1
Is that his?
Of all people.
How's that make any sense?
Maybe it doesn't.
Excuse me, Mr. Burlsworth.
Hey, Marty.
Oh, uh, wanna help
set up Brandon's picture?
Mary-Alice, you go on ahead.
Bless your heart.
Excuse me, Marty, I...
Not now.
Watch the play! Watch the play!
Hey, Mike 27, Mike 27!
He's on it, he's on it.
Push, move it.
Set!
Marty.
I never got a chance to thank you for
allowing us to create Brandon's monument.
It's an honor.
I'm sure you'll do a great job.
Anything for Brandon.
Oh, look at that.
Have... have you decided
on an epithet, yet?
Most people like to use a line
from a poem, or a bible verse.
Do you think I can at least
get my brother buried in the ground
before we start talking about poetry?
Well, I'm sorry, Marty, I... I just...
I can imagine how you feel.
I'm pushing 60 years old, and I've
seen everything under the sun,
but, I... I've never met a better man
than your brother.
It's just not fair.
Not, it's not.
He sure played
that game though, didn't he?
Played it like it meant something.
Precious blood atoning
Then I repented of my sin
And won the victory
Oh, victory in Jesus
My Savior forever
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood
He loved me ere I knew Him...
- I baptizing you...
- And all my love is due him
in the father and son,
and the Holy Spirit.
He plunged me to victory
Yeah. Amazing. As clean as the light.
All right now, you're an ambassador
for Christ, now son.
You walk tall. Be a good example.
Brandon Burlsworth.
- Way to go, Brandon.
- Yeah.
Oh, I'm so proud of you.
- They said I'm fat.
- No, you're not fat.
You're just a big old boy.
God made you just
the way you are for a reason.
Made a whole lot of you too,
so there must be a big reason.
Son.
You are on your pilgrimage road
now, Bran.
Keep God first, and only worry about
what he thinks. Not anybody else.
And he will always
show you the right way.
Congratulations on your son's baptism.
Hell, I'm getting tired of this.
We're only 17 years apart,
it is obvious that we are brothers.
I'm sorry, Marty.
All right, let's do this.
- You got everything?
- Yep.
I'll see you at the game.
I'll go get the sunblock.
All right, thank you. Oh, no.
How much we got
in our checking account?
Another red letter month
for the Burlsworths.
Well... you know she wouldn't let us.
- Even if we can afford it.
I know. Oh, look at this yard.
If that boy is on that couch, eating chips
and cheesecake again, I'll explode.
There goes Foster
across the 44, 43.
What, no sweets today?
Is this your idea of a diet?
- Oh, hi, Marty.
- Mama. Oh, come on, really?
You think it's such a good idea
for a 12-year-old boy
to sit on the couch all day,
eating chips and cheesecake?
- Marty.
- Would it kill him to do some chores?
He needs to go outside and get exercise.
He's a ten-pound hen
with a five a pound sack.
Freddie Childress.
How'd you like to face him?
Oh, he is alone, and he plays
on that right side right now with...
That's gonna be me one day.
Oh, is that right, cheesecake?
- It looks like you're well on your way.
I'm serious. I'm gonna play
for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
I believe you, honey.
Hmm.
But if you want to be a Razorback,
you've got a lot of work to do.
We still got those old gloves
around here?
All right, listen up, girls.
On this field, I am your mother,
and I am your father.
I am your mother and father combined.
Now, who wants to play for the Hawks?
- Me, coach.
- I want to.
All right. All right!
Who wants to play in the NFL?
I do.
All right.
So, get out there, and play
like you mean it. Get out there!
Get out there, get out there.
50 million kids in America,
and they all think they're going pro.
- Boy, they're stupid.
- Ls that Brandon?
- Yeah.
- What you been feeding that boy?
Chips and cheesecake, mostly.
Better hope nobody puts an apple in his
mouth. Somebody might try to roast him.
Eh?
Here we go. You'll be fine.
Burlsworth, get over here.
Get over here!
Just get in there and defend.
Don't screw it up.
Hey, fat boy, your helmet.
- Hold on, he's going in. He's going in.
- Go Brandon!
- Brandon!
Yeah, yeah, now you see what's cooking.
A little Burlsworth action coming.
Come on, Brandon! Here we go, big boy!
It's 4th and goal
on the Ram's 3-yard line.
Grenade, grenade.
Thirty, gopher, gophers.
Ready, set, go, go!
Go, go! Go Brandon!
Right away, Burls. I knew it.
That a way! That a way!
Get in there.
Yes! That's my brother!
That's my brother.
Take him down. What are you
doing? Take him down!
Touchdown.
- Score% team 13...
- Woo-wee!
