Huffington Post - Vice President Mike Pence thinks “Hoosiers” is the best sports movie ever — an assertion many would contest. But, alas, he still forced an entire plane of journalists to watch the 1986 film.
While aboard Air Force 2 en route to Australia from Indonesia on Friday, the VP’s press secretary told the plane that Pence specifically requested they “would all be required to watch” the movie, according to the pool report of Pence’s travels.
Pence apparently also said that he believes “Hoosiers” is the “greatest sports movie ever made.” Let’s outline why that might not be the case, Mike.
For one, the film is about a team of white basketball players who beat an all-black team. Yes, we know the film is about underdogs! It’s a “Cinderella” story! It’s based on history! However, Milan High’s 1954 underdog story paled in comparison to the one that came right after.
Crispus Attucks High of Indianapolis won two straight titles after Milan and brought about Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. The Attucks Tigers were bigger underdogs than Milan and were the first all-black high school team anywhere to win such a title — in a country where Brown v. Board of Education had been decided just a year prior.
“Hoosiers” was a fine enough story of overcoming all odds and, yes, Gene Hackman is a gem, but there are racial implications of the story being told that cannot go unnoticed.
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