of hers, bro.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Wait, wait, wait.
You mad 'cause she lookin' like the Wolf Man.
Hey, hey, Lastik, man. What happened to you?
Man, I just gave your mama a piggyback ride and she weighs twice as much as I do.
- That ain't funny. - That's a mama joke!
(* ''Ain't No Mountain High Enough'' By Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell)
* Listen, baby
* Ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low
* Ain't no river wide enough, baby
* If you need me, call me
* No matter where you are, no matter how far
* No, no, darlin'
* Just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry
* You don't have to worry
* 'Cause, baby, there ain't no mountain high enough
- So, Julius, I was thinking that we... - He's in the shower.
- What do you want, man? - You know what I want.
( all) Whoa!
Hey, Bertier!
Get off! Get off!
You have no idea who you messed with, man!
There's too much male bonding going on in here for me.
- I'm out. You dig? - All right!
What is going on here?
He kissed me, man!
(laughter)
* Ain't no mountain high enough
* Ain't no valley low enough
* Ain't no river wide enough
* To keep me from getting to you, baby
- Ronnie Bass. - Yes, sir.
I like that haircut. Get in there and show me what you got. Option left.
(player) Let's go, baby. Rookie quarterback.
(coach) Left. Left! Left!
Set! Hut!
Ball! Ball! Ball!
Hard step, read the tackle.
- Got to see the pitch, all right? - Yes, sir.
Now, you can throw it a mile, but you can't pitch it three yards.
Got to see it. If you don't read it, you weep. Rev!
Yes, sir.
- Show him how. - Yes, sir.
Yeah, I'll take it, man.
- Hey, can you slide a bit, Gerry? - Hey, Ray, this is defensive table.
- Hi, Petey. - Yo, man.
Hey, Sunshine.
It's not like I care or nothing, but you know, just being your roommate and all,
you was just messing with Bertier, right? You was just messing with his mind, right?
- You're not really...? - What are you talking about, Petey?
Look, man, it don't matter to me. You know, if, you know, if...
I just got to know, you know?
If it don't matter, what's the big deal?
- I got to know. - Know what?
You know what I gotta know. Don't mess with my mind!
Look like Coach been keeping Petey out in the sun for too long, bro.
- Coach. - Hey, sweetie.
Mother's outside. She wants to talk to you.
OK.
Coach Boone?
You did a good job up here. You ran a tough camp from what I can see.
Well, I'm very happy to have the approval of a five-year-old.
I'm nine and a half, thank you very much.
Why don't you give this little girl some pretty dolls or something, Coach?
I tried. She loves football.
Arlene?
Sheryl told me about what happened, about your job and all.
I mean, everything that they might not have put in the papers.
- I'm sorry. - Thank you.
Life's full of surprises, I guess.
I guess.
Thanks for letting me have her this week. I know that you didn't have to,
and I just wanted to thank you, that's all.
You're still her mother.
Nothing that's happened between us is gonna change that.
Mike and I are heading up north for...
...for awhile.
Oh, yeah, Sheryl told me.
Well, she's all yours. But then again, she always was.
- What are you?! -( all) Mobile! Agile! Hostile!
- What is pain? - French bread!
- What is fatigue? - Army clothes!
- Will you ever quit? - No!
We want some mo'! We want some mo'!
- We want some mo'! - Turn in!
(chanting) Hah, hah, hah, hah...
Let me ask you something, Mr. Campbell.
- Uh-huh. - What kind of power you got?
Oh, man, you know I got some soul power.
What kind of power you got?
What kind of question is that? I got soul power!
- Yes, you do! - Right on!
Let me ask you something now, Mr. Bertier.
- Yes. - How strong are you?
- I'm too strong! - What?
- I'm too strong! - Oh, how strong?
- Too strong! - Oh, right on, baby!
- I want a victory! - No, I want victory!
- I want a victory! - No, I want a victory!
You all want victory?
* Goodbye
* Na na na na, hey, hey, hey
- * Goodbye - Let me hear you!
Let me hear you! Up in the front! Up in the front! Whole school!
What'd they do up there? Brainwash 'em?
They must be high on something.
- Hi, Mom. - Oh, welcome home.
Dad.
- How you doing, sweetheart? - We missed you so much.
Hey, man. Like, are we cool?
Yeah, we're cool.
- Mrs. Boone, nice to meet you. - You, too.
Yeah, this is little Karen. This is Nicky. Nicky, that's Sheryl.
Why do you dress so weird?
- Ow! - Look who's talking.
Ow.
Well, we're just all getting along, aren't we?
(* ''Time Has Come'' by Joseph and Willie Chambers)
What you doing in my school, boy?
Man, this stuff is messed up.
Anything serious happen, and they shut the school down,
and our season goes down the drain. This here's real messed up.
But there are a lot of pretty women here.
- Hey. - Look at 'em, Gerry.
- They hate us. - Nah.
Just a bad day. Things'll cool down.
No, Gerry. They're always gonna hate us.
We don't need you here either, hippie boy.
You hear what he said?
- Hey, man. - Hey, Julius.
- Man, it's crazy out here, man. - Yeah, well, what did you expect?
I don't know. I ain't quite expect it to be like this.
Ah, sorry. Julius, this is Emma.
Camp over now, huh? Back to the real world, Bertier.
This is what they integrating us for?
We'd have been better off staying where we were.
Mmm.
