Well some kids anyways..I was about 7 or 8 when I first saw the movie and it was even clear to me that the father had no intentions of ever becoming a family again with Roger.
His line "from where Im sitting , I'll say when the Angels win the pennant"..was obviously a kinder way of saying "never".
Roger looked to be about 11 or 12 years old..he had to know that his families future didnt depend on a last place team winning.
I suppose it's plausible a kid would overlook a father's sarcasm due to wishful thinking that they would be a family again. Even as an adult from time to time when I hear people say things I know not to believe, I hold out a little hope that they actually mean it. It's a nice surprise when they follow through.
Cheese fries...next time.
He was a kid that missed his father, he wanted to believe that if the Angels won, his father would come home.
Global Warming, it's a personal decision innit? - Nigel Tufnel
Emotions make people stupid. There's slim to no chance the Angels will win the pennant, but if somehow they manage to overcome those odds and win the pennant, then maybe the same extremely unlikely chance could also hold true for Roger and his father. That's not a logical chain of thought, but emotionally it seems to hold together.
shareYeah, emotions do make people stupid. I think it's more of just driving the plot along. I like the movie, but at the same time, I recognize that to make the plot work, Roger has to believe the Angels winning the World Series will make him have a family again, then instead of praying to have a family, he has to pray that the Angels will win, and then the angels who want to help him have to ignore the fact that his logic is flawed and want to give him what he asked for.
shareBut in the end. He actually did end up with a family.
You want to play the game, you'd better know the rules, love.
-Harry Callahan
I can't help but say that the writers obviously intended to write a movie about Angels in the Outfield, I guess a remake of the 1951 film, with the team this time being the California Angels, a team with the same name. They intended to think about why angels would help a team, why would a kid pray for angels in the first place. Obviously, he has a good reason to believing his Dad was serious, when he said what he said. So, for plot purposes. When I watched this movie as a kid, I used to think the Dad was serious about what he said and then ended up changing his mind.
shareEither way, maybe it was never about Roger getting back with his father. By the Angels winning the pennant, it not only changed Roger's life for the better, but it also helped change the lives of Knox, Mel Clark and the rest of the guys on the Angels I guess. It also ended up leading to Roger and J.P. and Knox being a family. Roger and J.P. got to have a father. Knox got to believe again and have sons. What I'm trying to say is, I'm glad Roger's father said what he said.
shareYeah and also that other guy finally got his chance to speak on commentary after that loud mouth, selfish mic hogging jackass Ranch Wilder got fired. :)