Un equipo legendario

Following the true live events of the De La Salle High School Spartans and their epic coach Bob Ladouceur who at one time had a 151 game winning streak. What happens when the champions become the underdogs? A senseless murder occurs of a promising young player... Will the coach, players, alumni recover and soldier on? This film talks about brotherhood and family in ways that all athletes could stand to be reminded of. Fantastic movie.

This was inspired by a true story.

California High School football coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) takes the De La Salle high school to 151 straight victories. This movie starts when the streak is broken and how everyone handles it.

This is one of those movies that gets better and better as it goes along. Bob Ladouceur insists that it not about scoring touchdowns and winning. But he has a method of teaching that actually insures that scoring touchdowns and winning will result. He says his main goal is to prepare his young players to be able to handle life after school so whatever happens, they can be counted on. Simply said, it works. Because of his belief in how he teaches and what he believes, he turns down offers to coach college football.

This is well acted all around and the hard-hitting (ouch, ouch, ouch) scenes on the football field appear to be quite real (Hey, Bob, it's movie magic). Well, I hope so, but I checked with my doctor anyway. So far he says I am good to watch more of these hits. Ouch!

The father of the Quarterback wants his son to achieve the record for the most touchdowns in High School competition nationwide. And, it is here the ending is nothing short of Pure Gold. You will be touched.

Also, you will understand why the title is perfect. (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.

Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) has an unbelievable record at De La Salle High School in Concord, California. As the private high school's football coach, he has won an amazing 149 games in a row. Then, the team wins two more and finishes out the season with the conference crown and 151 win record. Amazing! It is shown, carefully, that this has to do with the coach's unique methods and abilities. Yes, he can recruit from a big area around San Francisco and Oakland. But, moreover, he inspires the athletes to work as a team and to write down their commitments to the sport and to a well-lived life. Very admirable this is. Two inner city players are rewarded with scholarships to the University of Oregon. But, things are not always perfect as they seem. For one, Coach Bob has neglected his family of wife, Bev (Laura Dern) and two sons, at times, causing his older son, the team's new quarterback, to smolder with inner anger. Then, Bob himself is a secret smoker, which results in a near-fatal heart attack. Its uncertain if he can continue coaching. Sadly as well, one of his players is killed in an act of random gun violence. Another player is being bullied and shamed by an abusive father. Then, even when Bob is given the chance to coach the team again, the band loses their first game in 152 tries! Will the team and Bob fall apart? This fine film is most inspiring and is based on an equally inspiring true story. Caviezel, one of this viewer's FAVORITE ACTORS, handles the nuances of his role very well and is a great hero on screen. Dern and all of the others, especially the teens, do outstanding work, too. With gorgeous scenery, wonderfully re-enacted football games and a well-paced direction, this film is tops for families, football fans, and those who want movies with a Christian theme. Rah, rah, rah, indeed!

Before I review the movie proper, let me just mention how pleasantly surprised my movie theatre-working friend was in seeing LSU football coach Les Miles as an audience member in the beginning of the movie with lines, to boot! I wasn't as surprised since I knew about it having read about his appearance in last Friday's review-by John Wirt-in the Red section of our town paper, The Advocate. All right, we both loved the various plays as depicted on screen of the games and were touched by many of the dramatic scenes of many of the teammates outside of the game. Oh, and the filmmakers did a good job of disguising New Orleans as a California town, too. I really don't have anything else to say except I recommend When the Game Stands Tall.

Responding to the overtly religious criticism/ This movie was about a team that won 150 games in a row. It was based on real life coaching. (This was not a made up part of the story but intrinsic to the coach's point of view).

To leave family/faith values out of the movie would have been like telling the story of a journey without any information about how the characters were able to get from point A to point B when no one else in history had ever done so.

Nevertheless the movie wasn't just about the overall journey, but also included the individual stories of the coach and black and white students facing their own challenges.

The many football scenes through-out the movie were great fun to watch!