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Now that football season has come around again we are fortunate enough to be able to watch all the best football movies that will inevitably be played all season long on TV. Just a few days ago I caught "Remember the Titans" and although there were plenty of other things on that could catch my attention I was unable to change the channel. There is something about the movie that just sucks me in and won't let me go. There is inspirational moment after inspirational moment, but one that always sticks out in my head may not be on the top of most people's list.
In the semi-final game where the refs are trying to fix the game the Titan's assitant coach catchs wind of it and try to put an end to, but it is already out of his hands. So he calls time out and in the huddle you see a man who has been reserved and calm in the midst of a storm of hatred and tension the entire movie suddenly let it all out in one statement that ignites the fire of his team. "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 you out. You make sure they remember, forever the night they played the Titans."
In that moment I wanted to jump through the screen and be part of the defense. When I played I always hoped for a moment like that from one of my coaches but it never came. Now I hope that I can one day be a coach myself and be able to pass that kind of fire and passion to my players. In my opinion, teams follow the attitude of the head coach and you could see it in the coach's eyes as he addressed his players.
There are so many lessons to be learned from this movie but most of all it is something that I always say to people. Football and sports in general is an analogy for life. If a team can come together in the face of adversity like the Titans did then we can all do in whatever challenge we face. By no means is any of it going to be easy but it can be done. So go do it.
I remember being away on a baseball trip with my older brother's all star team. I was lucky enough to be allowed to tag along and one day one of the games got rained out, so the coaches rented "Bull Durham" for all the guys to watch. It was my first time being introduced to the movie and to this day whenever I watch it I still remember being cooped up in that motel room with all the guys and loving every second of the movie.
As I have stated in earlier post Kevin Costner does a great job in sports movies and this one is no different. You got to love the way he describes to the other guys what its like in "the show" and how they are all hanging on every word. That alone makes every young boy want to go for it. Not because of what being is, but because it is simply paradise for a ball player.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that for those who love the game of baseball, nothing can replace it. Everything about the game is beautiful, from the feel of the bat to the way your hand smells after you take it out of your glove, and if you have the opportunity to play the game for money, then cherish it.
Crash Davis also offers us a piece of advice that should not be taken lightly. "Don't think, just throw." So many times in life we think too much about what could happen if we do this or might happen if we do that, but we get so caught up in thinking about it that we fail to live to the fullest. I don't mean to go through life without thinking but when the thinking part is done. Just throw the damn ball and see what happens. If you are lucky you got a good catcher that is distracting the batter and strike three will fall into your lap. LOL.
As I mentioned in my initial list, this movie is a right of passage for young boys so if you are a father of young boys or girls who love to the game and are old enough sit them down and share this movie with them. They will probably make fun of you at first cuz we are getting older, but they will love the movie just the same and be thankful for it when they grow up.
I was a little on the fence about seeing this movie due to the fact that I had not heard any reviews about it at all but every time I went to the video store it always seemed to catch my attention. So yesterday I went with the intention of getting it and I am very glad that I took the time to watch it. For any that have not seen it, it is very much worth watching; in fact I liked it so much that I hope to watch it again before I return it.
In the beginning there seems to be a lot going on and if you are not paying attention to all the details you may miss something later on but either way in the end you will fully understand the gist of it. Mike Terry is a Jiu Jitsu instructor that trains many people in a gym that is losing money fast. In his art form the red belt is worn only by the master or professor as they call him and he is shown the utmost respect by his followers. Mike is the kind of guy that is willing to give the shirt off of his back to a stranger if that person is in need and at one point, almost does exactly that.
Through a few unusual circumstances he falls into a way to make some money but it ends up being a scam and a way for others to make money off of him. His only choice is to fight as an undercard on the big fight night and hopefully win, pay off his bills and help those he must help and move on with his life, but he uncovers that the whole thing is fixed and being a man of honor and purity will not have any part of it.
I personally at this point expected some twist in the plot forcing him to fight, like the bad guys were holding someone hostage or they had some sort of blackmail over him. Instead it is he that at first walks away and then realizes that if ever there were a time to fight it would be now, just not in the ring or for a show, it would be on the way to the ring and through ever bit of security they could throw at him including the reigning champion, the professor's son. He does this so that he would be able to blow the whistle on the whole event that was dishonoring his art, life, and master. It is one hell of a fight scene. And in the end I was left saying "wow". Go watch it and let me know how you felt in that last scene.
For anyone that ever had the dream of playing college football this movie is like The Bible. "Rudy" gives us all hope that what others consider to be just a dream or impossible one can make happen with enough determination and hard work. What makes me admire Rudy in this movie is that the road he took to step onto the field to play for Notre Dame was not an easy one but even more then that it was not a short one. For years this young man struggled to make it on the roster and everyone that he came across told him he could not do it.