He is ferocious.
Burlsworth, you are never playing defense
again, ever! Ever! Do you hear me?
Get over here. Get over here. Get your fat
ass off this field. Get your...
What are you laughing at? Get your fat ass
off this field, before I kick it off!
What is wrong with you?
Burlsworth, are you deaf?
You are never playing defense ever again.
Do you hear me?
- I'm gonna kick you off this...
- It's all right, Brandon, good try.
That's right.
What's your name, boy?
Brandon Burlsworth, sir.
It's nice to meet you, Brandon.
I'm the head coach up at the high school.
I know.
That's Coach Tice.
Tough day today, son.
You should be thankful.
No, I mean it.
Seems bad now, but days like today
keep a man riled up for a long time,
if he responds right.
- You wanna play for me someday?
- Yes, sir.
The way I see it,
if you're ever gonna play it down,
you're gonna be the first one here,
and the last one to leave.
And that's how you respond to today.
- You got me?
- Yes, sir.
All right.
Now, I'm serious.
The first one here.
I'll see you in a few years, maybe.
See you then.
You did a great job.
I'm proud of you, too.
Thank you.
Hey, family, how you doing?
Barb, you're still the prettiest thing
in captivity.
- Good evening, Leo.
- Good evening.
Well, superstar, you ready
for a boys' night out?
- Yeah.
- Come on.
Did you try out for the team?
Let me get that for you, Daddy.
There's kids around.
Yeah, my kids. Including you.
Not one drop, you understand me?
You screw up, I don't care what Brandon
says, you'll never see him again.
You know, it's been a few years since
you've seen me, but I'm still strong.
- I can whip you to a frazzle.
- A few years?
Other than two weeks ago,
I haven't seen you in ten years.
The only thing about you that I remember
was strong was the smell of booze.
I have no idea
how you got Mom to agree to this.
Marty.
Marty, your father
is well-aware of the ground rules.
Eh...
We've been over them,
many times this week.
Yeah, some "ground rules"
is Barb-talk for riding on my butt.
Now, I was off the road for awhile,
but I'm... I'm back on now,
I'm back on.
And I do believe Brandon
has the right to know who his daddy is.
Like he doesn't have enough
against him already.
Marty?
Are we gonna go now?
Why, you two could drive
Saint Francis to drink.
Pardon me.
You came back.
Yes.
Why?
I don't know, exactly.
Why did you go away
without saying anything?
I don't know that exactly, either.
I think it was because of that fright.
- I know that sounds strange...
- Whoa.
You're looking
at something I lost, boy.
- What's that?
- My friend.
But I ain't complaining.
Yeah, there was a lot of boys
who didn't have any prime.
Well, Why'd you stop playing?
Well, your mama used to say,
God made me for two reasons.
One was to love her,
and the other was to play
good music for good people.
She called it, "My Pilgrimage Road."
She's a good woman, your mama.
Pure, bright light.
Yeah, she is one great flower,
your mama.
But... she had horrible taste in men.
I'll fly away, Lord
I'll fly away
One of these mornings
I'll fly away
One of these days when I die, oh, Lord
I'm gonna fly
Fly away
Come on.
Some glad morning
When this life is over
I'll
Fly away
Yeah.
To a home
On God's celestial shore
I'll fly away
Come on, celestial.
Oh, I'll fly away
Oh, glory
I'll fly away
Come on.
When God's Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away
There you go.
Well, by George, you're all right.
I'm proud of you.
Your bright light is...
Listen now, it's getting late,
and you've got to go to church tomorrow,
so... maybe you better hit the hay.
Know what I mean?
Good night, Brandon.
He's spending his life
Spending his life
On the wings of a dove
Wings on a dove
On the wings of a stark white dove
He sang this pure, sweet song
The sign from above
Sign from above
On the wings of a dove
Wings of a dove
On the wings of a small, white dove
He said his...
The sign from above
Sign from above
On the wings of a dove
Wings of a dove
Daddy?
Daddy? You in here?
If there's one thing I'd like to do
Hey, Brandon.
Oh.
Brandon. Brandon!
Come here. Come here.
Marty, will you please come get me?
Marty, please.
Hello, Marty.
One night.
Couldn't stay sober
for one stinking night, could you?
Oh, come on.
I just got stupid.
I let my guard down. I got stupid.
- Hey. You okay?
- Come on.
- Yeah.
- You can't tell Barbara now.
- Nobody's gonna hurt you.
- Okay.
If you tell Barbara,
she'll never let me see him again!
Sobriety some habit, Dad.
Day in, day out.
When you hear a little lie,
that's what it is.
Think if I had a little taste,
you know, a little sip.
Calm your nerves, you know?
