When Gene Hackman recently passed away, the first film I thought of was Hoosiers (1986).  Indeed, I am a little surprised at myself for not having already reviewed it.  It is one of the best sports movies ever made, but that is not my main reason for enjoying it.  Sports is a major part of my life, but it is valuable beyond the basketball courts that are its main focus.  As somebody born in a small Illinois farming town not much bigger than the fictional Hickory, Indiana, in which it is set, it spoke to me on a personal level.  For better or worse, I have a tendency to be nostalgic.  Yet, what appeals to me most are the lessons about Faith that can be gleaned from it.  It is not specifically Catholic, but there is plenty in it to appeal to a reviewer like me.

If you did not know that Hoosiers is set in Indiana, then the unappealing countryside would make this fact plain.  That is uncharitable of me, but even fall in this particular state is pretty bleak as evidenced by the drive taken through the endless farm fields by new Hickory High School basketball coach, Norman Dale (Gene Hackman).  Upon arriving at the school, the first person to greet him is one of his fellow teachers, Myra Fleener (Barbara Hershey).  She recognizes him right away as the newcomer, though this is not hard to do given Hickory’s size.  She is also not keen on the sport that occupies the attention of everyone else in town, and is thus standoffish.  This attitude extends to the school’s best player, Jimmy Chitwood (Maris Valainis).  As the principal, Cletus Summers (Sheb Wooley), shows Norman around, Jimmy is seen in the gym shooting baskets by himself.  He will no longer play organized ball because the last coach had been a surrogate father to him and he is uninterested in another one.  Myra seeks to focus the teenager’s attention on anything else as a vehicle for leaving Hickory for greater opportunities.  Remarkably, Norman honors these wishes, which is only part of the mystery surrounding him.  When the townsfolk meet with him for the first time, they are all wondering why a former college coach would be in such a place.  Initially, he leaves it at the fact that he had been serving in the Navy for the last dozen years.  Later, it comes to light that he had been fired from his previous post for punching one of his players.  His fiery style of motivating those playing for him makes this aspect of his past believable.  It comes out at his first practice when he requests one of the local volunteers who had been filling in as a coach, George (Chelcie Ross), to leave and never return.  Some of the team members are dismayed, too.  When they do not immediately give their attention to Norman, and talk back when he chides them, he asks two of them to leave.  One stays, apologizing, and from there they begin practicing fundamentals instead of the shooting free-for-all that he initially encountered.  Norman’s unorthodox style also comes out in their first game when Rade Butcher (Steve Hollar) starts taking shots outside of the offensive structure Norman has been trying to instill on his team.  Instead of letting it continue, Norman takes Rade out of the game.  Rade remains on the bench even when one of his teammates fouls out, and Hickory finishes the contest with just four on the floor.  Most of the denizens are furious with these decisions, but it is Wilbur “Shooter” Flatch (Dennis Hopper) who sees the wisdom in what is happening.  He is the father of one of the boys on the team, Everett Flatch (David Neidorf), but Shooter is known for being an alcoholic and is not highly regarded.  Yet, Shooter’s insights into the play of other teams in the area, and his knowledge of the game in general, leads Norman to offer the drunkard a spot as an assistant as long as he tries to be sober.  This proves to be too much for Hickory’s residents.  When Cletus has a health scare and is forced to be bedridden for a while, Myra is called upon to act as principal.  Though she has come to like Norman due to his passion and the care he exhibits for the kids under his tutelage, she presents him with a notice that the town is meeting in order to vote on firing him as coach.  Despite her recommendation, he presents himself at the gathering, saying that he does not regret anything he has done in his position.  Nonetheless, they are ready to move on from him when Jimmy enters the building.  To the crowd’s elation, he announces that he is ready to join the squad, but on the condition that Norman stays.  The decision is promptly reversed and Hickory begins winning.  From here, it is pretty much a montage of the last half of the season as the team learns to play together and overcome challenges along the way. Shooter has a relapse, stumbling inebriated unto the court during a game and yelling about a call.  As such, he is put into a hospital where he listens to the state championship game from his bed.  On the final play, even though they had all bought into Norman’s leadership, the players look askance at their coach when he calls for Jimmy to be used as a decoy.  The young man says steadily that he will make the last shot, and that is what happens.

All the Hickory supporters storm the floor at the end of Hoosiers because little Hickory had beaten the larger school with the taller players.  In other words, David triumphed over Goliath.  It is such an oft used sports metaphor that I wonder how many people realize it is Biblical.  If you are interested in the source material, you can find it in 1 Samuel 17.  Scripture describes the Phillistine Goliath in verse four as being six cubits tall.  That works out to being about nine feet.  In contrast, David’s height was not described, but being on the cusp of adulthood, he was certainly less than Goliath.  I think you know the rest, right?  What is almost never discussed is why David killed Goliath, and how the young man was able to do so.  David was called upon because Israel was looking for a champion to conquer Goliath, who had been insulting the armies of God.  God often chooses the least likely person to carry out His will, and the young and small in stature David fit that description.  Still, one has to be careful when discussing this aspect of the plot and applying it to sports movies.  Today’s film is an underdog story hence the recapitulation of David and Goliath.  However, God does not necessarily make one side in a sports contest win or lose based purely on their play.  He could, but that would be an arbitrary exercising of His power, which is not how He operates.  To be sure, you often see players praying for an outcome.  The Lord knows I was on my knees in 2016 asking God for a Cubs World Series victory.  Yet, the best use of those entreaties is to ask God for the strength to compete well.  Such ability only comes from Heaven.  Norman encapsulates this when he tells his team that it does not matter if they win as long as they play the right way.  This can be easily applied to the practice of Faith.

Practice is a great word to close on when talking about Hoosiers and how it can be related to Faith.  Hickory received their glory on the court because they practiced the basics.  I like to think this is what Catholicism is all about, especially as it relates to our relationship with God.  All He wants is our love, and that is Norman’s final message to His team.  Because of all this, I highly recommend this movie.