Underdog stories may be cliché, but they are often satisfying.  When you think about it, Jesus fits this mold.  According to Scripture, nobody expected the Messiah to be from Nazareth, though they had forgotten that He had been born in Bethlehem, the City of David.  This meant Jesus was of the right lineage.  In the moments in His life when people acknowledged His true background, He had to resist their desire to make him their Earthly king.  Instead, He remained the humble carpenter’s son, hanging out with fishermen and sinners.  In other words, not behaving in the way they had come at that time to expect their Savior to be.  Finally, to be put to death in so ignominious a fashion would not suggest anything good coming of such an event.  Yet, we would not have the global religion that is Christianity without all these things.  Please note that I am not comparing Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), the star of Invincible (2006), to Jesus.  The only parallels between them are in how they are each the last person one would assume would be doing what they do.

What Vince is doing at the beginning of Invincible is working as a bartender and substitute teacher.  In 1970s Philadelphia, this is considered a privilege, with the city in the midst of the deindustrialization that typified the period.  In other words, work is scarce.  Still, it is not a lot, and this is something his wife, Sharon Papale (Lola Glaudini), reminds him of daily.  There are two refuges he has: the bar and playing football with his friends.  As for his play, it is clear to everyone that he is the best of them, being able to absorb the brutal hits they put on each other with no pads and continue to perform at a high level.  Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse when he is let go from his part-time job at the school.  Further, when he gets home it is to an empty house and a note from Sharon saying that he will never amount to anything.  A divorce filing soon follows.  Also not being looked upon with much hope is the city’s National Football League (NFL) team, the Philadelphia Eagles.  After a horrific losing record the previous season, owner Leonard Tose (Michael Nouri) makes a coaching change.  The person he hires is Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear), who has no professional experience but has taken the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) to a victory in the Rose Bowl.  In order to instill some new life into the team, Coach Vermeil announces in his opening press conference that he is going to hold open tryouts for anyone who wishes to be evaluated.  A lifelong fan, Vince’s friends urge him to go, though he thinks he has no chance of making it.  All the same, it is their encouragement that gets him to go.  While the vast majority of the other hopefuls are overly enthusiastic amateurs just happy to be on the same field on which the Eagles play, Vince’s speed and determination get him noticed.  Indeed, he is the only one that earns an invitation to come to Eagles training camp.  Despite this step, he assumes that he will soon be cut from the roster.  It does not diminish his effort, even though his iron will and grit are traits grate against his teammates.  Even so, he impresses Coach Vermeil, who continues to keep Vince on the field, largely playing on special teams.  Not everyone back in his corner of Philadelphia is fully behind Vince’s quest.  His father, Frank “Kingie” Papale (Kevin Conway), an embittered industrial work still mourning the loss of his wife, tells his son not to expect much from life.  Another of his friends, Johnny (Dov Davidoff), assumes Vince is going to forget about them once he makes it in the NFL.  Then there is Janet Cantrell (Elizabeth Banks).  Although she is cousin to Max Cantrell (Michael Rispoli), the bar’s owner, and a fan of the New York Giants, a romance develops between her and Vince.  Yet, with Vince getting closer to making the team, he decides that romantic entanglements are not the best course of action at the moment.  His hard work pays off, and he earns a spot despite all of Coach Vermeil’s assistants arguing against the decision.  When Vince is told the news, he goes to Coach Vermeil’s office assuming he is about to get the proverbial pink slip.  When the opposite happens, everyone is happy for him, but he remains unbelieving.  The shock carries over to the first game of the season, which is on the road against the Dallas Cowboys.  On the opening kickoff, Vince freezes just before making a tackle, which allows for a blocker to level him and a big gain by the opposition to occur.  Coach Vermeil chews out Vince and the game ends in a loss for the Eagles.  Humbled, Vince spends a bunch of time in his old neighborhood, even playing a pickup game with his old buddies.  Janet also has a change of heart about them being together, even if she continues to be a Giants supporter.  Thus emotionally re-energized, he is ready for the Eagles’ home opener against the Giants, of course.  Vince plays an incredible game.  With the outcome in question, he runs down and breaks up a punt as the receiver is about to catch it, scooping it up and returning it for a touchdown.  This is where the film ends, with a postscript about how he went on to play three seasons with the Eagles before retiring.

In other words, Invincible is based on a true story, although, as with the majority of such Hollywood adapted events, there are some changes.  For example, the score we see at the conclusion never happened because the rules back then stated that such fumbles could be not be advanced.  Also, Vince was apparently not quite the amateur we are led to believe, having played semi-professional and professional ball in a few other places before getting a private tryout with the Eagles.  That means, then, that he was not at the ballyhooed public tryout.  None of this, however, should take away from the quality of the story.  Much of my Catholic praise of the events come from the mouth of Coach Vermeil.  In talking about Vince as a player, Coach Vermeil states that desire and determination are more important than skill.  The line reminds me of commentary I heard from Father Mike Schmitz on the Bible in a Year podcast.  In talking about David’s son Absalom, the one who tried to usurp his father’s throne, Father Mike notes how Absalom is described as handsome but not a warrior or wise.  A more able person might have been able to triumph since David, while God’s anointed, was not always popular with his people.  Absalom looked the part of a king, but had few other qualifications outside of being of royal lineage.  David had a majesty and might borne of his status with God and acting according to His will.  Further, one could say that he had everything going against him at that time since so many deserted to Absalom’s ranks.  Nonetheless, as Scripture and this movie attest, it is not always evident what will win the day.  You need something else inside you to triumph.

It is interesting that a Christian and a sports movie like Invincible will call this extra something heart, but mean to different things by that term.  For Christians, it is where God resides.  Athletically, it is that thing that gives even the most average player an extra boost in a moment of need.  At the same time, none of these are required to get through the movie as it is pretty good.