I know the movie was based on a true story but I at least hoped the part about him being a bartender with little to no professional experience walking on to the field and taking an NFL spot was true. I guess these things really do not happen.
shareHe was a bartender and he never did play college ball. He was an underdog.
share[deleted]
[deleted]
He was 30 years old and didn't play college ball. Yes, he played, very little, in the WFL, but he beat unbelievable odds to make the team. In true Disney fashion they fudged the story, but it was still pretty amazing.
Just like the player at the end was a forced fumble only 20 yard TD in the movie they made it 50 yards
shareAnd he never actually scored on the play, either.
Back then (1976), you could not advance the ball on a muffed punt, so the Eagles just received possession at that spot.
That's the really odd thing about the movie. They make it seem like scoring a TD was the highlight of his playing career when, in reality, he never scored a TD. During the credits, you see the actual play when he picked up the muffed punt and ran it in. So the viewer thinks he's seeing the real thing. They don't show that it was called back because he couldn't advance the muff. But that was the climax of the film and a pretty significant event to fictionalize.
shareYes, he played, very little, in the WFL, but he beat unbelievable odds to make the team.H-m-m-m! Wikipedia says he actually played quite a lot of semi-professional football and had a private invitational try out for the Eagles (nothing like the movie).