Invincible ( 2006 film ) Invincible is a 2006 sports film directed by Ericson Core set in 1976 . It is based on the true story of Vince Papale , who played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1976 – 78 . Mark Wahlberg portrays Papale and Greg Kinnear plays Papale ' s coach , Dick Vermeil . The movie was released in the US on August 25 , 2006 . Plot . During the 1970s , the Philadelphia Eagles endure a string of losing seasons and irate fans . To spice things up for his organization , newly hired Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil decides to hold open tryouts in 1976 for a spot on the pro football team ' s roster . Vince Papale is a 30 - year - old bartender who has just lost his part - time teaching job . He had gone to Saint Joseph ' s University ( then known as St . Joseph ' s College ) on a track scholarship . Disgusted with his professional failure his wife , Sharon ( Lola Glaudini ) , abruptly leaves him , taking all of their furniture with her and leaving a note saying that he never will be anything in the world . With the support of all his friends from the neighborhood , Papale goes out for an open tryout practice ; catching the attention of coach Vermeil , he is invited to come along to training camp . Papale eventually makes the team , and after a dismal display in the opening game of the season , he recovers a fumble and returns it for a touchdown in the second regular season game versus the New York Giants , which leads to Vermeil ' s first victory with the Eagles . Differences from the true story . In reality , Papale had been playing semi - professional and pro football for several years , first with the semi - pro Aston Green Knights of the Seaboard Football League and then two seasons with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League , one of the NFL ' s rival leagues on the level of the AFL and the USFL . Papale was a standout special teams star for the Bell , who played at Philadelphia ' s JFK Stadium . Papale did participate in an open tryout before earning his spot on the Bell roster , which the filmmakers used as a model for the tryout shown in the movie . For the Eagles , Papale actually participated in a private workout that was by invitation only . The opening scene of the movie features the Eagles ' 31 - 0 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on December 7 , 1975 . One of the fans makes a comment that the Eagles lost to a team worse than they were . In ' 75 , the Bengals actually won 11 of 14 regular season games and were the Wild Card team in the AFC . The fumble recovery depicted in the climactic scene did take place , but Papale ' s touchdown did not count , as under NFL rules at the time , the ball could not be advanced . It was still a key play in the victory for the Eagles . Papale never scored a regular - season touchdown in the NFL . On the film ' s DVD , Papale appears with the director in the Director Commentary portion . Papale makes no mention of these differences in his commentary . Filming . The preseason / tryout scenes were filmed at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania , and the Central High School Lancers field during the July / August months of 2005 . ( For 13 seasons , 1958 – 70 , Franklin Field was the home field of the Eagles . ) The crew used their locker room and field . The Lancers , who had a preseason , used Fairmount Park in West Philadelphia during this time . The carnival scenes were filmed at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in South Philadelphia at 2329 South Third Street . Some of the street scenes were filmed on location in the city . The remainder of the film was filmed in a former aircraft carrier parts warehouse on Langley Avenue in the Philadelphia Naval Business Center . The crew shared this facility with the floats for the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade . Box office . In opening weekend the movie made approximately $ 17 , 031 , 122 domestically . As of November 16 , 2006 , the movie has generated an estimated $ 57 , 806 , 952 domestically . Reception . The film received generally positive reviews from critics . It is certified " fresh " with a 71 % approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes , and a " generally favorable " rating with a 63 / 100 on Metacritic .