The fact that I do not follow team sports activities, preferring individual sports, and becoming so involved with this movie, should be a testament to the powerful story it told. After seeing the trailer and it winning the Oscar for best documentary, I decided to see it. The story was about volunteer football coach Bill Courtney and his Manassas Tiger high school football team from North Memphis. Having fallen on hard times when the major employer closed their factory, the crime and poverty rates had soared in the city. The football team, which should have been a source of pride, was on a long losing streak as the team had to deal with students dropping out or getting in trouble with the law. This film gave the audience an intimate glimpse into Mr Courtney’s life, as he devoted his time and energy to making something good happen for the players. Talk about reality, why don’t television networks make a reality show like this story? It was absolutely inspirational to see the transformation in the students, the coach, his family and the student’s parents as the football players started to work together as a team. For those of you, who saw the movie The Blind Side, think of this film as a grittier, real version of it. I do not know if I would even call this a documentary. It was so well done in telling the story about this incredible individual Bill Courtney, I would have walked out of the theater thinking Hollywood finally got it right.

3 1/2 stars

http://youtu.be/dUt349BSxZk