Glory Road: a 9yr-old's perspective

Me and my son at the movies
This past Sunday my 9-year-old and I went to the movies see  "Glory  Road." Although I heard it was a good movie, I was kinda skeptical simply because it was a Disney production--my bad. It was off the hinges!

Beautifully, it told the story of a rookie White Coach Don Haskins who recruited and started a line-up of Black players in a Division 1 school, Texas Western in 1966.

All I'm going to say about the flick is "Go see it." It's all that.  And stay for the COMPLETE CREDITS because they roll some real footage and interviews from the coach and other surviving players.  (Pat Riley even gave his 2 cents because he played against them)...

When the movie came to a complete end it was one of those still silences...reminiscent to the one after Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" (1989). This time, all the Black people in the theater were standing around, smiling, shaking hands and talking to each other.  Glory Road left us all on a good high. 

When me and my boy finally walked out, I noticed that many of the White people were still there as well, but they were in the hallway entrance silent and teary eyed. 

In 2006 it's guess it's hard to deny the God given talent of African-Americans when it comes to basketball. And I'm thinking that it may've been hard for White people to watch White folk be so cruel in 1966.

So as me and my boy hit the parking lot, I asked him about the movie (I always grill him) and this time I was shockingly surprised at how much he absorbed.  I'm sayin', he was spitting out names and everything!  Then he said, "I think it's the best movie I ever saw. I really liked it."

I was stunned.  I didn't think it got any better than "Napolean Dynamite" for dude!?!?!

Then my lil' man said, "Yeah, they had an all Black team like the Detroit Pistons"

"Oh really?" I replied.

"Yeah," he said, "and they have the best record in the NBA"

I laughed because we go back and forth over sports and he's always trying to impress me with his improvised statistics.  So when we got home I checked the roster of the Detroit Pistons on the Internet and interestingly enough,  They only had 3 dudes on the bench who weren't Black: Milicic from Serbia & Montenegro, Delfino from Argentina, Arroyo from Puerto Rico.

Tonight, I checked Detroits's record, 37-5.   They're way ahead of all the NBA teams and currently on an 11 game win streak...

I guess a 9-year-old can easily understand some of the complex things about sports and society.  I like to tell him that he's "half way grown."

Comments

[satisfiedsistah]

I would really like to see this movie, when you speak about it it is reminiscent of "Remember the Titans". I don't think I will agree about the "natural" talent thing. I think "we" are people blessed with brain, body, and soul to the utmost. Not just natural physical talent. But lets not argue. I enjoy your writing, and thanks for sharing your precious sons views.

[satisfiedsistah]

I am sorry this has nothing to do with the movie but I had to note that Coretta Scott King died. I am heartbroken.

Blog on......

Pardon me for digressing.