You'll think you earned it.
But life is a fact, Marty.
And that's how I got my butt kicked.
You can't win on your own.
No one can.
There's only one straight way
down that road.
You just have to have the courage
to take it.
Eh... like you.
Right, Marty? Just like you.
You want help?
I mean, you really want help?
I'll be there for you.
Until then, you stay out of our lives.
Burlsworth, hold on!
One more chance, do it right this time.
It's your turn, Brandon.
Show us how it's done.
- Come on, Brandon!
- Come on, Brandon. Kill him, let's go.
Come on, Brandon!
- Go!
- Go, Brandon.
Hey, guys, have I told you lately
that I love you?
- No, sir, you haven't.
- I'll get back to you all on that.
- Have a good day, coach.
- Get out of here, big fella.
Morning, coach. Sleep well?
You really got to get
some new material, boy.
I get here plenty early.
Uh, you took what I said
about being the first one here
and the last one to leave
literally, didn't you?
I didn't know you was part rooster.
I'd never said it.
You think I'm wasting my time, coach?
It doesn't matter what other people think,
it only matters what you think.
But, coach...
it's natural for some guys.
It's like they were made for it,
and I wasn't.
I have to suffer for everything I get.
You know, maybe it's not
what God wants.
So, one guy gets $10,000
handed to him,
and another guy has to work for it.
Now, they both got $10,000,
but the second guy gained a whole lot
more along the way than just the money.
Now who do you think is better off?
Still wanna be a Razorback?
- Yes, sir. Real bad.
- Good news.
I got you a visit.
- Coach, are you serious?
- Now, hold your horses.
You're meetin' Coach Bender,
the O-Line coach.
I told him you were
a diamond in the rough.
It's not an offer.
It's just an unofficial visit.
Thanks, Coach.
What's that mean, unofficial?
Well, in your case, it means it's a long
shot, so, you just go and have fun, okay?
Yes, sir.
Brandon.
- Yeah?
- Where are you going?
Oh.
- Sorry, Coach.
- Good Lord, son.
You just had to be
the first one here, didn't you?
That's pretty awesome, isn't it?
Bran.
Don't get too attached, all right?
I mailed these tapes out to every school
on your list, and we got nothin'.
I didn't want to go
to those schools, anyway.
What?
I'll handle the stuff on the field.
You just handle the stuff
off the field, and we'll be just fine.
Bran, don't you think
if they really wanted you,
they would have made
this visit official?
Have faith, Marty. This is my road.
Okay.-
We'll keep trying.
Who knows?
Hand out enough of these tapes, maybe
we'll get lucky. Excuse me, coach. Coach.
Marty Burlsworth. That's for you.
- I'm a janitor.
- You...
Oh, well, doesn't mean you can't
appreciate some good football.
And if you like what you see,
his name's Burlsworth, talk him up.
Excuse me. Sorry.
Hey. Watch where you're going, turd.
Sorry, man. Sorry.
You're not called turd.
Excuse me. Coming right
through here, thank you.
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
It's Coach Bender, It's Coach Bender.
- Shake his hand, shake his hand.
- And you're Chris, right?
- Yes, sir.
- Well, thanks for coming out today.
- Brandon Burlsworth...
- Hey, how you doing, coach?
I know who you are, big fella. Look at
you, I can tell you've been working.
Look at this, I got myself
a line next year, don't I?
- It's good to see you all here, gentlemen.
- This is Brandon.
Listen, enjoy the game, fellas.
I appreciate you coming out.
We'll see you all later.
Please welcome Timothy Gunter,
your Arkansas Razorback marching band.
Woo!
- Marty, Marty!
- Yeah?
That's Coach Bender right there.
Go talk to him.
- Say something, please.
- What am I supposed to say? Hey, coach.
We'll call ya.
Uh, coach, listen...
All right,
I'm gonna cut right to the chase.
This is D1. This is the S.E.C.
It's not some rinky-dink league.
How big are you?
6'2". 245, I think.
But it ain't the size
of the dog in the fight, coach.
Says the poodle to the pitbull.
You're high school-sized, son.
You've got to be 300 to play liner
at this level. That's all there is to it.
So, you tell your coach it was a good try.
I appreciate you coming out.
But we're just wasting our time here.
I'm sorry. You're just not big enough.
Thank you, coach. Come on, let's go.
- Bran.
- I can get bigger.
You wanna walk-on, have your own way,
we certainly won't stop you.
We can always use a warm body on the
scout team to hold blocking dummies.
And if it will make you feel any better,
I'll even make you an invited walk-on.
But I wanna make one thing
absolutely clear,
there ain't no way you're ever gonna
play, not here, not at this school.
God bless.
