Paper Lion (1968) - full transcript

MAN ON PA:
Under sponsorship of
Sports Illustrated magazine,

George Plimpton will
pitch to the entire

National League
and American League
All Star lineups.

The team which gets
the most hits will share
a cash prize.

MAN ON PA: In black trunks,
sports writer, George Plimpton

on assignment for
Sports Illustrated magazine,

will box three rounds with
the middle weight champion
of the world,

the great Sugar Ray Robinson.

(INAUDIBLE)

WOMAN ON MACHINE:
Mr. Plimpton, please call
Oscar Barnes

at Sports Illustrated.



(BEEPS)

MAN: George,
football game on Sunday.

Sheep's Meadow,
Central Park.
Elevenish.

OSCAR: George, Oscar.

Have to talk to you.
Call me.

(BEEPS)

WOMAN: George,
please call Jeanie

at Murray Hill 14654.

That's, Jeanie at

MU 14654.

George, this is Oscar!

For God's sake,
return your calls.

Oscar.

This place looks
like a disaster area.



(CLEARS THROAT)

GEORGE: Did you call
the printer?

Yeah, I told him
we'd have the dummy

for next month's edition
ready first thing
in the morning.

All right. I want to use
the Frank Conroy story.

Okay.

Arthur's article on NATO.

Yeah?

The Baldwin interview.

Foreign?

Bernadette's poem.

Which one?

This one.

Okay. Anything else?

Yes.

(LAUGHS)
Scrub my back.

Theron, throw me a shovel
pass to the right.

Let's go.

MAN: Hike.

Go! Go!

(ALL YELLING)

Where the hell were you?
You were supposed to be
blocking him.

Oh, yeah.

No, no, George.
Six, that's the magic number.

That's how many articles
you still owe us.

I know, I swear
I'm thinking every minute.

Oh, yeah, more about
editing your magazine
than writing for mine.

Hey, how about sky diving?

We could use a piece.

You know, how it feels
to float from 10,000 feet.

Especially on the first jump.

No, thank you, Oscar.

ALL: Hey, come on, let's go!

Come on. Run it stiff.

Kate, it's touch football,
touch!

Two hands below the waist.

I know.
I just got carried away.

All right, let's go,
let's play.

George, I've got it.

Something with a little
circus color, see?

Like standing up for
a knife-thrower. Huh?

No. Come on, it's our down!

All right, now, now.

Ann, you go down
about 10 yards and
cut into the center.

Okay?

Oh, listen. Now some guys
ride the backs of sharks.

They say
it's a hell of a thrill.

And not too dangerous at all.

You just sneak up
behind the shark,

and grab hold
of the dorsal fin.

Oscar, you're the left guard.

Sure. Sure.

MAN: Come on, let's go.

Hike!

(ALL SHOUTING)

Let's go.

(CHATTERING)

All right, now, listen.
Oscar, I think
I can beat Kent.

Why don't you send
the shovel pass
to the left, okay?

Let's go.

Ready? Hike!

George, I've got it.
Pro football.

You're a rookie quarterback
trying to make the team.

(CROWD CHEERING)

Kate, the play is over.
I scored.

I like tackling you.
Oh, yeah?

Okay, come on.

Now, look. Listen, George.
No kidding.

There's a lot of interest
in pro-ball.

It's damn near
the national sport.

I can see the whole
six articles on it.

That would get you off the
hook with me completely.

Come on, Oscar,
he'll get bombed.

Oh, I don't know
about that.

He got in the ring
with Sugar Ray, didn't he?

It's not a guy with gloves.
It's 11 with bare knuckles.

Yeah, he'd get destroyed.

I don't think so.
George has a certain
amount of natural ability.

OSCAR: Right, he pitched
to the All Stars, didn't he?

ANN: You bet your life he did.
What a game that was.

Strike!

I still say, it's not
just a matter of him

getting out there by himself
and throwing the ball,
you know.

Yeah, he'd have
to learn the plays,

he'd have to work out
with the team.

No club would let him.

Well, that's
Sports Illustrated's job.

And I think we can set it up.

(CHUCKLES) Yeah, I still think
he's gonna get killed.

And I've got a
grand to back it up!

OSCAR: Yeah, well I say
he'll do all right.

Maybe even damn good,
and I've got a grand
to back that up.

Now, let's go over to my
house and have a drink.

George?

I didn't say anything.

Aren't you a little old
for stunts?

Well, it's better
than riding a shark.

Personally, I think you ought
to have your head examined
which should be easy.

You'll be holding it in
your hands.

(LAUGHS) Is that so?

Go on out for a pass.

No, thank you.
I've hung up my cleats.

Pro football from the inside,
is that what you really
want, George?

That's the idea, Coach.

In other words,
you want the fans
to get a real good look

at the head knocking,
the training, et cetera,

that goes into the making
of a professional
football team?

That's it and then at the end,
I go into a real game

and run off a few plays
at quarterback.

A real game?
You've got to be kidding.

No, that's what the whole
thing is leading to.

And you mean
to tell me that

you went three rounds
with Sugar Ray Robinson?

Pitched to the All Stars, huh?

(CROWD CHEERING)

Well, I will say
it's an interesting idea.

A real interesting idea.

But, you know, George,
we carry four
quarterbacks now,

and to ask us to carry five,
I think that would be
a real headache.

I just don't think
it will work.

Have you tried the AFL?

Didn't Mr. Reeves
get my letter
explaining everything?

No.

No, no, you see
the idea is for me,

an amateur, to go through
the Rams training camp.

It's all explained
in my letter. It...

Oh, never mind. No.

No, no, it's all right.

No, thank you very much.
Goodbye.

Kate, get off a letter
to the Colts, the Bears
and the Lions.

(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)

Thing is I haven't been
able to get any club
to go along with me yet.

I was kind of hoping you'd
put in a good word for me

with the Giants.

I've got a good word
for you George.

Forget about
being quarterback.

Just stay out
of the pit, George,

whatever you do,
stay out of the pit.

Hiya, honey?
Hi.

Frank, I appreciate
what you're saying,

but it has to be
quarterback,

that's the nerve center
of the team.

George, you're crazy.

Why don't you just forget
this whole idea?

These guys are big.
6'5", 6'6".
250, 260 pounds.

What if they make a mistake?

Remember Y.A. Tittle
in the Pittsburgh game
in 1964?

One shot,
we missed one block.

Zip, he's out for the season.

John Baker hit him a shot
you would not believe.

And I know you saw
the Baltimore, L.A. game
a couple of years ago.

What they did to
Johnny Unitas was
inhuman.

These are well conditioned,
professional athletes.

They're big.

If they make a mistake,
something goes wrong

and they hit you one time,
it is all over.

Forget about it, George.

Come, George,
come dance with me.

And, George, if a club
does say yes,

remember,
stay out of the pit.

FRANK: Boy,
he's off his rocker.

George!

George!

Kate!

GEORGE: What?

I can't hear you.

Kate, what is it?
What's what?

All the stuff,
what is all that?

Oh, that. The Detroit Lions.

What about them?

Oh, we got a call.
They said maybe.

GEORGE: Well,
what do you think?

(LAUGHS)

I like it.
I like the idea.

Of course,
playing on the team is
up to Coach Schmidt.

George, there is something
about pro-football
you have to understand.

It's hitting.

That's what it's all about.

Oh, sure, Coach.
I know that.

George is very athletic,
you know.

He mixed it up pretty well
with Sugar Ray Robinson.

