"Remember the Titans" and Racism in Sports

Posted on behalf of Amanda Pugliese:

Over the course of a lifetime, everyone has watched at least one sports movie; whether the movie is fiction or fact is irrelevant. Some of these movies are considered to be "feel good movies" which leave the audience with a sense of accomplishment or pride. These movies usually end on a good note with the latter half of the movie dealing with a crucial game or instant that defines the movie and its athletes. The great movies don't just deal with a championship games, they deal with issues of the times and how they affect people, mostly athletes.
In 1971, one White high school and one Black High School in Virginia closed down and in a government mandate; the students from both schools were forced to integrate. This school was T.C. Williams High School, known to other schools in the area as the home of the Titans. "Remember the Titans" was not only about the novel idea of an integrated football team, but also the town's reaction. Many scenes were filmed off the football field and these could arguably be the most important scenes of the movie.

Although Raney and Bryant speak mostly of fictional sports stories, the same can relate to those based on a true story. They ask, "is the mere presence of sports in a narrative enough to justify inclusion as sports fiction, or must sports be central to the storyline? How large a role must sports play in a narrative before it is considered a central element"(187). When thinking about "Remember the Titans" people remember the touchdowns and the excruciating practices, but they also remember the riots and the anger of the people in the town who were against integration. Raney and Bryant ask if sports must be central to the storyline and I think it has to be because in this particular movie, football is what brings the town together.

The story of "Remember the Titans" is not about football. It is about the times of inequality, racism and bigotry. Students refused to go to class with those of a different race and adults did not want to associate with others that did not look like them. This movie is about the struggle for civil rights but what makes this movie great is the struggle the football team faced to become one to work together to attain a common goal. Sports made this a powerful movie. Watching the players come together proved it is okay to be friends with, associate with and even care for people that don't necessarily look like you. If the T.C Williams Titans had a lesser role in the movie the concept of coming together, no matter what your background is, even when everyone else is divided, would not have been as strong.

Do you think all this talk of racism and bigotry is really over? Are all men and players really equal? Some people look up to athletes as role models and see sports in general as an escape. Do you think sports create an escape from this unequal life? Or do you think sports are an equal field where no one cares about your race or gender?
The following post from Sports Illustrated is a year and a half old, but it is just as relevant to the topic of enequality in sports. In some senses there is still racism, but some people tend to “ignore it”, as Phil Taylor says in this article : http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/phil_taylor/07/01/money0707/index.html.

It not only brings up facts from the past but it also mentioned athletes that are involved now and their race. Taylor touches on the issues of racism in the media, but are there just a select few that make these comments or is it more common?

When you watch a movie like “Remember the Titans” you think how far we have advanced in society. We have gone from a divided nation to a united one, or have we?

-Amanda Pugliese