IT'S HOW THEY PLAY THE GAME SPORTS MOVIES LOOK AT OUR CULTURE OF WINNING AND LOSING.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer Explaining the deluge of sports-minded movies about to rain on multiplexes nationwide, football legend Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. (born October 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania) also known as Iron Mike Ditka or Da Coach, is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years. borrows a phrase from the Watergate scandal Watergate scandal (1972–74) Political scandal involving illegal activities by Pres. Richard Nixon's administration. In June 1972 five burglars were arrested after breaking into the Democratic Party's national headquarters at the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington, . ``Just follow the money,'' says Ditka, who plays himself in ``Kicking & Screaming,'' a comedy about the pitfalls of competitiveness that opens today. ``Parents these days - kids, too - are looking at athletics as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow end of the rainbow the unreachable end of the earth. [Western Folklore: Misc.] See : Remoteness , an instant jackpot. It's all about money. It's all about winning. So you've got some movies coming out saying, 'Relax. Learn the game. Have fun.' '' The timing is accidental, but the message of a handful of upcoming sports movies is consistent: It's only a game. ``Kicking & Screaming'' has Will Ferrell John William "Will" Ferrell (born July 16, 1967[1]) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American comedian, impressionist, writer and actor who first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, dealing with the win-at-all- costs mentality instilled in him by his combative father (played by Robert Duvall). It will be followed this summer by remakes of '70s sports movies ``The Longest Yard'' (greedy football star gets caught shaving points, finds redemption by renewing his love for team and sport) and ``The Bad News Bears'' (sad-sack coach puts sportsmanship before winning). Also fitting the bill is Michael Wranovics' entertaining documentary ``Up for Grabs,'' which follows the acrimony ac·ri·mo·ny n. Bitter, sharp animosity, especially as exhibited in speech or behavior. [Latin  crim between the two fans who claimed ownership of Barry Bonds'
record-setting 73rd home-run ball hit in 2001.
Wranovics' movie, which also opens today, plays like a Christopher Guest For the Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, see . Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948), is a British/American comedian, actor, writer, director, musician and Grammy Award-winning composer known as Christopher Guest. mockumentary, with its clueless clue·less adj. Lacking understanding or knowledge. clueless Adjective Slang helpless or stupid Adj. 1. characters who manage to give Bonds a run for his money in their sheer self-absorption. Funny as it is, ``Up for Grabs'' also functions as a shrewd indictment of the greed that has infected sports and its fans. ``There's a loss of innocence,'' Wranovics says. ``You go from the guy who caught Roger Maris' record-breaking home run ball, who offered it back to Maris for free, to two guys going to court because they think they've hit the jackpot and they don't want to share. It's a get-rich-quick mentality, and you see it everywhere these days.'' Adds Peter Segal, director of ``The Longest Yard'': ``It all makes sense. The first 'Bad News Bears' came out when athletes' salaries were starting to soar into the stratosphere. Parents saw this, and some figured their kids could become sports stars and support their families with the bling-bling. ``Now you hear about Little League kids getting elbow surgery at the age of 10 because they're throwing 50 curveballs in a game. Kids in high school are taking steroids. The contracts are so huge, it's become like a treasure hunt. The pressure to succeed is just mind-boggling.'' Last month, that pressure may have gotten to a 13-year-old Palmdale boy who, after a tough loss in a Pony League The Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League, also known as the PONY League, was a Class D minor league baseball circuit that played from 1939 through 1956. The forerunner of the modern Class A New York - Penn League, the PONY served as the first professional baseball address of baseball game Noun 1. baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League , struck a 15- year-old boy in the knee and head with an aluminum baseball bat. The injured boy, Jeremy Rourke, died later that day. The 13-year-old is being tried for murder. He reportedly snapped after being teased by Rourke. Segal isn't pretending that his movie, which, like the original, features a squad of transvestite trans·ves·tite n. One who practices transvestism. transvestite Sexology A person with a compulsion to dress as a member of the other sex, which may be essential to maintaining an erection and achieving orgasm. See Transsexual. cheerleaders Notable cheerleaders