Thank you, coach.
Thank you very much.
Well, I guess that does it.
The good Lord just didn't
make you the right size.
- Hey, hey, hold on.
- What are you doing?
Coach said I gotta get bigger.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- You want change?
- Uh...
You've gotta be kidding me.
Have I told y'all lately that I love ya?
No, coach, you haven't.
Well, I'll have to get
back to you on that.
You know, football's a rough game.
It's unpredictable.
Life itself, squeezed
into 60 minutes in 100 yards.
Now, you can't control
who your mom and daddy is,
but you can control
how hard you work.
Sow with thought, you reap in action.
Sow with action, you reap a habit.
You sow a habit, you reap a character,
You sow a character,
you reap a destiny.
Every place starts with a cadence,
and ends with a whistle.
What you do in between,
determines your legacy,
so make sure you give it everything
you've got until you hear that whistle.
Is that understood?
Yes, sir!
Hey, coach.
Where's your mama, Brandon?
You got a scholarship offer.
Arkansas Tech.
Full-ride. Coach Oliver's asked me
to hand-deliver it to you.
Yeah! My little brother's
gonna be a college boy!
- Congratulations, son.
- I love it, Brandon.
- It certainly is closer.
- Closer?
Well, we got a call
from Army the other day.
We thought it was perfect,
because he's so strict about schedules
but I don't think his grades were good
enough to get into West Point, anyway.
I'm not going there, or anywhere else.
- I'm a Razorback.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa,
we're talking about
a college degree here, Brandon.
Your grades weren't good enough
to get an academic scholarship, son.
If I was in your financial position,
I'd take this.
But aren't you the one who told me, it
doesn't matter what other people think?
It only matters what I think?
This next graduate
has accepted a scholarship
to play football
at Arkansas Tech University.
Brandon Burlsworth.
- Woo!
All right, now.
Everybody say, "Arkansas Tech."
Arkansas Tech.
Eyes. Mama, stop squeezing him so much.
Come on, one more time.
- You ready?
- Come on, Mom.
- I'm not going to Arkansas Tech.
- What did you just say?
I'm gonna walk-on at Arkansas.
Arkansas? And how you gonna afford
that there, cheesecake?
This family cant afford a stick
of gum at this time without a co-sign.
- It's what I'm supposed to do!
- Oh, really?
If that were true, you think
it would be a little bit easier?
You think God would give you
D1 dreams with D3 body?
You got one shot at this.
And you got a full-ride.
Do you know what I would have done
to have gone to college?
Oh, look at you. Yeah, it's easy to be all
pious when you're 18 years old.
What happens when you're 40?
How are you gonna pay
for your rent, with what? Faith?
Huh, how are you gonna pay
your gas, and food?
I'm going to Arkansas.
Oh, really?
"Going to Arkansas."
Looks like you're not
going anywhere, there, cheesecake.
Woo pig sooie.
Mama.
Let's go.
Whoo.
Can you help me do that?
That way, this notice will be paid.
Yeah. How much could you... hold on.
Give me that number.
Times 12, right?
- Hey.
- Hey, Mom.
Leo's agreed to help you with the car
to get you back and forth to school.
Well, it won't be much, but,
it'll be the best we can afford.
And, also, I just found out
I can get a second mortgage.
- Wh... Mom!
- You will be the first Burlsworth
to get a degree.
You're gonna make something
of yourself, you hear me?
But I can only do it for one year.
Mama, that's... that's all I need.
I mean...
I'm gonna...
I'm gonna earn a scholarship,
and... and I'll pay you back
every penny, whatever it takes.
I know you will
'cause I'm gonna need it.
Oh, honey, guess what?
You're gonna be a Razorback.
A Razorback. That's right, Mom.
I'm gonna be a Razorback.
- I love you.
- I'm so... woo!
Remember, you can't just trust.
You have to obey, too.
- You can do this.
- Yes, ma'am.
Just, you be careful.
Mama, he's not going to Alaska.
It's a 90-minute drive.
When it's your baby driving
over those mountain roads,
- it feels like a million miles, Marty.
- Yes, ma'am.
Hey, you watch out for old big trucks.
And pray.
When Brandon was a little baby boy,
we used to call him 18-wheelers.
"Big Old truck."
Look, look, it's an easy drive, okay?
Once you get to Marble, you're halfway.
Oh, Vickie? Yeah.
Vickie and I got this for you.
We'll put you on our plan.
- Marty, I can't. Marty.
- It's already done. All right?
You can call me anytime you want.
I mean that.
Be careful on the road, okay?
I'd tell you play by the rules,
but I'm as unsure if they are any.
I miss you guys already.
This will always be my home.
- Make us proud, son.