(BELL RINGING)

And he also
pitched in the All Stars.

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

Did you ever think about
split end instead of
quarterback?

No, that's the
whole idea, Coach.

Rookie quarterback
trying to make the team.

I wouldn't want any special
treatment or privileges.

I wouldn't even want
the players to know
I'm a writer.

Even have the cover worked
out for myself.

That I've been playing
semipro in Canada.

Well, the coaching staff
would have to know.

Oh, sure, the staff.

And of course, the doctor.

Okay, but that's all.

Look, Coach,
if it's not working out,
you can always cut me.

All right, you have
yourself a deal.

Thank you, Joe.

Thanks a lot.
I really appreciate this.

I have a few errands
to take care of, George.

We'll see you
in training camp.

I hope you're going
to be in shape.

Okay.
See you.

Okay, Joe.

Oh, George,

I have some papers here,
I'd like you to sign.

Releases for the club
in case of mishap.

Merely a formality.

Listen, have you done
anything about insurance?

What?

Lloyds wouldn't touch it,
I asked.

I have a friend in Detroit.

You can pick up $25,000

in case of death,
dismemberment,
or loss of sight.

Here sign this
last page on the bottom.

Bill, what do you think
of our running back situation?

I think that's our
strongest point in
the whole ball club.

I say that especially
because of Eddie
and Farr coming in,

the two top rookies.

Karl, you saw a lot
of Farr last year.

What did he do
in the 40 yard dash?

KARL: Farr has got
real good speed.

He ran the 40 yard dash
in 4.5.

BILL: That's fast enough.

JOHN: How about Jim Getzke?
How big is he?

KARL: He's 6'1", 195.

JOHN: What school
did he go to?

He's a free agent from
Santa Barbara College
in California.

JOE: How about Tim Jones?

He has a chance
at quarterback, Joe.

But, I still think it'll be
between Sweetan and Plum.

Hey, speaking of
quarterbacks,

here comes your last string
quarterback now.

JOE: Put him on
the chart, Bill.
Plimpton.

BILL: Yeah, this ought to do,
Super Bowl team.

Dorm's right through
that door.
Across the lawn.

(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)

Go!

Gee, man, you must play
with Roger Brown.

He'll make mince meat
out of you, baby.

Hi.

How are you doin'?

My name is Plimpton.
George.

Oh, yeah!
What position do you play?

Quarterback!
I'm trying out for
quarterback.

Oh, yeah, man, everybody
loves a quarterback.

Call my number, baby,
so I can shine.

You know Roger Brown,
he's human like
everybody else.

MAN: They're all so big
I'm not sure any of them
are human.

You know, we had a guy
that weighed 320 pounds
in college?

He needed two chairs
to sit on.

Uncoordinated.

Yeah, he couldn't
chew bubble gum and
walk at the same time.

Over here, George.
This side is for vets.

(CHATTERING)

You're kind of old
to be a rookie, aren't you?

I've been playing
semipro ball.

Semipro?
Who did you play with?

The Newfoundland.
The Newfoundland Newfs.

The Newfs?

Newfs!

Newfs?

What's a Newf, man?

It sounds like a bug to me.
I don't know.

(LAUGHING)

Here you are!

MAN 1:You can't say a thing
about my game, Roger.

MAN 2: I've heard
all about it.

That big guy with
the red shirt on.

Huh?
That's Roger Brown.

He sure is big, isn't he?
Yeah.

Sometimes I play golf.

Hey, Roge, is that all
you gonna eat?

They fine me $10
for every pound over 300.

Man, this is all my appetite
can afford.

Don't worry, Roge.
They'll give you a choice.

They'll either bleed you
or fine you.

Sure, Roge, you eat anything
you damn please.

Just don't swallow.

You've done
a lot of things, right?

But Eva Braun was a woman,
how come you got...

That was a woman, baby.

I looked good, though.
The ugliest woman I ever saw.

Are you kidding?
I looked great. I had
blonde hair, big charlies.

And I have leather boots
all the way up to my...

(ALL LAUGHING)

That's Alex Karras
over there.

Hey, Alex,
tell us about Hitler.
You two are quite a pair.

That was a front,
I'll tell you something.

You really wanna
know about Hitler?

He was a broad.
What?

Broad.

(ALL LAUGHING)

No, I'm not kidding.
Do you know who he really was?

He was my mother-in-law
from Clinton.

Excuse me.

Hey, rook,
up on a chair.

Your hand over your heart,
let's hear it
for your Alma Mater.

Alma Mater.

* Fight on tonight, boys,
fight on to win

* Fight on tonight, boys,
fight on to win

* You do your best now,
we'll do the rest

* I'll fight on for victory

Yeah, yeah. You're next.

* Zumba, zumba, zumba

* I ziggy zumba, zumba, zay

* I ziggy zumba, zumba, zumba,
I ziggy zumba, zumba, zay

* Roll along, you BG warriors

* Roll along
and fight for BGSU *

Yeah!

No, I hear you, Kevin.

* Cheer, cheer for
old Notre Dame

Oh, here comes my bonus, baby.

Half a million dollars
for that kind of singing.

(BOOING)
You kidding me?
Sit down!

It's funny,
he can't sing.

* Notre Dame
will win over all

* While her loyal sons
are marching
onward to victory *

Take your truck
and go home!

(PEOPLE BOOING)

Spend some of that
money on singing lessons.

* Hail to the Victors valiant

* And hail to
the conquering heroes

* Hail! Hail! To Michigan

Not Frank Sinatra but...

What are you saying?

* Go, you North Western

* Break right
through that line

* With the colors flying,
we will tear you all apart

* Rah, rah, rah

Great, he got great feeling,
this guy.

He plays better
than he sings.

(LAUGHING)

* Crimson in triumph flashing

* Through the blue obscurity

* We'll fight for
the name of Harvard

Harvard?

* Till that last
white line is past *

White line.

That's horrible!

Who's that guy?

Some rookie quarterback
from Harvard.

From Harvard?

I didn't know the guy
was from Harvard.

You didn't play
football there?

How many rookies do you
think will make it this year?

None of 'em.

(ALL LAUGHING)

First rule
I'd like to talk about
governs the play book.

Now, a lot of time
and effort in the off season
has gone into

compiling the information
in this book.

A lot of classified
information.

It doesn't belong to anyone
else but the Detroit Lions.

So if you lose a book,
it's $500.

All right. Meetings.

Everybody is to be on
time for your meetings.

If you're not on time,
it results in a $50 fine.

Plus a dollar a minute.

All right, if you're
late for a practice,

that's $100.

All right, if you
miss a practice,

that is $200.

Now if you're late
for a meal, that's $25.

If you miss, it's $50.

Transportation, $200 bucks,
if you miss a plane.

If you're late for a bus,

it's $100.

All right, curfew will be
at 11:00.

Lights out at 12.

Now, when I say 11:00,
I want you in your room,

not in the john,
and not in the hall,

milling around with the rest
of the ball players.

But in your room.

Now, if you're not
in your room,

you'll be marked absent.

Now that's $200 right there.

If I catch you with
any women in the dormitory
or in your room,

that's a $500 fine.

$500.

So she'd better be worth it.

(ALL LAUGHING)

All right, a few words
to you rookies.
A little advice.

You're here for one reason,
to make this ball club.

Everything you do
should go to that end.

On the 29th, that's our
first big scrimmage.

And right after that,
we have a cut.

Starting to get down
to our 40-man roster.

So you better be on your toes
every time you step
on that football field.

How do you feel, Mike?

