By MATTHEW REYNOLDS

mar012@latech.edu

 

The lingering effects of possibly the single worst tragedy in the history of college athletics created the  storyline of this inspirational drama.

Advertised as a sports movie, “We are Marshall” was much more of an educational piece about what life was like in the small town Huntingtown, W. Va. town after a plane crash that claimed the life of most members of the Marshall University football team, including coaches, players and team boosters.

Around 7:30 p.m. on November 14, 1970, Marshall’s charted plane crashed, just two miles before its landing destination at Huntington’s Tri-State Airport.

The tragic event drains life and hope out of the previously  strong and tightly knit community.

Where the local diners were once filled with laughs and witty conversations, after the crash they were draped with despair and questions about what to do now.

Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey) was hired from his  coaching job in Worchester, Mass., to come and be the head coach to revive this tarnished program.

McConaughey (“A Time to Kill”) gives a classy performance as an inspiring leader of the Division II college program that brought new meaning to the term, “rebuilding year”.

McConaughey, who is friends with University of Texas head coach Mack Brown, gives credit to Brown for his learning how to talk and walk like a college football coach, which he pulls it off surprisingly well.

Lengyel, who was not directly affected by the tragedy, shows conviction and sympathy that wins  the hearts of the town of Huntington.

Lengyel’s Assistant Coach Red Dawson (Matthew Fox) was a recruiter for the ill-fated team, and relinquished his seat that night, so another coaching staff member could get home to see his granddaughter’s music recital. Fox (“Lost”) did well in a role that was drenched with depression and self guilt.

McG (“Charlie’s Angels”) directed a human element and tragedy drama well despite the fact that he is best known for his special effects in most of his movies and music videos.

As a Tech student, you can relate to small Huntington, W. Va, because it resembles  the small college town of Ruston.

But the tragedy that affected the town is almost impossible to correlate.

If anything, the film brings to light a catastrophe that most of a generation had heard little about.

The inspirational film leaves the viewer with a sense of appreciation for what the small college town had to endure after that horrible day.