- Stay away from those fast women.
Stop that. Come on.
- Get out of here, cheesecake.
- Good luck, honey.
Don't forget your sundae, son.
All right?
- All right, 'cause he's watching it.
- Get out of here.
- Keep working on that footwork, now.
- Good luck, honey, we love you.
- Drive safe, son.
- We love you.
Phone's always on the hook!
- There he goes.
- Call me when you get there!
- There's your baby.
- There he goes. There he goes.
I think Marty's going with him.
Marty.
- Yeah.
- Come on back now, Marty.
Pleased to meet you, Mr. Burlsworth.
My condolences for a grave injustice.
I love working on these.
You ever do any whittling?
There's nothing so satisfying
when you finally finish one.
I just had to get out of there
for a while.
Well, I don't blame you.
Today ought to be about you.
Your brother, your family.
You've got a bunch
of busy-bodies up there,
trying to make it about something else.
Holding their hands in prayer
when they ought to be
shaking their firsts in anger.
And who are they worshipping
up there, anyway?
A god who was unable
to prevent this tragedy?
Or the one who was just unwilling to?
It's just what they know.
- Traditional stuff.
- Oh, well.
Used to use leeches
to bleed out a fever, too,
but we got over that, didn't we?
That was your brother.
Right there.
Right there on that field.
That's real.
What happens out there
either is, or it isn't.
There's no maybes.
That's Brandon.
So, I'm with you,
would it really honor his memory,
to crawl into that gym,
face that casket, and give a thanks
that you don't feel.
Hey, Marty. I'm so sorry.
Thanks, Mikey.
Well, I know they say "Trust in the Lord."
I'm trying.
Me too.
Yeah. The Lord gives,
the Lord takes away.
Only trouble is, he only gives
for just a little while,
then he takes away forever.
Coach Tice said we could put flowers
out on the field for the service.
The seven of us have been all over the
last couple of days, picking up donations.
That must have been some doing.
If something's worthwhile,
you've got to be hard-headed enough
to stick with it, even when it hurts.
Brandon taught us that.
Yeah, that's gonna be
a real nice gesture, Mikey.
It might just turn things right around.
He's gonna be all right, Barbara.
Hard day. Life isn't easy.
Nothing worth having ever is.
Praise God.
Wow, fellas, look at this guy.
Whew. And I thought I was fat.
- God, you are fat.
- He's way fatter than me.
He's fatter than you.
- Just by a little, though.
- More than a little.
All linemen, you're coming with me.
Say good-bye to Mommy and Daddy.
You belong to me now.
Have a good morning,
welcome to university.
Yeah. Thanks for turning down
all of those scholarships.
Good luck, boys.
272, coach.
You can't hit that.
Next. Burlsworth.
- The walk-on.
- Yes, sir.
Woo. How many Twinkies
did it take to do that?
They'll let anyone walk on.
I'm telling you.
330, Coach.
6'3 1/2", 330.
I had you at 6'2", 245.
You are Brandon Burlsworth, right?
Yes, sir. You said
I wasn't big enough last fall.
You telling me you put on 85 pounds
in one year?
That's gotta be
some kind of record.
I got a bit taller, too.
But that's God's doin', not mine.
Mm-hmm. Well, I don't know
whether to congratulate you,
or put you on life support.
50% body fat ain't exactly
what I had in mind.
Go get your gear, lunchbox.
Oh, hoo hoo.
Stay right where you are here.
Uh, Coach Ford's got a new policy, he's
gonna put a walk-on in every suite.
If scholarship players need anything,
you're gonna get it, okay?
And, uh, you two are rooming together.
Go pick out your lockers.
Burlsworth, those are
the scholarship lockers.
Walk-on's over that way.
Yo, coach, just tell him
there's cupcakes in there.
- Large. Extra, extra large.
- With icing.
Ooh, that boy's big.
Extra large. Extra large.
Come on, stretch it out, boys!
Stretch it now
and carry off the field later.
- Up!
- Coach?
I want you to figure out
which one of these linemen
are the oreo-nibbling,
ningy-tendo playing ones,
and which one of them just getting
the gravy off mom's cooking.
- All right?
- Yeah, I got you.
- Come on.
- Fast feet, fast feet, fast feet!
Come on, fast feet. That's half speed,
gentlemen. I need fast feet.
Pick it up, boys, pick it up!
This is not good enough.
Turd.
Come on, Burlsworth. You're up.
Ready to go to school, son? Woo!
Get set!
Come on, fatty, let's go!
Come on! You can walk, can't you?
You obviously can't hit a sled.
Bring it up, bring it up, bring it up.
Go!
Well, he wants it more than any of them.
Yeah, he's trying, all right.
