Glory
Road
Throughout
the history of sports there have been several pivotal moments that helped
create the sports culture we know now. Many of these moments have to do with
civil rights and the issue of racism in sports, moments like Jackie Robinson
becoming the first African American to play in the MLB or Jesse Owens’ victory
over the Nazi Olympic sprinters. A less renowned, but equally important event
in sports history, was when newly appointed Texas Western University head
coach, Don Haskins, starting an all-black lineup (a first in NCAA History).
This was during a time when the informal rule in college basketball was you
“Only played one if at home, two if on the road, and three if your team was
down.” This move pushed boundaries and sparked controversy. The film Glory
Road follows the 1965-66 TWU Miners and their coach Don Haskins as they
make one of the most memorable runs in college basketball history, all while
facing harsh racism and brutal attacks.
The
events took place in the heat of the 1960s civil rights movement. The movie
does a great job of portraying the tumultuous country by showing several scenes
of harsh racism towards the team from whites. The movie also does a noble job
at pointing out the differences between white and black basketball culture. Coach
Haskins plays fundamental basketball, a style of basketball that successful,
and primarily white teams like Kentucky, implicate. When he is told about how
little resources he has to recruit, he has to branch out and find the best
talent he can, regardless of race. This leads him to several players from cities
like Detroit and New York City. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is the
recruiting of Harry Flournoy. The scene starts in a steel mill where Harry
works and Coach is trying to talk to him. Fearing he’ll be jumped, Harry runs
home only to find Coach sitting in his kitchen with his mother. This part of
the movie illustrates a racial stereotype that blacks held against whites. It’s
not often a white man would come around that part of town looking for a black
kid, which is why Harry ran. The end of the scene shows Haskins, and much to
Harry’s dismay, finally winning over Harry’s mother.
The
season starts off with the new African American players and current white
players and students of WCU clashing several times in school and on the court.
Eventually the players gain a mutual respect for one another and get off to a
23-0 record. As the season went on Coach Haskins backed off the fundamental
style of basketball he was used to coaching and began to let the black players
“Play their game.” Earlier when I talked about the differences between white
and black basketball cultures I meant that many young African American players
take the skills they’ve learned from playing around the neighborhood to the hardwood,
and that white players tend to rely on the coaching. In the games they show
during the regular season you can see this distinction and it pays off big time
because no one has seen this kind of play before.
As
the regular season comes to an end, the threats aimed at the team from racists
increase. Before their final game at Seattle, one of their players is badly
beaten by white racists in a public restroom. This causes the team to be
volatile and hostile towards their white coaches and teammates. Thus, the team
plays with a lack of heart and loses their final regular season game, ending
the season 23-1 and ranked 3rd in the nation. The response these
players had towards the jumping of their teammate would have been normal. They
were not only scared that if they were to continue playing they would meet the
same fate, but they were angry at whites in general. Eventually Coach is able
to consul the players and they begin the NCAA Tournament.
The
Tournament goes TWU’s way, even with a close 81-80 victory over Kansas (which
holds a special place in my heart). The movies’ climatic scene is Cole Field
House in College Park, Maryland. This is the NCAA National Championship and TWU
is playing Adolf Rupp’s all white, Kentucky Basketball team. When the team enters
the Field House the Kentucky fans are shown waving confederate flags and
singing the song “Dixie.” Although this is inaccurate, the movie does this to
sum up the whole season and the type of resilience this team has. Like most
sports movies, the Miners go down my a dozen points before a motivational
speech by Haskins sparks them back to life. A montage of alley-oops and dunks
leads way to a 72-65 victory and the extreme underdogs being crowned champions.
The
whole movie does a great job portraying the extreme difficulties that faced
African American athletes and all those who supported them in the 1960s. The
movie was less about the story of an underdog by talent, but more by an
underdog by respect. If I were to rate this title, I wold give it a 8.5/10.
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