Black Hats?

Rating: 4/10 (12 October 2004)

I grew up in West Texas and played high school sports in the late 50's, and I was really looking forward to seeing this film. But after seeing it I was very disappointed because of the way it depicted the parents and fans as vulgar and win-at-all-cost. This film in no way captured the true spirit and sportsmanship that I remember. And in the final game sequence between Dallas Carter and Permian, the director (Berg) would have us believe that the Carter players and coaches were some slimy, evil creatures left over from Lord of the Rings. In fact, if this movie had been a Western the Carter players would all be wearing black hats.