I guess all right.

That's good. That's you.

How about a hand, Ernie?

There you go.

Are you okay, Ernie?

Fine, Friday.

Nick, all right?
Fine, Friday.

You still wear 40 long, Roger?

Right, Friday.

There you are.

(MEN CHATTERING)

How's the knee, Mickey?
Real great!

Good, baby, good.

What's the matter?

My ears are folded under.

There, is that better?

I think I'm stuck in here.

You'll get used to it.

Feels like
I'm talking in a cave.

George!

It goes on
the other way around.

(CHATTERING)

All right, let's start out
with a good workout.

All right, let's go,
side straddle. Beginning!

ALL: One, two,

three, four,

five, six,

seven, eight,

nine, 10, 11, 12,

13, 14, 15.

On your backs, now.

Stretch those legs there.

All right, now,
we're going to make
men out of you guys.

Stretch it back,
stretch it back.

Down! Left leg up.

Stretch it way back.
Down! Right leg up!

Right leg up
and stretch it back.

Down!

Left leg up. Yeah!

All right, on your stomachs.
Rock and roll position.

Rock and roll.
Rock and roll.

Rock and roll.

There we go,
rock and roll

(ALL GRUNTING)

All right, push up position.

All right, let it up.
Push ups!

Push ups now.

Down! Up! Down!

Up, down, up, down,
up, down!

Up, down, up, down!

Everybody up.
Up and running.

Up and running.

Hit the deck. Up!

Down!

Up! Down!

Up! Down!

Up! Up and ready!

Down!

Up! Down!

Up and running. Down!

Up and running. Down!

Hey, Alex.

Yeah.
Come here.

See that skinny guy up there?

Yeah.

Well, he's here on
special assignment from
Sports Illustrated.

He's going
to write an article,

something to do
with pro-football.

I didn't think you'd give
a draft choice up
for him, Coach.

Well, keep it quiet,

but just keep an eye
on him, will you?

Yeah, I will.
Okay.

COACH: Every block,
every block, every block!

Higher, higher!

Okay, but six weeks of this.

MAN 1: Come on,
sorry about that.

MAN 2: All right.

COACH: Nice there, nice.

Faster, pick 'em up.
Higher, both feet.

Take your time.

Pick 'em up, pick 'em up,
that's it.

Every other one.
Every other one.

Every other one, come on.
A good one.

That's a good one.

(ALL GRUNTING)

MAN 3: That's right, baby.

You're getting light,
now, ain't you?

Take your time.
Ready, go!

(CHATTERING)

Come on, come on.

Come on, Charlie!
Move the train.
Come on, Charlie!

Five point three.

Charlie Bradshaw,
five point four.

COACH: Go!
PLAYER: Let's go. Come on.

Jerry Rush,
five point three.

Roger Brown, five three.

COACH: Go.

Sweetan ran a,
let's see, five two.

Plimpton, five point eight.

Man, that's just
what we need.

A quarterback that runs like
the front end of a giraffe.

Let's see you work
on that opponent.

All right, turn around.
Come on.

All right. Drive good.

Come on now.

Good work, watch it.

All right. Right.

Hit it hard.
Hit it right, come on.

Hit it!

Hike! Hike!

Two, ready, go!

Everybody in.

How do you feel, pal?

Oh, great! Great!

That's good, 'cause Joe's
real easy the first day.

TWEETY: Walton.

246.
Good shape, Charlie.

Barney.

All right!

190.

Karras!

(PEOPLE LAUGHING)

(IMITATING PIG GRUNTING)

267.

Always in great shape.

Nice shape.

Gordy.

MAN: Take off your
raccoon coat, John,
you'll lose 10 pounds.

250.

MAN: What a big bear.

Shoals.

There goes Shoalkey.

Beach ball with arms.

275.

Plimpton.

BARNEY: Mr. Harvard.
LUCCI: He's not from Harvard,
he's a Newf from Newfoundland.

175.

George, my boy,
you're really in trouble.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Roger Brown.

Take him
to the stock yard.

305.

305, Roger, huh?

That's five pounds over
50 bucks, my boy.

Fifty bucks?
That's right.

How's your knee?

It's okay.

All right, buddy,
at the end of training camp,

I want you down to 285.

Four, six, three, 80.

Hike, hike!

MAN 1: I got it!

Hike, hike!

Now, we're moving.
Now, we're moving.

Ninety!

Hut, hut, hut!

MAN 1: All right, come on,
cone on, let's get back.

And get sling here.

MAN 2: Let's go, let's go.
Right, Plimpton, you're up.

Let's have a huddle,
let's go!

All right, Plimpton,
here's your play.

Opposite right. Brown, left.

X in nine center on two.

COACH: Ready.

ALL: Hike!

Opposite left!

BILL: All right, don't be
bashful, George,
get your hands in there.

Snap it up hard!

MAN 1: Get your hands
in there.

COACH: Now, come on, come on,
come on, come on!

Four, six!

Three, 88. Hut!

(GROANS)

What's that?

I don't know.
One of Joe's ideas.

MAN 3: Opposite left.
Left!

Opposite left!

Five, six, three.

Eighty-eight. Hut!

MAN 1: Pick him up.
Pick him up.

What the hell's going on?

That's all for today,
Plimpton.

He's got it all right.

Super rook
written all over him.

COACH: All right,
give me another huddle.

Hey, rook, want a tip?

Pro ball has got
a certain feel about it.

If I were you I'd hold
on to one all the time

until I got the hang of it.

Oh, thank you, Karl.

You bet, buddy.

Hiya!
MAN: How you doing, buddy?

Hiya, rook.

Hut! Hut!

Hiya, rook.

Alex, look at this.

That's blood, Alex,
that's real blood.

I guess the guys just
didn't want to waste a good
nose blood, buddy.

Hey, pal, let me
tell you something.

These guys are on to you.

Now, you just can't
come down the field

like you're comin'
down a field,

screwin' around and expect
these guys to believe it.

Oh, look, Sugar Ray, huh?

You want to know somethin'?

This mixing amateur
with pro, man, it's nothin'.

You're trying to tell
the guys that a guy from

Park Avenue could
come down here

and make our ball club
like it's nothin'.

No, Alex, it's a job.
That's all, I'm doing a job.

Hey, George,
I read your baseball book.

It wasn't that much.

I mean, you give some
guys some bread,

go throw a few balls,
they take a few swings
and that's that.

And your Sugar Ray thing,
you go out, you get flattened.

Hey, I give you a
lot of credit for going
in the ring with him.

He flattened you.
You're by yourself.

George, this is a team effort.

Everybody has to know
what everybody else is doin'.

Or somebody can get hurt.

I've had a good life
in pro football.

I'd like to keep it that way.

I don't want to be
messin' around with somebody
like you and get hurt.

Like a ligament.

Ligaments don't heal, George.

Well, what I'm trying
to say to you is this,

why should I play for you?

So you can get some kicks?

I've got to lay it
on the line.

If I were you, pal,
I'd start thinking
about packing up.

Contact work starts tomorrow.

COACH: Come on, Al,
come on now.

Take him on.

Get him!

Make your move,
make your move.

Get him out, get him out.
Take him out, keep movin'.

Let it go.

(GRUNTING)

(ALL SHOUTING)

COACH: Come on, Billy.

Come on, here.

Save it, save it.
Come on, Ernie.

Let's go, Bill.

All right, you two are up,
let's get after it now.

Well, George, now that
they're onto you,

what are you going to do?

What I came to do.

