I liked the half-time speech

Rating: Null/10 (29 October 2004)

I have been involved in sports my entire life, and one time wrote an eight minute persuasion speech for a speech tourney with regard to the overemphasis on winning in little league and interscholastic sports. The half-time speech by Thornton's character reminded me of how life is far more about losing than winning, no matter what the corporate control monsters say in trying to motivate you, and the speech reflected meaning to me. My almost 10 year old son, who hates to lose at anything, liked the movie, and liked what he saw as realistic--commenting without being parentally pumped and primed to say something. The sexual scenes were discreetly handled--at least I didn't tell the boys to cover their eyes--and the town football-junkies tooling about in their car also reminded of small-town football life and how it's approached with a zeal that goes beyond religious into irrational. I was glad to see that Coach Gaines won everything the following year, and it is my fervent hope that he took a baseball bat to the cars and mailboxes of the controlling football junkies thereafter. I have already recommended the movie to friends that I am confident will not only enjoy it, but relate to it, sports-wise and life-wise. T2T