Yeah, this is my sanctuary. Right here.
All this hatred and turmoil swirling around us, but this... this is always right.
Struggle.
Survival.
Victory and defeat.
It's just a game, Doc, but...
...I love it.
Coach, I'm afraid I've put you into a no-win situation.
I just found out the board didn't even think you'd make it out of camp.
And now that you have, I've learned that at the first sign of trouble...
Trouble? What kind of trouble?
Lose a game... they'll fire you.
And turn it back over to Yoast.
One game. Just like that?
- Mm-hm. - What about my family?
We just got here. They just expect me to pick up and move?
- What about my girls? - I don't know what to say.
I'm sorry, Coach.
Pump, pump, pump it up!
Pump that Titan spirit up!
Look at 'em.
They come here to watch the game and they still don't want no part of us.
Give us more!
Everybody on their feet. On your feet, on your feet. Let's go, let's go.
Listen up. I'm not gonna talk to you tonight about winning and losing.
You're already winners, 'cause you didn't kill each other up at camp.
Tonight we got Hayfield.
Like all the other schools in this conference, they're all white.
They don't have to worry about race. We do.
But we're better for it, men.
Let me tell you something. You don't let anything,
nothing, come between us.
Nothing tears us apart.
Greek mythology, the Titans were greater even than the gods.
They ruled their universe with absolute power.
Well, that football field out there tonight, that's our universe.
Let's rule it like Titans.
(crowd cheers)
( announcer) So the Titans defense takes the field for the first time
against the Hayfield Hawks. led by quarterback Daniel O'Connell
on the Hawks' 32-yard line.
Aww!
We're moving like molasses out there, for crying out loud! I mean, come on!
- Mama? - Hm?
- Are all white girls that crazy? - What?
You guys can do better than that.
Huddle up. Fellas, huddle up.
Bosley? Where's Alan? Alan, you've got to stick your man!
- They're gonna score on us all night... - He's too fast, Gerry. I can't stick with him.
Let's go, let's go, let's move.
22! Hut! Hut!
( announcer) Touchdown Hawks!
- Shape up that defense, Yoast. - You just worry about your offense.
They score again, I'm taking over.
Hut! Hut!
Petey, get over here! What are you doing, son?
You missed the block by a mile. You didn't even have the football to fumble this time.
There's no excuse. No excuse!
You want to play football or not?
Do you want to play football? Boy, get over there on the bench.
- Herb, take over for me. - You got it.
Petey! You all right?
- I was a two-year starter at G.W. - Mm.
All this yelling he's doing, it don't do nothing but make me play worse.
- I can't play for this man. - You come play linebacker for me.
23's killing us. I want you to get out there. I want you to cover him for me.
- You want me to go in now? - Yeah.
I can't! I haven't practiced with the defense. I can't.
That doesn't matter. I just want you to get out there. I want you to cover 23.
That's all you have to do. We'll talk about the rest after we put this one away.
You think Yoast is trying to let them score on purpose?
- What? - Do you?
Oh, come on, Herman.
OK, let's go.
What is Petey doing in there?
Looks like Yoast is trying him out on defense.
He's taking Alan out. Yoast!
Herman, Herman, Herman. Come on. Let's see.
See what happens. It might be all right.
- Yoast! - It's OK. You're OK.
Yoast!
Don't you take out my son!
He's getting beat like he stole something, Mr. Bosley.
You just stay out of it, girl!
He's just getting beat! That's all I'm saying.
Yoast!
Hut! Hut!
(* ''Superstar Remember Where You Got Where You Are'' by The Temptations)
Down! Set! Hut!
Hut! Hut! Hut!
Go, defense!
Set! Hut!
Yeah!
( announcer) Touchdown! Game. Titans!
Yeah!
The Titans are here, y'all, and we ain't going nowhere!
Yo, you got to be loud all the time, man? Virginia can hear you, baby.
- Don't forget about your fumble. - First of all, the hand.
Second of all, who won the game?
- My dad is... - Don't worry about it.
It's not your fault. They like to show off and that's what they do.
Wait, wait, wait. ''They''?
- Yeah, what? - I heard you say ''they.''
Yeah, they. Them. Them over there.
But what you mean by ''they''? You talking about Pete.
You're you and I'm me.
(car honks)
(girl) Gerry.
(boy) Hey, Gerry. Hop in, buddy.
We're heading over to the hill, Gerry. Everyone's gonna be there.
Why don't you hang out down here with us? We're, you know...
What are you trying to do, Gerry?
Listen, when something unexpected comes,
you just got to pick it up and run with it.
I'm not running in the same direction as you are, Gerry.
Come with us.
Look, standing up for what you believe in, it's all well and good.
But you got your priorities real mixed up this time.
Are you coming or not, man?
Here he goes.
- Come on, man. - No, man.
What? It's on me, man. We party on. Let's go.
Look here, man. All right? This here's Virginia, all right?
- They got problems with, you know... - They don't want us in there, man.
Man, that's history, bro. It's on me. Come on.
We're full tonight, boys.
What? There's tables all over the place. What are you talking about?
Well, this is my establishment.
I reserve the right to refuse service to anybody.
Yeah, that means you too, hippie boy.
Now, y'all want something to eat, you can take these boys out back
and pick it up from the kitchen.
- What'd I tell you, man? - Yo, come on, Petey, man.
Petey, I didn't know, man.