To see and to do.

Well, you'd better take
care of yourself.

(WHISTLES)

COACH: All right,
let's go live.

(CLAPPING)

(ALL YELLING)

MAN: One, ninety. Hut, hut.

Keep coming.

Hey, hey, no go.

COACH: All right,
that's the way
to get them.

COACH: Track back, Ernie.

Okay, I got it, Beav.

Fifty.

You okay, Mick?
Yeah, I'm okay, Coach.

Sure?
Yeah, I'm okay.

All right, take a little rest.

Hey, George, you're up!

Let's have a huddle now,
come on.

Come on, now, George.
Get back.

Here we go,
split right,
white and left.

Eight post on two,
that's a pass.

Ready? Break.

Okay, baby,
short and sweet.

PLAYER 1: Here we go, George.
Smile, baby.

Three, 88.

Hey, Newfy!
PLAYER 2: Hey, Newf?

COACH: Get in there, now,
come on. Come on.

MAN 1: Come on, get him.

ALL: Come on, George.

All right, opposite right,
34 on two.

That's a hand-off
to your fullback,

get around quick
so you don't miss it.

Ready, break.

Now, let's break the huddle
and get out there.

MAN 2: Okay, let's go, rookie.

MAN 3: Come on, George.

MAN 4: Come on,
throw one, baby.

MAN 5: Come on, check.

Three, 88.

MAN 6: Come on, baby.

Hut!

Come on, come on.

COACH: Come on, up, up.

All right, George,
that's enough for today.

You've had a big day.

No, you keep it and go
practice taking some snaps.

He laid you down,
now we just got to start
all over again.

MAN 7: Four!

All right, now,
pop it in there,
make those hands bleed.

Four, six,

three, 25.
Hut! Hut! Hut!

Go, go, go.
Put it on there.

Go for 20.

Go for 30.

Go, go.

Wait, come back.

Come back with the ball.

The ball.

Lights out.

(SHOUTING)

(SCREAMING)

It's Lucci...

I know it's you, Lucci.

I'll get you, I'll get you.

Lucci!

Lucci.

Lucci!

I know it's you.

(YELLING)

(ALL SCREAMING)

GEORGE: I'll get one of you.

MAN 1: Hut! Hut!

MAN 2: Way out!
Way out.

COACH: Let's go, rookie.
Way to hand it off.

Set, hut!

MAN 3: Come on, let's go.
Let's go Mickey Mouse.

Now, let's play out your pass.
All right.

Don't get lazy back there.

Set, hut!

MAN 3: Now put her here,
put her here.

Set, hut!

Set, hut!

(ALL CHEERING)

MAN 4: Good pass, good pass.

Set, hut!

Hey, you know
that Newf is getting better.

Yeah, but not much.

This ought to slow George
down a little tomorrow.

GEORGE: My feet feel
kind of heavy.

MAN: Hey, fellas,
George got himself
a case of heavy feet.

They're muscle spasms,
Georgie.

ALL: Break!

ALL: Open, open,
open, open!

Three, 39. Hut, hut!

(PLAYERS GRUNTING)

Hut!

Let's go!

Hut!

Hut!

(CHATTERING)

COACH 1: Come on, George!
COACH 2: Keep goin', George.

Hey, Newf, are you cryin'?

PLAYER 1:
Come on, come on!

PLAYER 2: Man, he sure does
move good, don't he?

PLAYER 3: Keep it up.

See you on the field
tomorrow, George?

Oh, sure, I wouldn't miss
it for anything.

I'll have Tweety shoot me
full of Novocain.

George, this ought to cure
your heavy feet for you.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Look at that.

I guess that'll give you
heavy feet, won't it?

Hey, George, if you
need any help,

you know,
in technique or something?

Thanks, Karl.

Oh, what the hell,
we quarterbacks have to
stick together, right?

Right.

Hiya, George.
How do you feel?

Fine.
That's good.

Do you still want to play
in a real scrimmage?

Well, I want you to drop by
and see Coach McPeak.

And he'll give you
four or five plays.

Okay?

All right.
Good boy!

GEORGE: Then I would start
with a 45 blue lead.

BILL: Right.
Okay.

Then the next thing
I'll do is come back
with a 19 keeper, right?

Now, what about
the pass plays?

With your first pass
you go split left, green left.

Come back.
That'll be against Erasmus.

Well, I've noticed
in practice I've been
passing better to my right.

Listen, what about
a long one?

What about a bomb?

No, they'd never
expect a bomb from me.

I think I could beat
the Beaver long
on the next corner.

I mean,
if my protection holds up.

KATE: Oscar, you heard
from George yet?

OSCAR: No. Not a word.

I think he's been
swallowed up.

He hasn't even wired you
for money yet.

Does that sound
like George?

Oh, that's all right,
I understand.

As a matter of fact,
I don't mind not sending
George money.

Well,
what about pictures?

No. I don't think so.

Well, don't you need
an outline for the article,

or, you know, something?

No. No, George
can handle this.
He'll do just fine.

Well, I was just trying
to be helpful, you know.

Well, now.
Wait a minute.
Listen.

I've got an idea
that maybe...

No, no. I don't suppose
that you'd want to go
to Detroit

and see
what was going on.

Oh, no. You know...

George would think...
Yeah, that's what I thought.

Still, if I could
help you...

Yeah, that's what
I thought, too.

Well, if you insist.

I'll go.

Me, me, me, me.

COACH: Come on, Tommy,
take a lap.

Me, me, me, me.

George!

Hold it!

(CHUCKLES) Kate.

Hi. Oscar wanted
some pictures.

What?

Pictures. You know,
pictures for your articles.

So he sent me.

I told him,
"Look, you want a real pro."

You don't want me down here.

I certainly didn't
want to come.

Oh.

Hey, look at that gal
with George.

Beautiful. Hey, John,
call a play that way.

JOHN: All right, spilt right.
49 EGO on two, ready?

ALL: Ready!

JOHN: Let's go.

You okay? You broken
or anything like that?

It's Oscar, he's very
worried about his writers.

MAN 1: Hey, George!
MAN 2: Yeah, George.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

Let's go. Let's get back
in that huddle.

I'm at the Kingsley Inn.
Beautiful suite.

Look, Kate.

You can't hang around here.

I'll have to go now,
you have a good trip back.

Thanks a lot.

All right. Forty-three
outside split, right.

What's your assignment?

Eye to eye on the guard.

Four, three
over opposite left.

Nose to nose
on the center.

Four, three under split, left.

Ear to ear on guard.
Good.

Twenty blitz.
Shoot the gap.

Well, it was never
like this in college.
Forty blitz.

George, what do you say
we hit the town tonight?

No, I can't...
Hey, George.
What do you say

you and I make
the scene tonight?
Little night life.

I was here first.
Well, let me tag along
with you guys.

All right, let's go.
No. No, wait a minute.

I can't go out tonight.
Sure you can go.

I have to work on
the play book tonight.

Well, you should work
on the play book, George.

You're gonna be
a great athlete.

Not too much work,
though, George.

Okay, you finks,
so we don't get into
any trouble tonight.

Georgie, you put this
Lion blazer on, baby.

Look, I'm not going out.
George.

What hotel you say
she was stayin' at?
I didn't.

Oh, but you will, George.
You will.

No, fellows.
Hey, wait a minute.

Oh, yes.
Hey, no, wait a minute.

Would you wait a minute?

Now, listen,
I'm not going out,

so you'd better
put me down.

I'm not going.
I'm not going out tonight!

