Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Cut Rate Cultural Analysis: The Waterboy

You know when you see a scene in a movie and you know that it is stupid, but it isn't until you've seen it multiple times that you realize just how dumb it is.

I had one of those moments when I just happened to catch the end of The Waterboy on the weekend. If you haven't seen it by now, and you plan on doing so, well, this may not be the entry for you.

You see, I used to think the final football scene in the movie was stupid because it involved Sandler, who plays an exceptional linebacker, somehow making a 40+ yard pass (since the Mud Dogs are in field goal range) to the quarterback who was streaking towards the end zone to win the game by 4 points.

I mean, I can buy someone who has been kicked around their whole life being able to sublimate all that stress and resentment into being an effective defensive threat, but I can't buy that same person being able to throw a ball with precision to someone who isn't trained to make a big catch on a play that the coach just drew up.

This bothered me for a while, but then I realized that the situation presented is even more stupid when you think about the context.

You see, The Waterboy is a movie about College Football and those of you who are familiar with that sport are also likely familiar with how overtime works. There are no ties in the modern game, even during Bowl games. In College Football, overtime is an almost egalitarian experiment, because both teams get to have possession of the ball and a chance to score.

The Mud Dogs had a more than competent kicker, and under the rules of NCAA football, they have a chance to take out the other team in a fair manner in overtime (after all, they have a linebacker who is a one man army... a defensive player so good that the opposing team wouldn't even run plays against him).

It wouldn't have been as dramatic, but man, if it was a real game, you know that's what would have happened. And this is coming from someone who, when playing Madden, almost always goes for it.

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