First off I'm a big Texas Longhorn fan. I never heard about the Marshall tragedy until recently mostly due in part because it happened before I was born. After watching the movie, I was just blown away. I've seen so many football movies, Rudy, The Program, Remember the Titans, the list goes on. But, I have to say, this movie tops the list. It had to have been the best football movie that I've ever seen. This movie was not just about football, it was about overcoming tragedy together as a "family", which is what We are Marshall entails, and overcoming that tragedy head on with strength, love, and compassion for all. I know that it had to be devastating to lose an entire football team, but most importantly to lose loved ones. After watching this movie, I was truly moved. This movie will always be one of my favorites of all time. The heart can be a big place if you have one, for me there will always be a place in my heart for Marshall. WE ARE MARSHALL!!!!!GOD BLESS
Jerry
2 comments:
Jerry,
Thank you for your comment. I have lived in Huntington all of my life. I was there at Marshall when this horrible event overshadowed the entire city. I sat in the stands through the 70's when we were the worst program in the nation and witnessed our first winning season in 1984. In 1992, at the 1AA national championship game, we won on the kick of Willie Merrick who had never kicked a field goal before that day. His brother was our starting kicker and Willie was a soccer player. His brother was suspended and Willie was brought in to kick that day. What I witnessed after that kick was the most significant sports memory I will ever have. I stood on that field and looked around at the people who had lost loved ones on that fateful flight in 1970, hugging each other with tears streaming down their smiling, jubilant faces. I watched as the goal post came down and later that evening, at Spring Hill Cemetery, I saw pieces of that goal post laid at the graves of those 6 sons of Marshall. Marshall lost more games in the 1970's than any other NCAA team and won more than any other team in the 1990's but the memory of that day in 1992 eclipses them all.
WOW...Huntington resident! What a story. I am from a small town in east central Illinois. When I was in the 6th grade, a house fire killed 2 kids in our community. The older was in my oldest sister's class. The other was in my twin sisters' class. In a town of 400, this rocked our world. A tragedy that, to this day, I still remember like it was yesterday. Standing out in the snow on a cold January day among the "masses" in the cemetary listening to Taps as their bodies were lowered into the ground. It was an ominous thing that will never leave me. Our school was at a stand-still. These kids were the children of our 1st grade teacher (my school was K-12 so everyone knew everyone). The story of We Are Marshall reminded me greatly of this time in my life. I know it wasn't 75 people, but it was 2...only 15 and 16 years old...but it changed the lives of all who were there forever. I'm sure just like in Huntington...
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