(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)

Hey, come on, Plimpton,
let me dance awhile.

Okay.

I'm telling you, John,
this is a hell of a chance
for us, baby.

Look at this thing,
isn't it beautiful?

It feels good, Alex.

It's from Germany,
feel how heavy it is.

I'm telling you,
it feels good. All right?

Does it have any attachments?

I don't know about
attachments but, John, let me
tell you something.

We can get the franchise
for the whole United States.

You know what that means?

It means that we
could sell a hundred,
thousand of these,

and we could make
a million bucks.

A million.

How much does
a franchise cost?

I don't know,
but let's call Pete Largo.

Call him right now. Yeah.

Last year it was
the Gordy burger.

The year before,
sauna baths.

The only body that took
a bath was Alex and John.

That's very good.

Hey, George,

you got an apartment
in New York, beautiful pad.

A ready list
as long as your arm.

What the hell
are you doing here?

It's my job.

Your job, huh?

Look, I got an idea.

Instead of you coming here
for the summer

let me come to New York.

I'm gonna get another
pitcher of beer.

May I have another
pitcher of beer please?

Lion, eh?
Yes.

Where do you figure
to finish this year?

Oh, we'll go
all the way.

Yeah, all the way down.

No. I don't know about that.

We have a lot of mean
looking animals out there.

Bodies, Mac.
That's what you got
out there, bodies.

Oh, really?
You want to see
some animals?

You come to Chicago,
it's the home of
the Chicago Bears.

There you'll see animals.
That's wonderful.

What do you play?

What does he play?
He plays towel collector,
that's what he plays.

Now, just a minute
I don't think you have
to be so rude.

Rude? Isn't that
a sweet word, rude?

Listen, I'm not interested
in being exposed to your
antediluvian aggressiveness.

What did you say?

Are you some kind of
expert on football
from Chicago?

Let me tell you
something, Charlie,
another word out of you

and I'm gonna knock
you right on your keyster.

With what?
With these.

Oh, I'd like to see that.

Apologize, George.

Apologize for what,
damn it,
I didn't do anything.

George, you're swearing.

I don't care.
He was badmouthing the club.

He apologizes, okay?
I don't apologize
for anything.

Hey, George,
got something for you.

A jersey for
this afternoon's scrimmage.

JOE: Let's have it quiet.

And give me your attention.

Now today's scrimmage,
we're gonna try to play
everybody we can.

I know you don't enjoy
hitting against your own
ball players,

but we have to get
this work in.

I want 100 percent
from everybody.

You know if we go 100 percent,
we don't have the injuries.

Now, it's gonna be
a 60-minute scrimmage.

I want 60 minutes
of all out football.

Eye train will be
shooting the film.

Now, another thing,
first opportunity
coaching staff has to see

some of you rookies
under game conditions.

And you know,
immediately after a scrimmage,
there is a cut.

So you'd better
play accordingly.

All right, Plimpton,
you run the first series.

It's time I get an opportunity
to see my last string
quarterback under fire.

(ALL LAUGHING)

You know your plays?

I have them written
on my wrist, Coach.

A bit of warning,
stay away from that
quarterback sneak.

It gets mighty tough
up that middle.

Now, any questions?

No questions, let's go
on that field.

Let's go!

(CHATTERING)

Don't give anything
away, George.
Watch your eyes.

Not me, Ron.
They'll be shut tight.

Confidence, kid.

Split right,
45 blue lead.

Ready?

Four, set!

Four, 26.

Hut. Hut!

(ALL SHOUTING)

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

Okay, that was a good run.
Good call, George.

Hey, now you're
taking charge.

Let's go.
Let's go have a huddle!

Come on, huddle.

Split left, 19, keeper.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

PLAYER: Let's play.

Four, set!

Thirty-three.
Hut. Hut. Hut.

(ALL SHOUTING)

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

Who's that?

Plimpton, George.

Where's he from?
I don't know.

Harvard.

MAN: Hey, that's
not a bad call.

Twelve yards!
I made us a first down.

Great change up, George.

Okay, come on, let's go!
Let's go.

Opposite right, brown left.

Fan X and nine center.

Brown's a pass, George.

I know it's a pass.

Then get it to me.

I'll get it to you, baby.

You just hang, on.
Yes, sir.

On three. Ready?

George, you're marvelous!

Nice going, Georgie.

Four, six!

Thirty-three.
Hut! Hut!

Great! Good pass, George.

Go!

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

We did it.
That's the way, pal.

That was great, George,
that's threading the needle.

Okay, let's go.
Come on, come on.
Come on.

(PEOPLE APPLAUDING)

Split right. Fake eleven pass.

Wait a minute, George,
that's up the middle.

Who's calling the plays?

Okay. It's your problem.

On one. Ready?

GEORGE: Four, six! Three!

Thirty-two! Hut!

(ALL CHEERING)

Nice going, rookie.
Really, it was wonderful.

Thank you.
Thank you.

JOE: Go take a shower.
Thank you.

Hey, George, how come
you have a zero
on your shirt?

MAN: Nice going, George.

George!

Kate!

Come here.
Kate!

Did you see that?

Did I see it?
Did you see that?

You were fantastic?
I was very hot.

You were great.
And I've got pictures
to prove it.

Now, aren't you
glad I came?
Yes, yes.

You know, I couldn't
do anything wrong.

I mean, there are
days like that.

You know, every ball player
hits his streak.

And you just have to ride it.
Play it out.

What are you
laughing at, chink?

Oh, nothing, George.

MAN 1: You're beautiful.
George, you're beautiful.

MAN 2: Fantastic run, George.

MAN 3: You were light-footed.

All right,
let's play football.

I've been had, huh?

Just a little, man.

George.
All right, look.

My deal with Oscar
was to get in the game

and write some articles
about my experiences.
That's all.

I never said
they'd take me seriously
as a player, did I?

No.

Rookie show's tonight.
I'll cover that.

Tomorrow, we'll go
back to New York.

Okay.

I'm going to shower
and get dressed.

Can I scrub your back?

George.

There's always next week.

Next week?

The Saint Louis Cardinals.

(HULA MUSIC PLAYING)

(MAN WHISTLING)

(ALL LAUGHING)

All right, now,
before we go any further.

I thought we should take
first things first.

And in that order,

we should hear a word
from our beloved coach,
Joe Schmidt. Joe!

(ALL CHEERING)

Good evening, Schwein.

Tonight I want to talk
a little bit about discipline.

I want discipline.

The board wants discipline,

my assistants
want discipline,

and I'm gonna get discipline.

(ALL LAUGHING)

I want to talk about
some of the pleasantries
on our ball club.

Fines!

I love fines.

Pat Studstill, $23,

for making love
to your wife after Friday.

What about Thursday?

I love fines.

Ron Kramer,

23 cents for only
making love to your wife

once every six weeks,
whether she needs it or not.

(ALL LAUGHING)

And John Gordy, $193,

just for not ever making love
to anybody in the world.

(CROWD WHOOPING)

BOTH: * Well, I got two lovers

* And I ain't ashamed

* Two lovers and I love
them both the same

* Let me tell you
about my first lover

* She's sweet and kind,
she's mine all mine

* Treats me good
like a lover should

* And it makes me love her

* I really, really love her

* Whoa

* I love her so

* And I'll do everything

* I can to let her know

I have great news!

Tonight I unveil
our secret weapon.

$800,000, no cut,
no trade bonus baby.

Never played.

He can run, kick,
do everything great.
You'll love him.