I told you! What you mean, you didn't know?
- What, you think I was playing with you? - Man, he didn't know, Petey.
Blue, he don't want to know!
You pull some crap like that, you'd better be able to back it up.
Man, let's go, man. Why don't you cool out? Cool out!
- Let's go, Rev. - Man, let's go.
What happened? What happened?
- This man acting the fool tonight, man. -(Blue) Petey.
Man, don't even talk to that man, man. He acting all crazy and stuff, man.
- It don't even make no sense. - Petey.
He know the man's from out of town.
Five times. Five times, player of the week.
He's not some walk-on scrub, Yoast. The boy's a player. He's a star!
And he busted his butt for you! This is all your doing. You blacks.
That is enough. It's my call.
Now, listen, you just go on home now, Fred,
before you do something that you're gonna regret.
Yeah, well, guess we won't be seeing much of him, huh?
I will. He's on the deacon board with me.
- All right, listen, about Petey. - No thanks required, Coach.
Thanks?
You challenged my authority in front of the entire football team, Coach.
Now, you think you're doing these boys a favor, taking 'em aside
every time I come down on 'em. Protecting 'em from Big Bad Boone.
You're cutting my legs from under me.
Some of the boys just don't respond well to public criticism.
I tell them what they need to know, but I don't humiliate them in front of the team.
Which boys are you talking about? Which ones you talking about?
I come down on Bertier, I don't see you coddle him.
Come down on Sunshine, don't see you grab his hand, take him off to the side.
Which boys are you talking about?
Now, I may be a mean cuss, but I'm the same mean cuss
with everybody out there on that football field.
The world don't give a damn about how sensitive these kids are,
especially the young black kids.
You ain't doing these kids a favor by patronizing 'em.
You're crippling 'em. You're crippling them for life.
- Gerry, what are you doing? - I'm going down to the Berg.
- The Berg? - Yup.
- What are you doing at the Berg? - I'm gonna play basketball with Julius.
Then we're gonna come back here for dinner.
- Gerry, if your father was still alive... - Ma. Would... Just give him a chance.
Just get to know him. Listen to him for two seconds.
I don't want to get to know him.
You are coming to church with your mother.
Right! Right! Right!
- He's mine! - Hut!
- You blew your assignment! - I'm covering for you.
- Don't get in my face. - Yo, cool out. Cool out.
Where you at? What planet you on tonight?
It's fine, man. I knew you was gonna stand me up.
I figured you weren't gonna make it out to the Berg. No way.
I knew you was all talk. But now you making us look bad out there on the field.
Don't talk to me, man. You ain't got nothing to say to me.
- Why the clouds, Sunshine? - I can't make that pitch, Petey.
You ain't gonna never play, anyway. Unless we're up by 50 points.
And seeing how we ain't never gonna be up by no 50 points,
you might just as well sit back, relax and enjoy the bench.
- How's it going, yo? - Man, I didn't sign up to play like this.
These guys we're playing got no heart.
We play like this against Groveton, we're going down.
(coach) OK, offense. Offense, let's go.
Hut!
( announcer) Touchdown. Titans! Game. Titans!
- How you doing, Coach? - Morning.
- Where's your dad? - He's in his office.
- Nicky, you all right? - Yes, Daddy.
- What you doing? - Shooting some hoops.
Wanna play?
I just did my nails.
How you doing? Tyrell.
Coach, if you don't need me, I'm gonna...
- I'm gonna wait out back. - All right, Herb.
Coach Boone, to what do I owe the surprise? Have a seat.
I'll get straight to it.
We won't survive another game like the one we played last Friday.
So I spoke to Mr. Vernon, the math teacher,
asked him to look at the game film from Groveton, who we got next week.
I asked him to analyze it for me. Every coach has certain tendencies.
All of 'em except Ed Henry.
The only time we'd be seeing Ed Henry is at the state championship.
Mm-hm.
Well, gosh, this is... This is great stuff.
Every quarter broken down, how many times they run each play.
- I mean... - You like that, huh?
- We'll be very tough defensively with this. - I think so.
I brought Nicky by. She was asking me about Sheryl.
I'm getting ready to take her over to some of her friends' house.
Anytime you wanna bring her by the house,
we'd be more than happy to have her.
(* "I'm Your Venus")
Oh, he's so cute.
He's in my third-period class.
(bell ringing)
What y'all staring at old Sunshine for?
I'm the one dominating on the field. He ain't played a minute all year.
Who cares about the field?
I don't want to be the one to break your heart,
but Sunshine's from California.
Yeah, a California dreamboat.
No, Sunshine is from California. He's a California man.
You talking to my girl?
I don't see any livestock around here, so I don't know what you talking about.
Oh!
(girl) Rodney, stop it. Leave him alone.
Get off me. Get off me.
(boy) You want some?
Break it up. Break it...
Get your hands off me, man!
- Hey, get off me! - Julius, man.
Chill!
Petey, get these girls out of here!
Get out of here. Let's go, come on!
- Uncle Tom traitor! - Uncle Tom!
I know you didn't call me no Uncle Tom. Y'all better back off me now, man.
Go! Move!
Looks like you went to the zoo and made some new friends, Bertier.
Oh, big smart guy, huh?
Marie's asked about Sheryl. Wanted to know if she'd come spend the night.
I told her I'd run it by you, see what you thought.
Yeah.