He just might make it.
Make it? I just hope he lives.
Oh!
When are you gonna learn,
it is not about strength
and size, it is about footwork.
Skills.
You know, everybody thinks
that the backs and the receivers
are the skilled players. Uh-uh.
What they got is God-given talent.
You can't teach that.
A skill is something that you learn.
And that's why linemen
are the real skilled players,
because everything that you do,
is something that you learned.
Burlsworth, barn, bam, barn!
And your hands inside.
Hit 'em on the steering wheel,
drive that mat.
Coach?
Bring it back, bring it back.
Y'all keep working.
Why are you wasting your time
working with that kid?
This ain't a fantasy camp.
He's a walk-on.
Stick a blocking dummy in his hand.
We got two weeks
before the season starts,
Everybody on my line
is gonna get a chance, coach.
We just might find a diamond
in the rough.
You looking for diamonds,
go to Murfreesboro, okay?
Work with the ones
who can help us, Mike, please.
- Come on, man.
- Come here.
- Let's go five steps...
- Sixty-four, 69, and 42.
I want you to report
to coach Ford, right now.
The rest of you,
you're gonna be redshirtin'.
That means no ball this year.
You're gonna be on the scout team.
But, coach, I mean... what about us?
Well, all the walk-ons that are left
are gonna be redshirtin', too.
But coach. Redshirt?
You saying that, we don't even get
a chance to get a scholarship this year?
Scholarship?
Um, oh, boy.
Not easy getting a scholarship.
But what you are doing is helping
the team get ready every week.
And in that regard you are invaluable,
so I want you to hold your heads high.
All right, now let's call it up.
Let's go, baby. Bring it up, bring it up.
Way to work today, way to work.
"Ours" on three. One, two, three.
- Ours!
- Hey, freshman, put that up for me.
Coach? Coach Bender.
I really need to earn a scholarship
before the end of this year.
Are you telling me you're not gonna
even give me a real shot?
Listen...
you stick with it, we're gonna let you
dress out for the last game.
But, after that, my final cuts
for spring go on next year.
We don't got a lot of room,
so if you don't make it,
we're gonna need that uniform back.
- Okay.
- Listen, Brandon.
You should be real proud of yourself
for what you've been able
to accomplish so far.
I am.
- Man, we sucked.
- Man, stop depressing yourself.
We got a party to go to tonight,
you should be happy.
You coming, Shamu?
Oh, wait, that's right. You don't drink.
- I got something to do.
- Yeah, I bet you do.
Please don't do that.
That's your man.
Really?
Oh. That's cold.
Woo.
Don't fall over
going back to the bed, fatty.
You're pathetic, man.
Unbelievable.
Yo, man,
I swear that dude is a trip.
He's like an OCD poster child.
Hey, you've gotta kind
of admire it, though.
You know he recopies his notes
in class every night?
Man, come on, Ward. Get out of his stuff.
I mean, if he found
so much of a nickel on a paper,
he'll buy his Wal-Mart stock with it.
You should be buying SlimFast with it.
That's what I'm saying. Fellas.
Has he gone even a single week without
running back home to his mama?
No, of course not. Because he's got to go
tell her all the naughty things we say.
Man, I swear, I think that kid's a robot.
You know he follows the exact
same schedule every single day?
- Yeah, but...
- No, but I'm saying, Garrett.
He's like if Rain Man
and C-3PO had a love child.
No, no, no.
Rain Man and C-3PO are much cooler
than that fat geek.
Come on, man, cut him some slack.
- Slack what? Yeah.
- What is with you?
You wanna take these cookies
back to your friends?
We got plenty at home.
I thought you said I wasn't fat, Mama.
You're not fat. You're just a big old boy.
I'm not getting a scholarship.
They already redshirted me.
I know. Marty told me.
He's been sneakin' away
to some of your practices.
Said you might get to dress,
though, for the last game.
If you do, We'll get some great pictures
so you can show your grandkids
you were a Razorback for a day.
Now, don't forget your laundry.
- You called for it.
- Thanks, Mama.
And watch out for old big trucks.
- I will.
- And pray.
- Love you, Mama.
- I love you too, son.
I... love... you.
Bye, honey.
That's it, move those feet.
Whoa! Whoa!
Jackass, what the hell you trying
to do, make scout team All-American?
I was just going to the whistle,
like coach said.
Hey. You hurt a scholarship player,
and you are out of here.
You understand me?
I don't know why I keep letting
your fat, awkward ass stay here anyway,
but I'm about done, Burlsworth.
Some people were made to play
football and some weren't.
Why don't you just go home?
And quit wasting everybody's time.
What are you all staring at? Not one of
you have proven to be smarter than he is.