I love him.

Curtains, please.

George Plimpton.

(ALL APPLAUDING)

Look at him.

Look at the legs.

Look at those legs.
A hundred yard dash.

Nine, one.

A bundle of muscles.

Strong, but most
of all, shoulders.

Tremendous shoulders.

And with that
we'll win the Super Bowl

and have it locked up.

Completely and...

GEORGE: It was a put down,
I know.

MAN: How would you know?
I know,
I was there, wasn't I?

You played
a hell of a run.

Forget about it, will you?
Don't get so excited.

It was probably
your idea too.
What was?

Why, to have the
defense lay down for us.

George, we enjoyed
having you at camp.
It broke the monotony.

Oh, well, the hell with that.
That's not what I'm
talking about.

Besides you're learning
to swear real good.

So you see,
you can't be all bad.

Really?

ALEX: We're just trying to
make you feel good, George,

so you can take memories
back to New York with you,
that's all.

It was a put down.

Say, why don't you drink
your beer?

What do you want to do,
ruin the whole party?

How do you know I couldn't
really have done it?

'Cause you'd have
gotten killed,
that's why I know.

Says who?
Me.

Oh, you guys are so tough.

Nobody's as tough
as the pro football?
Right?

Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.

Well, let me
tell you something.
You want to know something?

You want to know
what tough really is?

You want to know
what Percy Haughton did
when he was

coaching football
at Harvard?

Percy?

KARRAS: Haughton? Haughton?

Percy Haughton at Harvard.

You know what he did
to get the guys up
for the Yale game?

He took a bulldog
and he strangled it
with his bare hands.

(GROWLING)

(ALL LAUGHING)

George!

(BOTH LAUGHING)

All right, all right.

ALEX: Okay, chugalug.

Chugalug all the way.
Chugalug.

Chug away. Chug away.

All the way. All the way.
All the way.

All the way.
All the way.

(ALL CHEERING)

ALEX: Beautiful.
Come on, George.

For Harvard.
Do it for Harvard.

(COUGHING)

All right. All right,
then you do it.

Let me see you do it.

Come on, come on, Lucci.

All right, Lucci, ready?

ALEX: Here we go.

ALL: * Zuba, zuba, zuba,
zuba, zuba, zuba

* Roll along,
you mangy waters

* Roll along

Come on!

Hey, wait a minute.

Shut up. Shut up.

Wait a minute.
Hey, Ron, wait a minute!

Just wait around.
I'm gonna put you out
of business.

I could have done it.
I could have beat 'em!

I could've done it.
I could've beat 'em
right out...

* Zuba, zuba, zuba, zuba

* Zuba, zuba, zuba,
zuba, zuba, zuba

* Roll along,
you mangy waters *

Hey, come on, Pat,
we're gonna show them.
Come on.

Opposite right.
Brown left,
X and nine center.

On two. Ready?

All right. Great.
Here we go.

Four. Hut!

Thirty-two.
Hut! Hut! Hut! Hut!

Go, Pat.

Go. Go.

(MAN EXCLAIMING)

All right, that's enough.
I'm fed up.

I'm really sick and tired.
I'm gonna tear you guys apart.

I'm losing my patience.
Now, stop it!

I'm gonna really tear you...

I'm not kidding.
I'll destroy you.

(ALL LAUGHING)

I'll break you in half!

I'll get you.

I'll tear you
piece by piece apart.

CHARLES: Now, this is
the Cardinal over-gap now.

Appears on offenses,
a weak safety blitz.

You can tell how Wilson
comes right up about

three yards from the line
of scrimmage.

They really tell you
when they're coming.
They come anyhow.

JOE: Okay, run that again.

Look at that crazy blitz.
What kind is it?

That's a Cardinal blitz.
Everybody comes, coaches,
everybody, man.

CHARLES: All right,
look at Wilson, now,
on defense.

Right up there on the crack
on the weak side,

it's gonna be a blitz
and he came that time.

Safety blitz. Just keep
your eye on number eight,
he'll tell you.

Most every defense as to what
is gonna be coverage wise.

How about 72?
He's got 50 pounds on me.

If I was him
playing against you,
I'd bust out laughing.

Hey, Pat. Shut up!

(ALL LAUGHING)

CHARLES: Safety up there
playing tight.

Misses more often than not.

Just watch the position
of that weak safety.

Position, 37.
Plays it real close.

What do you think
you can get on him, Pat?

I'll be able to get
deep on him.

COACH: The halfback,
you can see Hart hit

the receiver
right on the money.

Real fine throw.
Kid releases the ball
very quickly.

BILL: You know,
he's just a rookie. We can
probably shake him up

throwing a little
combination in his zone.

JIM: We plan to blitz him too.

CHARLES: Now, here's
the slot formation.

Now we're gonna use
this against them.

The Bears didn't use it
very effectively.

They're missing
the block to keep...

Hey, George.

I thought you
were leaving today.

Why? I haven't been cut,
have I?

Not that I know of.

All right, lights!

All right, quiet down,
quiet down.

You see here in the film
that St. Louis is
a fine football team.

Both offensively
and defensively.

Now, in order to win,
we have to be at our
very best.

Now, this week we're gonna
concentrate on techniques,

and execution.

Now, this is
a pre-season game,
but I want to win.

We have to set
that pattern for winning.

It's very important
that we do this.

Now, if there are no questions
pertaining to St. Louis,

we'll see you on the field
at 10:00 tomorrow morning.

All right, hold it,
hold it, hold it!

Some of you may know it
and some of you may not,

we traded Roger Brown
to the Los Angeles Rams.

(ALL MURMURING)

Jerry...

Jerry, you'll take
Roger's part at
defensive tackle.

Joe, I don't think
I'm being unreasonable.

One series,
that's all I want.

I mean, if we get
far enough ahead,
so I can't do any harm.

Say, two touchdowns.

Say, we get
two touchdowns ahead,

and there's not enough time
for St. Louis to catch up.

What about then?

Joe, if it's okay with you,
we'll play for George.

Yeah, if it's safe,
give him a try.

A real game, huh, George?

Now, say if we get
three touchdowns ahead,

21 points.
What harm could it do?

Well, George, we're just
gonna have to see.

Look. You haven't
been out drinking with
the St. Louis Cardinals.

They're no big buddies
of yours or anything.

I know.
That's the whole idea.

George, they don't know
you're George Plimpton,
super writer.

They think
you're George Plimpton,
super rookie.

Good. That's better.

You really think
you can do it.
Don't you?

Do what?

Be the high school
football hero.

Oh, I do not.
You do so.

I don't. That's silly.
I don't think so.

I think you'd better
come back to New York
with me and see a shrink.

(CHUCKLES) A shrink?
Don't be ridiculous.

You do so.
You really think
you could do it.

Well, I have been
in training, you know?

George!

Come on,
you'd better get out.

This is liable to cost me
a $50 fine if we stay here
any longer.

Better than you
should get killed.

(CHATTERING)

Just keeps droppin' like hell.

I don't know
what's going on.

Don't worry about it, Tommy,
just watch the ball
into your hand,

and once you get it,
just play with it.

That's the thing about it,
I got to catch it first,

but to think about it,
I've been dropping it...

I am. I really am.

(LAUGHING)

BILL: Third down
and over four.

We'll go slot right,
green right, X stop.

We should catch a safety zone,
or a combination zone on that,

if they're not blitzin'.

Even if they are blitzing
we can release to the...

We can release
to the fullback
in a quick circle.

So we'll go slot right,
green right, X stop.