She's over at the Boones' tonight. I was gonna swing by on my way home
and pick her up.
Over at the Boones', huh?
Yeah.
So that's the way it is, huh? Hey, you haven't changed a bit.
You always wanna try and please everybody, be the nice guy.
Sooner or later, a man's got to pick sides.
As for me, well, I'm not gonna put myself through the rest of the season with that...
Hey, I brought you here. I want you with me.
But you got to do what you got to do.
That's all you can say to me after all we've been through?
- ''Do what you got to do''? - Hey, Herb...
You go to hell.
That veer's getting better. I'll admit that.
- But you're still weak on the left side. - We're not weak on the left side.
We just got to work harder on the left side. That's all.
- That's not the problem. - What is the problem?
You think it is, but it ain't. It's your pass reads.
It's not... It's a run anyway. It's not a pass.
- The veer is a run, not a pass. - All right, you two. That's enough of that.
Sheryl, don't you want to play with Nicky?
- I hate playing with dolls. - I'm not playing. I'm accessorizing.
Yeah, why don't you go accessorize? Don't you want to go accessorize with...?
( man) Hey, Coach Coon!
In the back. In the back.
(tires screech)
Where's Coach, man? What he want with us now?
- Coaches ain't called this meeting tonight. - We did.
We outta here.
Hey, how y'all gonna walk out on your teammate like that?
He say he got something to say, y'all got to listen to him.
Turn around! Turn around! Where you going? Turn around!
Coach Boone brought us this far, y'all,
but he ain't gonna be there for us forever, man.
So what? We won a few games.
And y'all fools think that's something?
Man, that ain't nothing, y'all! And you know what else?
We ain't nothing, either. Yeah, we came together in camp. Cool.
But then we're right back here and the world tells us
that they don't want us to be together.
We fall apart like we ain't a damn bit of nothing, man!
And y'all think we done won something? Man, we ain't won nothing, y'all.
- Nothing! - Rev, what's that you're always telling me
when I get sick of trying to keep up with my grades and stuff?
* Even youths grow tired and weary
* Even young men stumble and fall
* But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength
See, amen! Amen! That's what I'm talking about.
- Amen. Amen, right? - That's right, Rev.
- Yeah! Yeah! - * They will soar on wings like eagles
* Oh, like eagles, y'all like eagles, y'all
- * They will walk and not grow faint - Yeah! Can I get an amen!
Yeah! Yeah!
We're playing Groveton Friday night, y'all!
You all gonna play like you ain't got no heart?
- No! - Do y'all want a victory?
- Yeah! - Do y'all want a victory?
- Yeah! - Turn in!
(chanting) Ooh, ooh, ooh...
Yeah!
Like I said, we will not be intimidated. We're gonna play football games.
- Hatred, violence will not intimidate us! - Coach! Coach!
Is that why you need the state troopers, Coach?
Look, I don't need no John Brown state troopers.
You can tell whoever threw this brick through my window,
they can come visit me anytime! I'll be at home.
I think it's time you stopped antagonizing everybody and learned a little humility.
Humility, huh?
If you could just keep your mouth shut and didn't brag so much...
Oh, I see. So you're blaming me for what happened last night?
No, I am talking about setting a good example
for our boys and for the community.
I don't scratch my head unless it itches,
and I don't dance unless I hear some music. I will not be intimidated.
That's just the way it is.
If you wanna carry your sinful pride with you to your grave, that's your business.
But when your sins endanger my little girl it becomes mine.
My sins?
You think my sins had something to do with what happened last night?
I'm sorry about what happened to your daughter. I really am.
But maybe you got a small taste of what my girls go through. Hm?
Welcome to my life, Yoast.
- What's going on? - Coach.
We wanted to let you know we was gonna warm up a little different tonight.
( announcer) This is the first true test of the season
for the undefeated T. C. Williams Titans.
'Cause tonight. they're going up against the undefeated Groveton Lions.
Their all-state noseguard Kip Tyler is as mean as a copperhead snake.
And here come the Titans!
They're playing in front of a capacity crowd for the first time this season.
(chanting) Hoo-hah! We're here!
Hoo-hah! Feels good!
Hoo-hah! We're here!
Hoo-hah! Feels good!
Hoo-hah! We're here!
Hoo-hah! Feels good!
Hoo-hah! We're here!
Hoo-hah! Feels good!
Julius Campbell's playing strong-side linebacker.
He's so good, he's got all-American written all over him.
- Sheryl! - And Gerry Bertier...
I do not care.
Five! Six! Five, six, seven, eight!
* Everywhere we go, everywhere we go
* People wanna know, people wanna know
* Who we are, who we are
* So we tell them, so we tell them
* We are the Titans We are the Titans
* The mighty, mighty Titans Mighty, mighty Titans
* Ooh, ah, oh, yeah
Who do they think they are, The Beatles?
All right, quit gawking! Warm up!
- Tyler. - Coach?
Shut 'em up. Hard.
Ready!
Omaha, Budds! Omaha!
- Set! - Omaha!
Hike!
Song's over, sambo!
- What happened, Lastik? - I audibled.
Rev, I swear to God. I audibled.
- I didn't hear it. - All right, fellas, coming through.
- Swear to God. - Let's take a look at that, son.
He broke a bone in the wrist. He won't be throwing any more this season.
- You got one minute, Coach. - Take the other timeout, Coach.
