More Than A Game

"Those who exalt themselves will be humbled; those who humble themselves will be exalted." — Matthew 23:12

"When The Game Stands Tall" is about a coach, a football team, and an important season. But really, it's not. The movie is far less interested in what happens between the lines than what happens in the lives of the young men who suit up for De La Salle High School, and it should be. That's because the film — based on the true life story — is told from the perspective of that team's coach, Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel), and he was far more interested in the men his players became.

I am a big football fan and a sucker for sports movies, but what moved me most about "When The Game Stands Tall" wasn't the way the team rallied to win the title. They'd won before, in fact they were the most winning team in the history of football. De La Salle High School won 151 football games in a row. But it wasn't winning on the field that mattered to Coach Lad, it was that he players were winning at life.

De La Salle is a Catholic High School, and both Coach Lad and the actor that portrayed him are devout believers. That's why this isn't your typical sports movie. It's an exploration of life, faith and what we put our values in.

There are two aspects of this film, in particular, which I find interesting. The first is how we deal with adversity. In an early scene, Coach Lad is teaching theology to his students. He reads a passage from Luke 6:38, ""Give, and it will be given to you. With the measure you use, it will be measured against you." The coach asks his players what it means.

Many struggle with its meaning. Some argue that it's a lie — that they know good people who do good to others yet struggle in this life. One of the players, however, suggests that there is a higher meaning, an indication that our reward is not in this life.

Prior to this discussion, the team was undefeated and sailing along. Shortly after, a beloved former teammate is killed. In one of the film's more beautiful scenes, Coach Lad delivers a eulogy that expresses a sense of loss and confusion, but also a sense of faith in God, and God's greater plan.

When his team loses on the field, those lessons continue to sink in. The players realize that football is a game. What happens between the hashmarks doesn't define their lives. That leads to the film's other point — how we deal with success, and what our priorities are.

For much of the early part of the season, the De La Salle players are focused on glory, individual and praise heaped upon them because of success. But what Coach Lad wants is for them to see themselves as a brotherhood — a group bonded for life.

Prior to a pivotal game, at a low point in the season, the players share. It is a time when they are real, open, and honest with one another. Their strength grows not from their success and individual glory, but from the way they are willing to lay themselves bare with one another. They are a family, not just a team. Glory on the field is not as important as what they learn from the experience.

This comes through in the last act with Chris Ryan (Alexander Ludwig). Ryan is close to setting a new California state touchdown record, and that record consumes his father (Clancy Brown). When his father mentions the record to Coach Lad, the coach in turn praises Chris for his essay on Matthew 23:12, quoted above. While his father doesn't understand, Chris does. He is playing for more than records and individual glory, he is playing for his teammates and his coach. They have a bond that is about more than football.

At the end of the film, and the end of Chris' season, he has a chance to score and get the record. Instead, with the game in hand, he takes a knee. He wants the focus to be on his team, not on his individual greatness. It is a sacrifice for self for the good of the group, and it marks the transformation of these players from a group that bought into the legend of their own greatness into a group that was truly great. Not because they won on the field, but because they knew what it meant to be winners in life.