I was probably around 11 years old when I first saw Hoosiers, but I was on a plane & was never wild about the film. 27 years later & not much has changed. Apparently the seeds of my sports atheism started then. If not for the big name actors (Dennis Hopper is the best), this film would be on CBS as a really great, inspirational Hallmark movie. At least now I can articulate what bothered me about the film & if you’ve met me, you know that I analyze everything so even though you LOVE this film, I’m going to see things that the average viewer wouldn’t notice & I’m not suggesting that should make you love the film less. What did I conclude from viewing Hoosiers? Abusive coaches who hit their students should be given a second chance. Inspirational speeches & cold water cure alcoholism. Woman with no interest in basketball suddenly likes it because of a man. The unintentional pagan syncretism of sports & God. Also I think that even at 11 & without a lot of viewing experience, I recognized the trope of the inspirational, underdog (white) team that defeats the team with (black players) a better record. Even with my nascent understanding of racial politics in the 50s, I didn’t buy that a mixed team would be so touchy feely with each other. That poisonous town vibe that we witness in the beginning of the film against Hackman because he is an outsider from another region surely would have had more vitriol in the opposing town against the black players who just lost. Black & white female cheerleaders in the 50s? And the soundtrack filled with 80s synthesizers about a film set in the 50s was a mistake. Also before the big reveal about Hackman’s past, I thought that his laugh was pretty sinister at the beginning of the film. Maybe I do remember him from Superman…