A group of white men even claim that black players aren’t “intelligent enough” to keep up with white players or to lead their teams. Racial violence is par for the course (see “Violent Content” for more on that).
While Glory Road is no Mississippi Burning in its depiction of raw bigotry, neither does it hold back. Then there’s the prevalent issue of racism. A player tells his ever-supportive mother that he loves her. Even after hearing that they’ll be benched in their final game, the team’s non-black players express their support for their African-American teammates. Haskins’ wife admits to her husband that her initial judgments of his decisions were wrong. When Haskins doubts himself, an assistant tells him he’s doing the right thing. His girlfriend encourages him by saying, “There’s nothing that can’t be taken away … but no one can take away your desire.” In a similar life-meets-sports vein, Haskins’ and an assistant coach’s pep talks include such verbiage as, “Your dignity’s inside you,” “Nobody takes something away from you that you don’t give them” and “No one’s gonna give you anything-you have to go out there and take it.” Haskins also encourages the team to “shake off hate” and silence malicious fans by winning games. Star point guard Bobby Joe Hill comforts his fellow black teammates after a racial attack and preaches that a violent response won’t get anything done in the long run. He’s also willing to change his coaching ways-to a certain extent-when he realizes his players may perform better with fewer restrictions. Haskins is hard on his players but explains to them it’s because he sees the potential in them and, after they make it through his rigorous preseason practices, praises them for being talented and disciplined, and for caring about each other.
Perseverance, sacrifice and hard work (in the classroom, on the court and in life) lead to rewards. In typical Disney-sports-movie fashion, Glory Road is chock-full of inspirational messages. With an improbable Cinderella season, however, the Texas Western Mighty Miners prove that winning heals a multitude of wrongs-and can even change the face of a sport. And most notably, overt bigotry from fans around the country. Rebellion against his harsh on- and off-the-court demands. “I don’t see color,” he tells dissenters, “I see quick, I see skill … and that’s what I’m putting on the court.” But his bold decisions unearth lots of problems. His pioneering ruffles a few feathers when, in an unprecedented move for college athletics at the time, Haskins lands seven African-Americans on his squad. Rather than accepting the lowered expectations placed on him and the program, however, the rookie coach blazes a trail to find the best players who never got a shot. That includes moving his family in 1965 to the scorching dryland of El Paso, Texas, living in a men’s athletic dorm and dealing with a nonexistent recruiting budget … all to head up the hoops program of notoriously football-minded Texas Western College. Glory Road isn't a revolutionary film, but it's entertaining to say the least.Coach Don Haskins is willing to do anything to break into Division I college basketball. For me anyways, one of the best sports dramas that tried something totally new was Moneyball. I enjoyed it for what it was, but felt it was missing something to really make it stand out. Though a worthy film to watch, Glory Road doesn't stand out. I simply felt that it relied too much on the traditional clichés established in previous sports dramas that came before it. Though a good film, this isn't a film I would rewatch again. The cast are good in their roles, and Josh Lucas delivers a performance that saves this film from being a total disappointment. For what it is, it's an entertaining film, but it's no different than other film in this genre. I liked the film, but to be honest, I never really was a big Basketball all fan, so I simply view this one as a watchable, but quite forgettable sports drama. The film works well enough to be an entertaining drama, but it is also flawed. The story is good, and the cast do a good job in their roles. I'm not saying that this is a bad film however I do think that every sports drama navigates the usual territory that every other film in the genre tends to go through. That's the thing I noticed with every sports films, no matter what story kit is, no matter how they spin it, it always ends up feeling like the same old film. Glory Road is a pretty good sports drama, yet it uses all the usual clichés to tell its story.
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