- Ronnie Bass! - Coach, Rev's going back in, right?
- Not at quarterback, son. - I can't make that pitch, Coach.
Yes, you can.
When I was 15 years old, I lost my mother and my father in the same month, Ronnie.
The same month. 12 brothers and sisters. I was the youngest one.
But they were all looking up to me. I wasn't ready yet, either. But they needed me.
Your team needs you tonight. You're the Colonel.
You're gonna command your troops tonight. You understand?
- Yes, sir. - Twins right, 48-0 read. Let's go.
Let's go.
What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a football injury before, you wimps?
Let's go. Show some life in those legs. I got it. It's gonna be all right.
Budds, you release this time. Louie, let him through, all right?
- What? - Just let him through. Trust me.
- You had 12 brothers and sisters? - Eight.
Yeah. 12 sounds better.
Ready!
Set!
Blue, 21 ! Blue, 21 !
Hut!
Whoo!
Ref! Unnecessary roughness! That's a penalty!
On the quarterback? Are you kidding me, Coach?
Whoo-hoo-hoo! Did you see that, man? That's a bad white boy, man.
Hike!
We've got ourselves a football player.
Hut!
* Na na na na. hey. hey. hey Goodbye
Hut!
* Na na na na. hey. hey. hey Goodbye
All right, listen up, listen up, listen up.
Listen up, listen up, listen up!
Whoa.
Game ball...
...Ronnie Bass.
Thank you.
Hey, this ball right here... hey, this ball right here goes to the real king right here.
- Thanks for teaching me the veer, Rev. - Aw, come on.
( all chant) Rev! Rev! Rev! Rev! Rev! Rev! Rev! Rev! Rev! Rev!
Coach, can I speak with you in private?
Sure.
What's on your mind, son?
I want Ray off the team, Coach.
- You know my policy, Gerry. - Yes, I do.
And I respect it. But I know that Ray missed that block on purpose.
Sometimes you just got to cut a man loose.
Mm.
Well, you're the captain.
You make a decision, but you support your decision.
We'll remember this one for a long time.
Hey, guys, wait up. I want to catch a ride with you.
Ray?
- You're out. - What?
I'm not gonna let you play for this team anymore.
Oh, yeah, Jerry Lewis?
Gonna go and tell Coach Coon what to do, just like last time?
But then that's right - he is your daddy now, isn't he?
Boone don't cut anybody. Remember, Gerry?
I had you cut, Ray.
You willing to just throw away our friendship for them?
You can keep 'em.
(* ''Peace Train'' by Cat Stevens)
Hi.
* Now I've been happy lately thinking about the good things to come
* And I believe it could be something good has begun
* Oh. I've been smiling lately
O... Officer.
Heck of a game you boys played last night.
Thanks. Thank you, Officer.
Best defense I've seen in 20 years.
Tell that coach of yours to keep up the good work.
Oh, yeah. I'll do that.
* Now I've been smiling lately thinking about the good things to come
- Yo, man, your taxi had a siren. - Superman!
- Hey, man, what's going on? - Doing all right.
* Ride on the peace train
* Ooh-ah-eee-ah-ooh-ah
* Come on the peace train
* Yes, it's the peace train
(bar grows quiet)
You know, son, I don't care how many games you all win,
them boys ain't never coming in here.
You see that guy back there? Dude with the gray hair and the jacket?
That's my old man.
Well, I don't give a popcorn fart if he's Richard Q. Nixon.
Yeah, I bet you don't.
But Colonel Bass just put a call into his buddies at the Justice Department
as kind of a favor to me for winning the game and all.
See, they pretty much agreed to make an example of you.
Slap so many civil rights violations on you it'll make your head spin.
You can fight it, too...
...or, you can be reasonable.
Lou Anne, if they can find a table...
...they can sit in it.
Great game, Titans! Great game! Keep it up!
I'm not gonna sit with that.
Let's get out of here.
(bar patrons) * Na na na na, hey, hey, hey Goodbye
* Na na na na na na na na
* Hey, hey, hey Goodbye
* Na na na na...
(* ''Long. Cool Woman in A Black Dress'' by The Hollies)
( radio DJ) This song goes out to the undefeated Titans.
This city is alive with school spirit. Go get 'em. Titans. Whoo!
* Saturday night I was downtown
* Working for the FBI
* Sitting in a nest of bad men
* A pair of. 45s made me open my eyes
* My temperature started to rise
* She was a long cool woman in a black dress
* Just a five-nine beautiful tall
* With just one look I was a bad mess
* 'Cause that long cool woman had it all
* Whoo!
* Had it all
We are here tonight to honor men that are teaching our young people leadership,
on and off the field, and high moral standards as well.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you the 1971 Hall of Fame nominees.
Come on, Daddy.
Whoo!
When we played Jefferson, we were down by four with ten seconds left.
So, we blitzed the safety from the weak side...
Heck of a season the Titans are having, Coach.
- Too bad it's got to end. - Oh, we're still in it, Lyle.
Taber's boys are pretty good, but I think we'll take 'em in the regional.
Well, not if we have anything to say about it.
You just leave this to us, Bill. Boone's out and you're head coach again.
And all roads lead to the Hall of Fame.
Coach Taber? What do you think of the Titans. Coach?
Think you have a chance against that defense they have over there at T. C. ?
Ton. Billy. Ray. come on over here.
Boys. these are my all-American tackles.