I can't believe this.
You know, what, gentlemen?
Hit the showers.
Just wasting time here today, anyway.
Brandon, hold up.
Hey, I was just trying
to do it right, coach.
- I... I didn't wanna let you down.
- Uh-huh.
Look, um, you realize
I'm just doing my job, right?
Yes, sir.
Look, I'm gonna...
gonna tell you a story.
There's these two brothers
they're walking along,
and they come upon this big pile of shit,
and the first brother, he dives right in.
He starts digging
with everything he's got.
And the second brother, well, he don't
want nothing to do with it.
You with me?
Yes, sir. Two brothers.
One pile, of, uh, manure,
and one brother doesn't want to dig.
Right. Manure.
And the, uh, second brother
says to the first one,
"What are you doing?
Why are you digging so hard?"
And the first brother says,
"With a pile of manure like this,
I figure there's gotta be
a horse under here somewhere."
Now, I don't know
if you belong here, or not,
and I won't know until you lose some
weight, and I mean a whole lot of weight.
Who knows,
maybe underneath all this manure
there just might be a horse
in there, somewhere.
I'll do whatever you say, coach.
You tell me to do it, and I'll do it.
Good.
So, after that gut's gone, we gotta
put all that weight back on,
except this time, it's gonna be muscle.
A whole lot of muscle,
that means a whole lot of work.
- You up for it?
- Yes, sir. All the way.
Come on, let's see where we're at.
Atta boy, son.
No more biscuits and gravy.
Hey! Hey! There you go.
You almost had it. Hey! Listen.
If I could teach my son how to walk,
I can teach you these steps.
You can do it.
- To the line. To the line.
- Let's go. Pick it up.
Come on, Burlsworth.
Come on, Brandon!
Come on!
Come on, come on, come on. Hey, if you
wanna be a Razorback, you gotta earn it.
You can do this, come on,
keep flying. Come on!
Come on, Brandon.
How bad do you want it?
Move them feet.
That's pretty good.
Come on, come on, let's go,
let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.
Finish, finish, finish!
Atta boy. Hey, watch it, big boy.
You're gonna hurt me now.
- He's looking pretty good, right?
- He is.
Dude, just walk on the grass.
Hit it, hit it!
You're a big boss, move that sled!
Way to move it, Brandon!
- Atta way, Burlsworth.
- He's good.
There is no tomorrow!
You let the turd beat you.
See what the scale says. Hop on up.
Yoo-hoo!
- We did it, coach.
- Yes.
- You're amazing.
- Yes, sir.
- Pull your pants up, Brandon.
- Oh, sorry.
They broke the mold after you,
Burlsworth, that's for sure.
Burlsworth!
Burlsworth, you're up.
Come on, son.
Man, if this dude ever played
in a real game,
I'm gonna be All-American.
Listen, you're not gonna beat 'em,
he's best we got,
and you just lost all that weight.
But, if you remember your steps,
he won't embarrass you.
Yes, sir.
All right then, let's line it up.
Set.
Okay, let's try that again.
Hey, Ward!
Hey Ward, you suck.
Come on, do it again, Brandon.
Do it again.
- Shut up!
- Ward got beat by a walk-on.
Come on, Brandon. Let's go.
Let's go, Brandon.
Set.
Ward, let's go. Kill him, kill him.
- Man, get off me.
- Whoo, let's go.
Get off me, man.
- Get off!
- Atta boy, Brandon!
What is wrong with you?
You just got your butt kicked
by a walk-on.
Coach, I've played against walk-ons.
That is no walk-on.
Hey, coach.
It's too bad we're passed our limit.
Limit for what?
Scholarships.
You suck, Ward.
Hey, bro, you wanna grab a bite?
- Uh, with you?
- Yeah with me, turd.
Come on, go get dressed. It's on me.
Yeah, okay.
Big.
- Wow.
- What's up, Brandon?
- What's up, man?
- Hey, Brandon.
- Hey, B.
- Um, this is Jan.
She's a Kappa.
Grant, can... can I speak to you please?
Me?
Yes, you.
Okay.-
- What's up?
- You didn't tell me this was a date.
It's not a date, okay?
We're just going to hang out.
What's the matter with you, anyway?
Don't you think she looks good?
Yeah.
She looks real good.
That's what I thought.
All right, let's get rolling, hoss.
Okay, keep it semi-real, Lucas.
What do you mean, semi-real.
Are you kidding me?
Anyway, boys, The 1994 season
is almost in the books.
So, what do you guys think?
Oh, just another banner year
for the Hogs, huh?
Why don't we toss a couple high school
teams in the schedule next year,
- build a conference?
- We'll beat them.
