I mean, it's got Denzel Washington playing a football coach, it's awesome for that alone. It also stars a young Ryan Gosling (you know, before he was a meme gone viral) and an even younger and adorable Hayden Pantierre (before she protested whale harvests and went country). The casting was perfect for the delivery of the storytelling.
We watch this movie a lot during the year. It's a favorite in my family. Just about everyone loves it, and it's one of many movies I have mostly memorized. There is so much that can be said about this movie, and honestly I don't know where to begin.
Probably my favorite part is how a sport brought two warring sides together through the youth and promise of the future. That they were forced to come and work together if they wanted to play the game was just the beginning to a lasting legacy for their area. They excelled where so many other integrated programs failed - because there were men brave enough to "suck it up" and make it work. Not just for their jobs, or their pride, or the team... but for the good of their fellow man.
It's something our country seems to have forgotten again as we see the divide grow exponentially once again.
