Movie Review

As promised, here are my thoughts about "Glory Road:"

First, it is sad that it took 40 years for this movie to be made. Being an avid sports fan, the one thing that stuck with me most was that I had never heard of the 1966 Texas Western basketball team. This team did something that surpasses the 1972 Dolphins of the Bulls dynasty of the early 1990's. They overcame more than a game. They literally took on the world and won. People should know.

As for the actual movie, it's not the most entertaining sports movie ever made. I reserve a special place on my list and in my heart for Major League II. The beauty in movies like The Sandlot and Little Big League ("Baseball is for kids, grownups just screw it up") is that they show the joy in the game, and put baseball in its proper perspective relative to life. However, if I were a coach, of any sport, this is the first movie I would probably show my players.

Maybe it's more the story than the movie. I don't know a lot about cinematography and direction, and even acting. What I do know is that I was moved by the story. For a group of people so different to come together for a cause, whether it be as trivial as basketball or as serious as breaking down walls of prejudice and hatred is inspiring. For the team, players and coaches alike, to finally realize that no one could take away their talent, pride, or intrinsic worth was amazing. For a coach to stand by his beliefs against pressures all around him, for the white players to put a greater good, both for the team and humanity, above their own ambitions, for the black players to simply persevere through times of trial is greater than the camera work or the writing or any other element in the film.

So maybe this isn't as much of a movie review as it is an endorsement for the story. Go see the movie, you should know what happened in El Paso in 1966. For people like Adolph Rupp, one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history, and the men and women who mistreated that team of BASKETBALL!!!! players, you should be ashamed. I, as much as anyone, recognize that sports are more than just games, but they are so much less than life. They have no value compared to that of a human being, black, white, or green.

Thanks to this movie, I now know about the 1965-66 Texas Western Miners--The best team in the history of competitive sports. Go watch Glory Road (or read the book) and find out about them. They were winners, off the court first, and thankfully, on the court as well.