Prize bulls who don't do nothing but knock the chocolate out of folks.
Is it true you're not gonna trade films with Coach Boone?
I'm not gonna do anything to help that monkey.
Well, what we gonna do about this?
We're gonna get ready for Saturday. See you out there on the field.
Hut!
Hey, Mr. Official. Mr. Official, can I talk to you for a second?
Back off, Coach, if you want to stay in this game.
Hut!
I've got holding on 78, white.
What are you...? Are you trying to cheat my boys out of the game?
15 more yards. Unsportsmanlike conduct.
Let 'em play! Let the boys play!
- Cheater! - Coach, come on.
- Cheater! - Coach!
Go, go, go, go!
( Sheryl) Oh, come on! What was that?
What are you, blind? That wasn't a hold!
Oh, come on! That was such a bad call!
Titus!
- I know all about it, Titus. - What are you talking about, Bill?
You call this game fair or I'll go to the papers.
I don't care if I go down with ya.
But before God, I swear I'll see every last one of ya thrown in jail.
- You dig your own grave. - OK.
Defense! On me!
OK, Petey, don't you drift to the strong side.
Coach, they're calling a holding penalty on me every time.
Did I ask for your excuses? You want to act like a star?
You better give me a star effort. Do you hear me?
Forget about him! Alan, you're in! Come on!
All right. Now, I don't want them to gain another yard.
You blitz all night!
If they cross the line of scrimmage, I'm gonna take every last one of ya out!
You make sure they remember forever the night they played the Titans.
Yeah!
Leave no doubt!
- Set! - Come on, y'all! Swing it left!
Swing it left!
Set! Hut!
You better make yourself comfortable down there. Real comfortable.
(* ''I Want to Take You Higher'' by Ike and Tina Turner)
- That one was for you, Coach. - All right, baby. All right.
- You brought us here, Coach. - Run it up, Herman! Leave no doubt!
* Music's gettin' good to me But now don't ya. I said don't ya
* Don't ya want to get higher?
Hut! Hut! Hut!
* Don't ya want to get higher?
* Baby. baby. let me light your fire
* Ooo. ha little bit higher
(player #1 ) Good game.
Coach? Coach.
I took a straw poll.
You just lost yourself the Hall of Fame.
(player #2) Good game, y'all.
(Boone) Hey, good job, 43. Good job. Good job, men. Good job.
Hey, way to stick. Good job.
Good game, Coach.
Coach?
(cheering. whistling)
Yeah!
Petey, what happened out there, man? Come on, talk to me, Petey.
Petey! Come on.
Hey, Julius. Julius! Come here, man.
- Don't move. - Go, it's OK.
- Man. - What's up, man?
Let's get out of here. Let's go paint the town or something.
- Let's go. Let's go. - I got to hang with my girl tonight.
- I got to hang with her tonight. - All right, all right.
- Where you going? - I don't know.
I don't know, but I'm gonna go. All right?
- You gonna go? - Yeah, man.
I want to go, man, but you know what I mean, man.
I'll see ya.
Looks like you weren't the one with the mixed-up priorities, huh?
Emma....
I think it's gonna take me a little longer than you might like.
But, um...
I just wanted you to know that I'm gonna try.
Goodbye, Gerry.
Emma? Make me a promise?
You'll be there to root for us when we play Marshall for the title?
(* ''Fire and Rain'' by James Taylor)
( Yoast) I know how much it meant to you.
( Sheryl) I ain't gonna lie.
I wanted the Hall of Fame real bad.
Just plain old jealousy. As old as Cain and Abel.
You know what? I wanted it, too.
But there's always next year or the year after that.
- As long as it takes for them to wise up. - Wouldn't want it now, anyway.
Bunch of old rednecks.
Let's knock 'em dead at State, Coach.
Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!
- You're home! You're home! - Gonna come home to my girls.
Give me a kiss. Mwah!
- Congratulations, Herman. - All right.
Mmm. What'd I tell you, baby, huh?
Yeah, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves.
We still got... still got to get Ed Henry and Marshall.
- We got all these... -( man) You done a good job!
Congratulations!
Whoo-hoo!
- Well, I'll be John Brown. - We cleaned up the kitchen, Daddy.
So you could get right to work.
You did? Well, I got news for you.
I ain't working tonight. Tonight we're gonna celebrate.
We're gonna let these people know who's gonna win State. Right?
- Right. - Right?
- Right! - Right!
Right! Whoo!
- Tell everybody! - We're gonna win State!
Whoo!
We're gonna win State!
* I've seen fire and I've seen rain
* I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
* I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
* But I always thought that I'd see you...
Gerry! You're the man!
- No, you. - You.
Yeah!
(horn blares)
Oh, Jesus! Gerry!
- How ya doing, son? - He ain't all right? He all right?
- He's, um... - How's he doing?
Not too good. Not too good.
How well is he doing? How bad is it?
- How bad is it? - He's paralyzed from the waist down.
Don't say that to me. Don't say that to me!
I'm sorry, Mrs. Bertier.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
He doesn't want to see anybody but you, Julius.
- Yes, ma'am. - You be strong.
Yes, ma'am.
Those tears are not gonna make my boy walk again.
- Only kin's allowed in here. - Alice, are you blind?
Don't you see the family resemblance?
That's my brother.
All right.
Oh, man.
You think I look banged up, you should see my Camaro.
