Minutes to Memories

I’ll begin with a couple of admissions: (1) I’m a sucker for an inspirational sports movie, and (2) I have very little talent in the world of movie reviews. So take my “two thumbs up” pronouncement for “We Are Marshall” with a grain of salt; my blog-friend Mr. Reel Fanatic and most major reviewers weren’t using a lot of superlatives for this movie in their columns.

But I thought it was outstanding!

The plane crash that prompted this story occurred a couple of months after I was born, and I thought the movie captured the emotion of such a horrible event as best as possible (the horror of the plane crash, mind you, not my birth, though my mom might disagree). The stars of the movie performed admirably, and in an emotional story such as this, I think Matthew McConaughey’s humorous portrayal of Coach Jack Lengyel was perfect.

In retrospect, I can see Reel Fanatic’s point about the emotional stories of those dealing with their grief being somewhat scattered and disconnected. But I guess that made it seem a bit more realistic to me, since tragedy on that level feels scattered and disconnected anyway. But as a moviegoer who would like to get involved in the storylines of the characters, he has a good point.

Still, for my money, it was worth the $3.75 for the matinee and two hours of my afternoon. In fact, I think I got quite a deal.

CAUTION: SCENE SPOILER AHEAD!

I’ll share my favorite scene from the movie for anyone who might be interested. I loved it when Coach Lengyel admitted that his favorite offense wouldn’t work with the ragtag team he had assembled and began brainstorming with his coaching staff. Coach Red Dawson suggested running the veer as a possibility and mentioned that their rival, West Virginia University, was the best at running it. So Coach Lengyel decided to go ask WVU coach, Bobby Bowden, for some advice!

In addition to his boldness (which I loved!), I equally loved Coach Bowden’s reaction! His willingness to share his knowledge with a rival who had undergone such tragedy, combined with the scene revealing that he had stickers attached to his team’s helmets in honor of Marshall, was poignant.

I left that particular scene with both a commitment to go to unconventional places to pursue something worth pursuing AND a commitment to honor even my enemies when they are hurting. Both of which are life lessons worth a heck of a lot more than the $3.75.

LITTLE-KNOWN MARSHALL TRIVIA:

* Billy Crystal attended Marshall for one year on a baseball scholarship!
* Singer, Michael W. Smith, is a Marshall alum.