Article #5 - Sixth Series - October 2nd, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

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Article #5 -  Sixth Series - October 2nd, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

Article:
Remember the Titans is one of the most memorable football films. The movie premiered in the fall of 2000 and became an instant success. The narrative is based upon a true story of a 1971 football team in Alexandria, Virginia under the direction of Coach Herman Boone (played by Denzel Washington). Coach Boone was tasked with coaching in the midst of racial tensions (both on the team and in the wider community). 

Coach Boone’s first meeting included the following words, “If you survive camp, you’ll be on the team…if you survive.” The football camp was not at the high school but rather in Gettysburg. Of course, the ground zero of the Civil War in which 50,000 Americans died during the three day battle in July of 1863. Early one morning Coach Boone challenged his players, “Wake up gentleman, it’s late. It’s 3am in the morning.” He then had them follow him through the darkness into the woods. Once the sun came up, he had the team stop in exhaustion next to a foggy cemetery. 

He asked the players, “Anybody know what this place is? This is Gettysburg.” Coach Boone then added, “Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fightin' the same fight that we're still fightin' amongst ourselves today. This green field right here was painted red, bubblin' with the blood of young boys, smoke and hot lead pourin' right through their bodies….You listen. And you take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together, right now, on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed -- just like they were. I don't care if you like each other or not. But you will respect each other. And maybe -- I don't know -- maybe we'll learn to play this game like men.”

Coach Boone brilliantly helped his players to see themselves within a much greater narrative than their own desires and ambitions. Hans Urs von Balthasar, a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest from the 20th century, explained that we all have a choice between two dramas by which we can choose to live: the ego-drama or the theo-drama. The ego-drama is the story that I tell, I run the show, it is all about me, all the lights on the football field shine on me, we are successful because of me, etc. The theo-drama, on the other hand, is completely different. 

In football terms - the theo-drama (or one might say the “team-drama”)  listens to the coach who places players in a position to succeed just as God places us in respective positions according to His plans. Also, the theo-drama recognizes that not everyone can be the quarterback or running back. In fact, the linemen, equipment manager, young musician in the marching band, and the third string quarterback all play an instrumental role in the great team-drama. The theo-drama also demands that one supports teammates, humbly accepts one’s role on the field, and cares much more about the success of the team than personal statistics. The only statistic that the team-drama is concerned with is the scoreboard. In other words, the lights on the field shine on the game - not on me. Also, the team is successful because of a group effort - not because of me. 

Interestingly, football players wear a uniform which has the team’s name on the front and most often his last name on the back (although I prefer football teams with no name on the jersey). Nonetheless, the message could not be clearer: the ego drama needs to be literally put behind the player and the theo-drama/team-drama must always be placed before the player. In other words, the player’s decisions, dreams, concerns, and wants must be fundamentally directed to the team. 

The rest of the movie “Remember the Titans” is the story of coaches and players entering into the theo-drama/team-drama. When a team, including a nation, enters into the theo-drama, there “ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough” which can stop them. This is precisely why we love the movie “Remember the Titans” because it reminds us of who we really are and of who we can become if we step out of our own little story and into the real narrative. 
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Fr. Ben Daghir is a priest for the Diocese of Erie. He is a graduate of Elk County Catholic High School in Saint Marys, Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, and St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. He considers writing one of his favorite hobbies.