Remember the Titans

KEVIN KONG
Sports Editor

In a time of prejudice and division, one team faced adversity. One team overcame the daunting task of having to change the attitude toward racial integration. This team was the T. C. Williams High School’s Titans and their timeless story of unity and partnership is told in the 2000 blockbuster film, “Remember the Titans.”

The cinematic tale tells the true story of a newly mixed-race school’s football team and their odyssey to win the 1971 Virginia State Championship. The football team builds bonds and in turn, becomes the spirit of Washington D.C. Head Coach Herman Boone, played brilliantly by Denzel Washington Boone preaches that, “if we don’t come together right now […], we […] will be destroyed […] 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.”

Boone and Assistant Coach Bill Yoast, portrayed by Will Patton, struggle in their quest not only to pull the team into one cohesive unit, but to find balance in one of the most dynamic partnerships in sports history. As the team chemistry between the players and coaches blossom into a brotherhood, the audience sees a positive change in the community’s attitude toward African-Americans, making the film a central piece in the plethora of sports dramas. Though set nearly 20 years prior to its release, “Remember the Titans” submerges the audience into a time of racial intolerance in an awe-inspiring way.