Not only did he have to deal with the fact that he was severely undersized for the position he played, but he also had to overcome the fact that his grades were not up to par for such a prestigious school. It took him two years of studying and working out to be able to get into the school and even with all that to overcome he continued to work at it. Most of us have dreams of something we want to accomplish in this world but fail to reach it because we stop trying after the road gets too tough. For Rudy the road was tough right from the beginning and it only got tougher.
Now I would be remise if I did not mention that at one point he did want to give up, go home say that he tried his best. If it were not for his boss and friend who saw all that Rudy had given up in the hopes of putting on the green and gold, he would have. Sometimes in life, what it comes down to is not what we are doing in that moment, but what we have done up until then. If Rudy had not done everything he could have up until that moment then maybe Roc would have let him walk away but the fact was that he had already been an inspiration to those around him, his friend was not going to let him walk away without completing what had been the mission of his life to this point
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To be perfectly honest I'm not sure if there are any results yet. I'm really not one to weigh myself all the time, I just figure that if I'm losing weight I'll see some results in the mirror. Of course it is a little early to start seen anything major because I'm not on "The Biggest Loser", but I do feel a little better. I think my jeans are a little loser but in my mind that could be because I streched them out so much. Who know? My wife has said that she lost 4 pounds so that is something. If nothing else at least I know it is on our minds on a daily basis, we are always asking each other how we are going to workout that day.
We still have a lot of things to figure out as far as how we are going to get through each day without eating like crap but some ideas are coming into play. It is just a matter of doing it. Which is of course what it always comes down to isnt' it?
I think we are going to get there but it is going to be a slow process. I'm just hoping to see a couple results soon and hopefully grab onto a little more motivation from that. Success breeds success
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So just by coincidence it turns out that my brother was looking for a good movie to watch the other night with his wife and he asked for my input. Of course I recommended "For Love of the Game". I mentioned that it was with Kevin Costner and we had a laugh because we both know how many baseball movies he has done. We are actually waiting for him and Dennis Quaid to make a movie together.
Anyway, any time I think of this movie I get a smile on my face because I really think it was done right. It is truly the kind of movie you can get away with bringing home from the rental store and telling your wife, "Hun, I got it because it's a love story." But more then that for anyone that is a baseball fan, and I mean a true baseball fan, not someone who tunes in only if his team is in the playoffs, there is a purity and almost sacred quality to what happens in a perfect game.
"For Love of the Game" captures all of what goes on in a moment like that, from the screaming and booing fans, to the impossible play being made in the field. Doesn't it always seem that whenever a perfect game or even a no-hitter is thrown there is one or two amazing plays in that save it for the pitcher? John Sterling said it best when David Cone pitched his perfect game; it is "baseball immortality
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For anyone out there that has ever struggled with weight and/or self image there are undoubtably moments that are more difficult then others. I personnally have come to despise it when people call me "big guy". My wife went through a situation today where some of her co-workers were a little harsh in what they said to her and how they said it. I felt for her at that moment, it is not easy to be brought face to face with the fact that you are not the person you once were or think you can be.
I have to admit I did not do a great job at making her feel better and maybe I should do better job at that in the future but I did point out that it is times like this that we have to cling to and remember in order to stay focused on the road ahead. When she got home from work she hit the road for her workout, which she says was not enough, but in time we will both work up to more challenges. I'm sure she was thinking about how great she will look in a few months.
Take it from me people, my wife is a knockout when she is at her best
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So yesterday it's about 5 in the evening both my wife and I are doing pretty well with how we are eating so far in the day. Frankly everything seems to be going good and I'm personally happy with the fact that I was in the middle of my workout and looking forward to my protein shake. Then it all fell apart.
I don't know how many of you are from Latin families but eating correctly in my family is not an easy task. Yesterday, as I was in between sets I see my mother in law drive up with a car full of food and shortly after that, company coming over for dinner. I had no idea this was going to happen yesterday, but I suppose I should have been prepared for it because it is not like it's an unordinary thing.
An hour later the beer is flowing and the rice and beans are being piled on everyone's plate. I did my best to refrain but its not easy when the mantra of the family is "Eat, eat more". Now we really didn't eat that much but we did have a couple beers, which is okay every once in a while but I sure don't want to get in the habit of doing it
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So first off I got to say that I realize that American Flyers is not exactly one of the most popular movies around but there is something about it that speaks to the competitor in me and I would think to a lot of people out there. For one it's about two brothers that end up on completely different tracks in life but have one last chance to regain some of the magic they had together growing up.
I know there are lots of siblings out there that remember certain parts of growing up together that pretty much defined their relationship. For my family it was coming together to watch the game on TV. It didn't have to be a big game or any sport in particular. We just ended up there together because that is what we did, and some of my happiest moments are cheering our teams on to victory together. To this day when there is a big game on I'm texting my brother to share the moment with him.
In American Flyers, older brother Marcus gets little brother David to join the bike race The Hell of the West with him. And David turns out to be not just another entry, the kid has a chance to win the whole thing. Who doesn't love a long shot, underdog story? The racing scenes are awesome and leave you pumped with adrenaline, not to mention a smile on your face
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