Some folks watching the various football movies and TV shows might likely think that everything that’s happening is real and that the various representations are absolutely real. Well, it might be surprising to learn that some of them aren’t too far off the mark. Some people would stand up and make it known that a lot of what’s seen on the screen, big or small, isn’t accurate at all and is an adolescent fantasy that never happens in real life, but while they wouldn’t be entirely wrong, they wouldn’t accurate in their estimation either. The truth is that those that have been involved in high school football, and college, can tell a very real story of what happens and can honestly debunk or verify what’s shown in the movies and on TV. A lot of people have probably seen movies like Varsity Blues, The Program, and many other movies. The idea is that these movies and a few TV shows depict a lifestyle that values the sport over everything and turns people into stereotypes and caricatures that can’t exactly be backed up by personal anecdotes and biased tales that might fly wide of the mark when talking about how things actually happen.
But the thing is, a lot of those anecdotes and personally biased stories might be a little inaccurate, but they’re not entirely wrong. Do players get treated differently than regular students? Yes, they do, but it kind of depends on if they’re star players or not since the lower-tier players, the guys that ride the bench, don’t always get that much attention unless they’re seen getting put in for clutch plays or are relied on now and then to run trick plays and stand-in for certain players. The stars, however, are usually treated quite differently as their status is usually elevated in their institution.
It sounds ridiculous, like something that is fabricated, right? A lot of people should be able to remember the jocks from school, the ones that appeared to have a blessed life in school, even if their home lives weren’t that great. The reality is that what’s seen in the movies is far more real than people want to admit at times since it appears to be a bit ridiculous and out of control. Indeed, some elements of the movies and the shows aren’t entirely real since they do end up going a little out of control. For instance, stealing a cop car as happens in Varsity Blues would be heavily frowned upon and would likely ruin one’s chances at playing college ball. But taking a look at the period in which some of these movies and shows were created makes it a little easier to believe that such things could happen. Like it or not, a lot of stuff was swept under the rug at one point since if an athlete had a chance, or was even perceived of having a chance at making something positive happen with their abilities, many schools would go out of their way to ensure that they had every opportunity to focus on the game, even if it meant that they would be functional morons by the time they reached college.
The tales that are seen on TV and in the movies aren’t always fabricated tales that have no basis in reality since firsthand experience is capable of regaling people with stories that are even wilder than what’s been seen if that can be believed. If anything, the shows and movies have grown kind of tame over the years as they’ve taken on a more realistic look when it comes to dealing with the real-world problems that people deal with and the socioeconomic positions that many people experience on a regular basis. The reality that they deal with is something that is seen on a fairly regular basis even if it’s not as glamorous or as triumphant as it could be. The fact is that the football movies and shows to this date have ceased to elevate the fantasy and have stuck to the gritty reality more often, allowing the fantasy to thread itself throughout the overall story to keep it from being as ho-hum, or as crazy, as reality can actually be.
Trying to convince people of the reality that lies behind these types of movies and shows is tougher than admitting that such things do happen since too many people don’t want to believe that real life can be this nuts when it comes to playing a simple game. But the thing is, we live in a world where the truth of what’s seen on the big and small screens isn’t always recognized when it’s accurate and is thought to be a fantasy that not everyone wants to buy into. Sometimes Hollywood doesn’t need to go above and beyond to tell a wild story.
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