Man, I sure am sorry, man.
I should have been there with you.
What are you talking about?
You would've been in the bed right next to me.
You can't be hurt like this.
You... You're Superman.
I was afraid of you, Julius.
I only saw what I was afraid of.
And now I know I was only hating my brother.
I'll tell you what, though.
Um, when all this is over,
me and you are gonna move out to the same neighborhood together.
OK?
And we'll get old and we'll get fat.
And there ain't gonna be all this black/white between us.
Left side.
Strong side.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
- Uh, the Marshall film. - Well, that's good.
We're gonna have to be real sharp
on the offensive and defensive sides of the football.
Figure we give the kids a couple of extra practices this week,
make sure they stay focused.
- Got a press conference today at 12... - Press conference?
Listen, what we do here amongst ourselves is one thing.
But we are not gonna parade around...
Hold on, hold on. I'm not talking about parading.
I'm talking about going out there, presenting a strong, united front.
Now, I'm hurting... just like you are, Yoast.
But the season is not over yet.
I didn't... We did not come this far to just break down and lose now.
Everything's not always about winning and losing.
I'm a winner.
I'm going to win.
Is this even about football anymore? Or is it just about you?
( reporter) Coach Boone. Coach, you lost Bertier.
Is your defense in trouble?
You cannot replace a Gerry Bertier...
...as a player or person.
I don't know, Mama.
Maybe Yoast was right. Maybe I pushed 'em too hard.
Gerry had an accident.
Sometimes life's just hard. For no reason at all.
You think I was blinded by my own ambition?
Mm.
Whatever kind of ambition it took to do what you did around here,
this world could use a lot more of it, Herman.
- Hey, Coach. - How ya doing?
This for me?
I want you to be my eyes out there, all right?
Any of these guys slack off, you just let me know.
You bet I will.
- How ya doing, Gerry? - I'm all right, Coach.
I was talking with these guys about Marshall, trying...
You know what? We don't need to talk about football right now, Gerry.
I think this is a good time for reflection and for prayer.
Coach? I'm hurt.
I ain't dead.
No, you're not. No, you're not.
You know, I've been reading up on the activities that they got
for people in wheelchairs and such.
They got Olympics.
(crowd cheering)
( announcer) This is the granddaddy of state-high-school football championships.
The Virginia Triple-A. It just doesn't get any better.
We have Coach Herman Boone's Titans versus the legend. Ed Henry.
with over 250 wins in 30 years.
- Amen. -( all) Let's go!
Lastik, what's the matter?
I'm eligible.
Well, I'm glad to hear that, son, but I'm already married.
I got a C-plus average, Coach.
I'm going to college.
(laughs) That's fantastic.
Coach? Coach, I just wanted to say I'm sorry.
You abandoned your team in their moment of need, Petey.
- Sorry won't make up for that. - Yeah, I know, but listen,
I want to play for you. I want to play for the championship.
You can play for me next year. You sit on that bench.
Show me you can support your teammates.
You'll start again as a senior.
( announcer) Entering the stadium now is Jean Bertier.
and she's the mother of injured all-American linebacker. Gerry Bertier.
And the Titan fans are really giving her a warm reception.
(chanting) Gerry! Gerry! Gerry! Gerry! Gerry! Gerry! Gerry!
(chanting continues)
( announcer) And here come the Titans.
entering the stadium in what's become their own unique style.
We're here! Hoo-hah!
Feels good! Hoo-hah!
We're here! Hoo-hah!
Feels good! Hoo-hah!
We're here! Hoo-hah!
Feels good! Hoo-hah!
We're here! Hoo-hah!
Feels good! Hoo-hah!
Julius Campbell?
- Hi, I'm Emma Hoyt. - Oh.
Well, I guess we never met, huh?
Excuse me, young lady. You can't be here right now.
You're gonna have to get back to your seat.
Well, now we've met.
- Yeah. It's nice to meet you. - Good luck, Julius.
Two, 21 ! Whoa, wait!
- What the hell's going on? - 24!
Shotgun. Who do they think they are? The New York Jets?
- Switch! Switch! - Get nine!
Bosley, move! Where's Bosley?
Line up! Get Bosley! Get nine, get nine!
All right!
Hut, hut!
- Real good. - Keep it up. Shotgun only.
Cover three! Go to cover three! Pass!
Hut!
Put some pressure on that Q.B. They got all day to throw, Coach.
You just worry about your offense.
Let's go! Swing it! Swing it!
- Set! - All right, set.
Get set. Hut!
- So Marshall... - No!
- What's wrong, Gerry? - Do not come in here!
They got receivers everywhere. It's like watching Monday Night Football.
Good hustle, good hustle, good hustle!
Just give him a little cushion. Just give him a little cushion.
And when they throw that ball, you stick him!
- Ready? - Break!
Ready!
Red, 57!
Hut. Hut, hut!
( announcer) Titans star quarterback Ronnie Bass gains six yards.
What you think? You think we got a chance?
Got to give me some way to disguise that cover. Just start thinking about it. Let's go.
Ready! Set! Hut!
They're a mile ahead of us. He's a mile ahead of you, Coach.
If your defense would stop somebody, we'd get the ball a little more.
Well. the Titans gave 'em a scare. but Ed Henry looks supremely confident.
T. C. Williams goes in at the half trailing 7-0.
Coach!
Sweetheart, you better get back to your seat.