``Whether athletes want to admit it or not, they are role models,'' Segal says. ``When they stumble, they teach kids things like it's OK to do steroids or dive into a crowd and punch a fan who said something.'' ``What's weird,'' Segal adds, ``is that parents are often inspired by these antics more than the kids. Go to any junior sports event and you'll see what I'm talking I'm Talking was a 1980s Australian funk-pop rock band, noted for launching vocalist Kate Ceberano. History After the break-up of the Melbourne-based experimental funk band Essendon Airport in 1983, members Robert Goodge (guitar), Ian Cox (saxophone) and Barbara Hogarth about.'' Ferrell didn't go to any games to ``research'' his ``Kicking & Screaming'' character, an even-keeled vitamin salesman who reconnects with childhood demons Demons See also devil; evil; ghosts; hell; spirits and spiritualism. ademonist one who denies the existence of the devil or demons. bogyism, bogeyism recognition of the existence of demons and goblins. when coaching against his father in a youth soccer league. But Ferrell did talk to friends who have kids in youth sports, and the stories he heard made him frightened for his future, the actor says. (Ferrell's wife gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, last March.) ``People told me things that makes the insanity in this movie seem almost normal,'' Ferrell says. ``It seems things have changed since I played soccer as a kid. I'm going to have to buy my son a suit of armor Noun 1. suit of armor - armor that protects the wearer's whole body body armor, body armour, cataphract, coat of mail, suit of armour armet - a medieval helmet with a visor and a neck guard - to protect him from the parents.'' ``One of the things the movie emphasizes is the lengths kids will go to in order to please their parents,'' Ferrell says. ``If parents could only step back, take a deep breath and maybe remember back to when they were kids ... well, then I wouldn't be needing that suit of armor, would I?'' Ditka, who coached the Chicago Bears abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga tight end, has seen it all. While serving as an assistant on Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys' coaching staff, Ditka also worked as an assistant on a youth hockey team in the Dallas suburb of Plano. ``I got to see more nutty parents than I really needed to,'' Ditka says. ``I kept telling them, 'You can't live your life through your kids just because it didn't work out for you,' but they usually wouldn't listen. Too many of these guys were frustrated because they thought they were going to be big stars when they were young. Now they were making their kids pay.'' Ditka says a highlight of his hockey coaching career came when the Texas team traveled to Quebec to play in an all-star tournament. Among their opponents was a team featuring a 12-year-old kid named Wayne Gretzky Noun 1. Wayne Gretzky - high-scoring Canadian ice-hockey player (born in 1961) Gretzky . ``They kicked the crap out of us,'' Ditka says. ``But that's OK. Everybody did their best. Nobody was getting paid a million dollars to play. I wasn't getting paid a million dollars to coach. And you know what? We still had fun.'' Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com The moral of the story is ... You mean winning isn't everything? Here's a look at some current and upcoming sports-minded movies and the messages they're intending to send: The movie: ``Kicking & Screaming'' (in theaters today). The premise: Mild-mannered man coaches against his ultra-competitive father in youth soccer, finds the old demons from childhood with said father returning. It's a comedy. The lesson: Sportsmanship trumps winning. And caffeine is not the fuel of champions that Mike Ditka says it is. The movie: ``Up for Grabs'' (in theaters today). The premise: Two fans claim ownership of record-setting home-run ball hit by Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24 1964 in Riverside, California) is a left fielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds, the godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, and a distant cousin of Hall of Famer Reggie . Lawsuits, silliness follow. The lesson: Karma karma or karman (kär`mə, kär`mən), [Skt.,=action, work, or ritual], basic concept common to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. will get you in the end. The movie: ``A League of Ordinary Gentlemen'' (June 3). The premise: Pro bowling undergoes a makeover to change unhip un·hip adj. Slang Not aware of or following the latest fashions or developments. image. The lesson: It's not always the flash who takes home the cash. The movie: ``The Longest Yard'' (May 27). The premise: Fallen pro quarterback looks for redemption by leading a team of fellow inmates against knuckle-dragging prison guards. The lesson: Respect of teammates is more important than money, fame, freedom. The movie: ``The Bad News Bears'' (July 22). The premise: Alcoholic coach tells Little League misfits it's OK to lose. Then they start to win. The lesson: Kids should just do the best they can. - G.W. CAPTION(S): 5 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) THEY'VE GOT GAME `Kicking & Screaming' leads a charge of sports-minded films out this summer (2 -- 4) Top: ``Up for Grabs'' chronicles the battle over the record-breaking home-run ball hit by Barry Bonds. Middle: Adam Sandler and Burt Reynolds star in ``The Longest Yard,'' a remake of the 1974 football flick about two prison inmates who stage a big game to escape the big house. Above: Billy Bob Thornton is the alcoholic coach who inspires a losing Little League team in ``The Bad News Bears.'' (5) Will Ferrell brings his own unresolved childhood issues into play as the coach of a kids' soccer team in ``Kicking & Screaming.'' Box: And the moral of the story is... (see text) |
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