That's your first
three plays right there.

All right,
just in general now.

St. Louis is a blitzing team.

We've told you all week long
and as you've seen in films

that we've looked
at here from last year.

This ball club blitzes
60 to 70 percent
of the time.

This is high in the NFL.

The only possible exception
would be the Bears.

They are the only team
that blitzes anywhere.

BILL: This is the name
of the game.

This is the essence
of the whole defense.

And they do it off a number
of different alignments,

so we've got to be alert
to recognize
what those alignments are.

Okay, now the only
two reminders that you have
to be aware of at all times

is that we're in our
opposite formations,

with one brown left
or brown right.

You've got to key
the strong safety.

All right, now,
we're in split backs.

Split backs,
we're using green protection.

The only thing we can't
pick up off their blitzes

is their weak safety blitz.

So, on this you watch
for the weak safety,

and your split end
is watching as well.

If he comes on a blitz,
you come to the split end

on the quick post.

It's one of those games,
you don't have to use
any check offs.

You can use all kinds
of over, over stacks,

under, under stacks,
gap defenses.

If you try to
check off this game,

you can spend the whole game
masterminding the ball game,

so don't use any audibles.

(INAUDIBLE)

(INAUDIBLE)

(INAUDIBLE)

Give me your attention.
I want everybody hustling.

Covering the punts,
kick offs, on returns.

Let's form their wall,
give the runners
a chance to run.

When you receive,
let's take that ball
right up the field.

The wedge, I want everybody
to form their wedge,

and give us
an opportunity to run.

Offensively, been working
on our running game,

we have to establish
our running game right
off the bat.

Now, anytime
that we lose the ball,

fumble, interception,

I don't want anybody
losing their poise.

Because we gotta come
right back and start
all over again.

Defensively, we have to
get out there,

and get after that
quarterback
right off the bat.

And I want everybody
giving 100 percent.

Everybody contributing
to this team.

Starting out to get
a mental attitude

that is going to carry us
throughout the season.

It's a big ball game
for us, even though
it's a pre-season game.

It's important that we win.

And it's important
that we do our job.

So, let's go.

Our ball game,
our ball game.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

(ALL SHOUTING)

Let's go, offense.
Let's go, offense.

Move 'em on the field.
Let's go.

Let's hustle.
All right, all right.

MAN 1: Come on, baby.
Let's go!

Go baby, go.

MAN 2: Get up, get up,
get up, get up.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

MAN 3: How do we get some
field room in there?

MAN 4: Come on,
get it up, baby.

MAN 5: Keep driving, baby,
keep driving. Keep driving.

MAN 6: Go, go, go.

COACH: What's the matter?
You okay?

MAN 7: Come on, let's go.

Come on, come on, come on,
come on, come on.

MAN 8: Come on now.

All right, nice,
nice, nice. Go!

Yeah, yeah.
The guy stripped him.

(CHATTERING)

Try to concentrate.

MAN 9: It's all right,
it's all right. Get the ball.

(CROWD CHEERING)

(PLAYERS YELLING)

Good job.

PLAYER 1: You've got
to be kidding.

PLAYER 2: I feel like
I'm gonna throw up
all over you.

PLAYER 3: Don't let them
knock the piss out of you.

(PLAYER 2 VOMITING)

Don't give in.

COACH: Come on, come on,
let's get to 'em.
Let's get to 'em.

Twenty-nine!
Twenty-five!

MAN 1: What you say?
What you say?
Hey, rookie, what you think?

PLAYER 1: Hut!

ANNOUNCER: Here they come,
here they come,
it's a screen.

And it's good.

PLAYER 1: Ready! Hut!

(CROWD ROARING)

COACH: Come on, get him.
Put him on the ground!

Let's go. Let's go.
Come on, let's go.

Watch that pass.

He stepped on me.

Come on, Alex

PLAYER 2:
Let's get him,
let's get him.

(CROWD CHEERING)

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

Come on, come on,
come on, let's go!

No, please don't,
please don't. Please.

Jim Hart,
young rookie quarterback,

hits Jackie Smith
for about 30 yards,

and it's the Cards ball,
first in goal with the three.

Get one in there,
come on, baby.

COACH: Hustle, hustle,
hustle, hustle, hustle.

We're in trouble now, baby.

MAN 1: They're walking in,
Bernie.

MAN 2: Come on, Ralph,
come up there.

MAN 3: Don't let them score.

MAN 4: Come on,
get that son of a gun.

COACH: Don't let them score,
now, don't let them score.

PLAYER 1: Six!

(PLAYERS CHATTERING)

PLAYER 1: Thirty-two!

Four!

Twenty-five!

Sixty-eight!

Hut! Hut! Hut! Hut!

(PLAYERS GRUNTING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

PLAYER 2: Bull, so tired
about the quarterback.

Every team we ever play,
it's the quarterback,
the quarterback.

(PLAYERS CHATTERING)

PLAYER 1: No support
from the inside.

PLAYER 2: Yeah, Weger should
have been up there.

COACH: All right, easy.
Just settle down.

PLAYER 3: Four, three, 88!

PLAYER 1: He came into me.
He was holding.

All move, all move.

All right.

(CROWD MUTTERING)

MAN 1: Look at Ron Kramer.

Kramer is wide open.
Not even thinking.

He's not even looking.
They're doubling out there,

and he didn't even...

And Kramer was
open right now.

Come on, get those
guys together.

God. Hell, if he doesn't
start thinking any better
than that,

we'd better get him
the hell out of there.

MAN 2: A lot
of pressure on him.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

Nobody even covered me.
Nobody even covered me.

Nobody.

You stay right around
here now,
where we can get you.

I don't know what the hell's
wrong with him.

MAN 3: Why sure,
all he had to do
was take a look.

He's hurrying to score,
too much.

He gets back there
and he's pushing away.

Okay.

(PLAYERS CHATTERING)

Four.

(PLAYERS CHATTERING)

MAN: Over gap. Over gap.
Come on, Karl.

(ALL GRUNTING)

What the hell
is he thinking of?

MAN: Cut in, cut in.
Here he comes.

Almost done.
Almost done.

All right, boy,
he gets the first.
All right, baby.

All right.

Ninety!

Hut! Hut!

PLAYER: Run, run,
run, you mother...

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

COACH: That's the way,
that's the way to go.
Almost. Almost.

MAN: Touch down.
Touch down.

(CHEERING)

All right, now we're movin'.

Good work.

We got it.

First time out,
first time in.

All right. Kick off.
Thank you.

All right, we got a taste
of a little blood now,
we're all right.

They're gonna come
after us, now, boy.
Tough as hell.

We'll bury these guys.

We'll bury them, now.
Oh, yeah.

They might kill us.

Put up defense, you guys.

(CHATTERING)

Hut!

(CROWD ROARING)

There's a clipping
MAN: There's a penalty
for who?

There's a clipping
against them.

Think so?
Should be a red.

There he is lying
on the ground. Fifty...

Yeah, hey, John.

Fifty-two should get it.

Communication was
bad there.

Yeah, 52 should get it.

It should be a penalty
against them.

Oh, against us?

(CROWD GROANS)

Oh, he got it.
He got it, he got it!

Oh, he got it.
He didn't trap that ball.

They were coming at him, Bart.
They didn't have much time.
He didn't have much time.

Golly, looks like
he got a couple inches
off the ground.

Yeah, good pressure.

COACH: Good block.
Good block.

That's good.
All the way.
All the way!

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

I thought we was
gonna break it one time.