- I can't, Coach. - What?
Ed Henry's got Boone's number, sure as shooting.
And you ain't doing nothing against that shotgun.
Look, Coach, now ain't the time to be proud.
All right, we're in a fight.
You boys are doing all that you can do. Anybody can see that.
Win or lose,
we're gonna walk out of this stadium tonight with our heads held high.
Do your best. That's all anybody can ask for.
No, it ain't, Coach. With all due respect,
you demanded more of us. You demanded perfection.
Now, I ain't saying that I'm perfect, 'cause I'm not.
And I ain't gonna never be. None of us are.
But we have won every single game we have played till now.
So this team is perfect.
We stepped out on that field that way tonight.
And if it's all the same to you, Coach Boone,
that's how we want to leave it.
Yeah.
I hope you boys have learned as much from me this year
as I've learned from you.
You've taught this city how to trust the soul of a man rather than the look of him.
And I guess it's about time I joined the club.
Herman, I sure could use your help. Ed Henry's kicking my ass out there.
Listen up. This is our time now.
Second half is our time! We're gonna make some changes on defense.
They're spreading us out too far. We're gonna put Sunshine, Alan,
Glascoe, Davis, you're gonna play both ways, rest of the game.
I don't want a receiver to get across that line of scrimmage.
Coach Yoast will tell you where you're playing, all right?
Let's go. It's our time. Everybody in. Our time! Our time! Our time!
- Titans on three. One, two, three! - Titans!
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
All right, Julius? We're gonna go 52 monster.
- I know that's all you need to know. - All right.
- All right, we're going zone, Alan. - Sir, I can play with Roosevelt.
But I cannot play with these guys.
No, I tell you what. I didn't warm the bench all year
so I could watch us go down on my account. Put Petey in. He's better.
You want him to take your spot, you go give it to him.
Thank you.
(* ''Up Around the Bend'' by Creedence Clearwater Revival)
- Good job, Petey! - All right! That was beautiful.
Offense, let's go.
* There's a place up ahead and I'm going
* Just as fast as my feet can fly
* Come away. come away if you're going
* Come on the rising wind We're going up around the bend
All right, defense? Get out there! Let's go! Stop 'em!
Let's go, let's go, let's go!
* ...for the banjo Better get while the getting's good
* Hitch a ride to the end of the highway
O-two, inside veer. O-two inside veer.
Hut!
( announcer) It's a field-goal attempt for T. C. Williams. It's good!
So. they trail Marshall 7-3 heading into the fourth quarter.
Ref! He's lining up offside! Look, 48's offside!
Freeze right, 99-Z, go.
Ref, I know you can see him. You got eyes!
Gun right, 84-X, flat. And tell Tommy to watch the free safety. Let's go.
Get right in there, Blue. You know who I'm talking about.
He's offside! He's lining up offside!
Got to hold them here, defense! Hold 'em right here!
Whoa. Pass! Pass!
Let's go, offense. Let's go.
- Break! -( announcer) Titans trail Marshall 7-3.
( announcer #2) All Marshall has to do is hold onto the ball
and they will be the state champions.
Watch 'em on the left side! On the left side!
Hold onto that ball, Petey!
Hold the ball! Hold the ball!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it! Hold it!
Hold onto that ball! Hold onto that ball, Petey!
All right, Petey!
- Coach. - Get a timeout! Timeout!
Coach, they're slanting to our strong side every time.
You got to catch 'em in that slant and let 'em overpursue.
He's onto your game. You got to throw something at him he's not ready for.
- Rev! Where's Rev? - Yes, sir.
- All right, listen, you ready to run? - Yes, sir.
Fake 23 blast with a backside George reverse. You got that?
Fake 23 blast with a backside George reverse. Like your life depended upon it.
Let's go. Let's go. Let's go get 'em.
The Titans take the field with time to run one final play for the state championship.
- I thought he was injured. - I guess not.
Why are they bringing in a Q.B.?
Titans have 75 yards to get to the end zone.
Oh, my gosh. I can't watch this. I can't watch this.
- What? - No.
- What? Sheryl, what's wrong? - No, I can't watch it.
No, it's too late. Not now. Not now.
They're gonna throw it deep. Cover deep!
- Down! - Watch the deep pass! Cover it deep!
Set! Hut!
Well, that's it, boys. That's it.
Good season. It's all right.
- Yes! Yes! - Come on.
- Congratulations, Coach. - Thank you.
You did a good job. Played a fine game.
I know football, but what you did with those boys...
You were the right man for the job, Coach.
You're a Hall of Famer in my book.
Yay!
Whoo-hoo!
Whoo-hoo-hoo!
- Yeah! - Whoo!
( Sheryl) The Titans danced their way into history. 13 and O. The perfect season.
State champions and first runner-up for the National Championship.
Second best high-school team in the country.
Gerry Bertier won a gold medal for the shot put in the wheelchair games.
Daddy coached him.
Ten years later. Gerry died. and that's what brought us back here today.
Gerry is gone. but his spirit lives on.
People say that it can't work. black and white.
Well. here we make it work every day.
We have our disagreements. of course.
but before we reach for hate. always. always we remember the Titans.
(Julius hums ''Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye'' by Steam)
( all) * Hey, hey, hey, goodbye
* Na na na na
* Hey, hey, hey, goodbye
(* "Ain't No Mountain High Enough")