Very good, Tommy.

Very good, Larry. Good.

Run, run, run,
you mother...

That's it. Fold it up.

All right, go get it,
go get it. Atta, baby.

(CROWD CHEERING)

That's right.
That's the way to do it.

He took it out.
He had grass to grab in.

Good cross. Hustle down.

Atta, baby.

Hut!

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

Atta boy. All right.
Bring it in.

I hit my hand.
There's something
wrong with my hand.

I was gonna have it x-rayed

but what the hell,
you know?

A little pressure
on quarterback.

Now let's go.
Here we go. Come on.

Come on, we can get
these guys, man.

Come on, Larry.

Larry, get tough now, baby.

Hut! Hut! Hut!

Okay. Here we go, baby.
No excuses, come on.

Hut!

(PLAYERS CHATTERING)

All right,
let's pick up the pace.

PLAYER:
Hit the son of a bitch.

ANNOUNCER: Charlie Long
intercepts for the Lions.

Back to the 35, the 30,
the 25, the 20, the 15,
all the way. Touchdown!

Little bit more.
Little bit more.

COACH: I think we're getting
a little bit more pressure.

I could move much more.

Just a little bit off.

Just that much off,
just half a second.

You were that close,
just getting rid of that.

I was trying to twist them,
we can open on the twist.

All right.
First chance we get,
we'll throw a twist.

We'll use a defense.

(PLAYERS CHATTERING)

Let's go defenses.
Let's go.

PLAYER: You hold me again,
I'll punch your head off.

You hear what I said?

You hold me again,
I'll punch your head off.

Hut!

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

(MAN GROANING)

(PLAYERS CHATTERING)

(GROANS)

You know what you
can do to beat this wrap.

Run the ball.
Run it out, baby.

Just keep running.

Give us a vacation.

Don't pass it, Mel.

MAN: Come on. Come on!

Don't give 'em
any breaks.

Who's this fellow
you were talking about?

George Plimpton.
Number zero.

Did you say number zero?

Zero.

Who did he play with?

He was a heavy
with the Newfoundland Newfs.

What's the position
that he plays?

He's a quarterback.
Quarterback?

COACH: Let's go. Now,
let's see you go in there.

(CHATTERING)

You wanna get in there?

All right, don't get fancy.
Straight handoffs,
and get out of the way.

Now, let's go. Come on.

Wait a minute.

There goes your boy, Bill.

Good luck, George!

Hey, John, look who
they're sending in, man.
We just got a score.

GEORGE: Okay. Okay.

All right,
let's huddle up.
Come on.

PLAYER 1: Just call a play,
George.

What's the matter, George?

My plays have rubbed off.

What?
Rubbed off?

My plays have
rubbed off.

PLAYER 2: Oh, come on, George.
PLAYER 3: You've gotta be
kidding, George.

Call a play,
will you please?

PLAYER 4: George, the play.

GEORGE: All right.
All right. All right.

What's he doing?
PLAYER 4: George!

All right, I got it.

Split right!

George, you want them
to hear the play?

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Split right, 45, blue lead.

On two. Ready?
ALL: Break!

ANNOUNCER: My, God,
he's over the guard.

Get over there, will you?

Come on. Come on.
Let's go. Hurry up.
Come on.

Let's go. Come on.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

(CROWD MUTTERING)

I don't believe it.

(LAUGHING)

ANNOUNCER: Detroit's ball.

First and 15, now,
and it's on 36.

He played for Harvard.
It figures.

(CHATTERING)

Way to go!

So what's five yards,
huh, George?

All right, it was an
honest mistake. All right?

One butt looks same as
the other from that angle,
huh, George?

Come on, huddle up.
Run the clock out, will you,
George?

GEORGE: Huddle up. Huddle up.
Let's go. Huddle up.

All right.

Settle it down.
GEORGE: All right.
I've got it. I've got it.

Split right.
Ten fake draw.

On two. Ready?

ALL: Break!

ALL: Break!

Well, he's over
the center this time.

That boy's a learner.

(ALL SHOUTING)

Four, six!

Six, three, two!

Hut! Hut!

What happened?

MAN: What else?
He lost eight yards.

Oh, George.

(PEOPLE LAUGHING)

Fancy, George.
Real fancy.

I don't know what happened.
My legs just gave up.

MAN: Trick knee, huh?
PAT: Yeah, both of them.

I was on the bench so long,
my feet fell asleep.

Come on, George,
call the play,
will you please?

All right. All right.
Nineteen, roll out.

Ready?
JOHN: Break! Hold it. Hold it.

We gotta have
a snap count.

Now, John, stop rattling me,
all right?

We have to know
when to go, don't we?

GEORGE: Stop bugging me,
all right?

We do need
a snap count.

You're driving me crazy,
you know that?

Come on, rookie, let's go.

On two. Ready!
ALL: Break.

ANNOUNCER:
It's Detroit's ball.
Second down and 24, now.

There come the Lions
out of the huddle.

Plimpton brings them up
and he gets down behind the

center.

Oh, my God,
what's he gonna do now?

Ten, three, 88! Hut!

(CROWD SIGHING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

What happened?

What else?
He lost eight more.

Longest damn last minute
I ever saw.

PLAYER: George, you're
covering a lot of ground
tonight.

PAT: Yeah,
it's all backwards.

Keep it up
or you'll be in the stands.

GEORGE: All right. All right.

MARSH: Third down
and a short 32 to go.

JOHN: Come on.
The play, please,
the play, George.

All right.
Split right.
Green right.

RON: Hey, wait, that's a pass.

I know it's a pass,
but they won't expect it.

George, we're on
our own 15 yards.

I know where we are.
I got us there, didn't I?

PAT: All by your lonesome.

And I'll get us out, too.

Thirteen seconds.
What can happen?

MARSH: Joe can kill you,
that's all.

JOHN: George, the play!
Oh.

JOHN: Will you call
the play, George?

All right. All right.

Split right.
What's he doing out there?

Can you tell what he called?

Four, six!

GEORGE: Thirty-two!

MAN 1: Let's get 'em.
Let's get 'em.

Oh, my God,
he's gonna run for a pass.

He's gonna pass?

MAN 2: Hit, George.

I'm in the clear.

(CROWD WHISTLING)

Throw the damn ball,
George. George!

(GROANS)

(CROWD SHOUTING)

(COUGHING)

DOCTOR: Take a couple
of whiffs of this.
A couple of few deeps.

Atta, boy.
What's your name?
Plimpton.

What city are you in?
I'm in St. Louis.

I want you to start with 100
and count backwards for me.

One hundred, 99, 98...

I think you're
coming good, George.

How is he, Doctor?

George is gonna be all right.

But, Joe, I don't know
how those goal posts
are gonna be.

How do you feel?

Like I had my pants
taken down in front
of 60,000 people.

Well, you did all right.
Oh, yeah.

I must have set some
new kind of record.

Three plays and
I lost 41 yards.

I made an ass of myself.

Oh, the important thing is
that you hung in there.

Hey, George, I hear
you're leaving us.

Yeah, they traded me
for Johnny Unitas.

That's a bum deal, Joe.

The front office should have
their head examined.

(CHUCKLES) I'll see you,
George.

Hey, George,
guys on the team voted
you the game ball.

We couldn't take it away
from you anyway.

Listen, George,
you've got that apartment
in New York,

and all those girls,
that's not such
a bad deal, is it?

Don't forget to come back
to camp next year.

Thank you.

Don't try out
for flanker, George.