I don't know. Y'all... y'all guys would
just lose against them too so...
That's not... You gave him that.
He gave him that line.
- Okay...
- Keep trying-
Guys, have you heard
about these new strawberry shakes here?
- Heard they are killer.
- The best thing in the state.
I can't believe you didn't bring that up.
Brandon, you gotta try one.
I'm gonna pay for it. Everyone's good?
- Oh wait, hold on, hold on, Ward.
- No, I'm good.
- What's up?
- Uh, Jan, would you like one?
Oh, no thanks.
How could you not want one? I'm gonna
get it for you, okay? I'll be right back.
I need two strawberry daiquiris...
and double the alcohol, okay?
- Okay, cutie.
- All right.
Damn.
- Yes. My God, I wanna see that.
- I'll see that.
We can go see that,
we're gonna go see Dumb and...
Next time we go to the theaters,
it's Dumb and Dumber.
All right. We'll all go,
the group of us will go.
All right. Great!
Please, be awesome.
Are you guys seriously want to be
professional football players?
- Yes.
- If we knew how to catch.
I can catch fine.
I heard the average life span
of a football player is like 45.
- No way.
- Ls that true? Really, babe?
Relax, you ain't going anywhere.
I mean, when it's your time
to go, it's your time to go.
But there's a difference
between falling off a mountain
and jumping off it on purpose.
- Jan's a philosophy major.
- I see.
Holly, what was your major?
Oh, Holly's just here
for her "MRS degree."
- You know?
- Oh!
- I'm just saying.
- "MRS."
- That's not true. It's not.
- Keep her in line. No, no, no.
Where was that mountain you were talking
about? 'Cause I'm diving off.
- I'm only kidding. No.
- I'm sad.
- I'm just saying.
- Hey, speaking of that.
Bran, I never did ask you, man.
What's your major?
- He's studying business.
- Really?
- Yep.
- Well, but...
Another one for my friend, please.
I probably won't...
I probably won't be able
to finish that degree.
Or any other degree.
I had one year to make it work here.
I failed.
Well, you won't have to worry
about football doing me in.
You'll be all right, man.
- You'll be fine.
- Yeah, you don't need football.
It's okay though.
I've had a wonderful time here.
I'm gonna remember all of you.
And how nice y'all been to me.
It's been wonderful.
I'm sorry, honey. We're not
serving any more alcohol tonight.
- I think you have the wrong... table...
- What is she talking about?
Um, okay.
You sorry dogs.
Take me outta here.
- Brandon, I...
- Take me outta here.
I'm sorry, Jan.
All right, let's go.
You wanna go, we'll go. Let's go.
He won't talk to me.
I think he's trying to run off
the alcohol or something.
So let him run.
He's in college,
you guys, not kindergarten.
Okay, he's gotta learn to take a joke.
Grant, let the crybaby run.
Okay, he knows his way back to the dorms.
Get in the car.
Because he took a little drink.
Just 'cause this guy
think he's better than us,
doesn't mean we need to agree with him.
You're...
This is so stupid.
Man...
I'll leave you here, man, I swear to...
That's fantastic.
Darn it. I should've got a press pass.
Yeah!
All right, Razorback fans.
Are you ready for Razorback football?
Wait till you hear this.
Oh, I've heard "The Hogs Call" before.
Yeah, but not from down here you haven't.
And call those Hogs.
Woo!
Pig sooie!
Woo!
Pig sooie!
Woo!
Pig sooie! Razorbacks!
There he is. Brandon!
Brandon! Smile, honey!
Do you believe a Burlsworth
is playing for the Hogs?
Well, not exactly playing.
Eh...
Mama, do you think this one game
is worth 20 years of debt to you?
My son knows I have faith.
Huh.
Go get 'em, Bran.
Hey, Burls.
Coach wants you to clean out your locker.
Clean it?
Yeah, he said take everything
and meet him up in his office.
Uniform too.
Be right there.
- Hey. How you doing?
- Good.
All right.
Mama, that's my phone.
You wanna grab that, please?
Honey, got money for a tip?
Marty!
Marty, come here!
- Mama!
- Marty please, come here.
Oh, Marty, Marty. It's Brandon.
- Talk to Brandon.
- What's going on?
- I got a scholarship!
- You what?
I'm the newest scholarship player
in Arkansas.
- Are you there?
- Brandon got a full-ride.
- A full-ride!
- To Arkansas?
'Yes!
He says I'm a three-year-starter.
I did it, Marty. I'm a Razorback.
I'm gonna give the phone
to Vickie before I pass out.
Oh Vickie, take the phone.
- It's such a relief.
- Oh, my gosh!
He did it.
Brandon, we just can't talk now.
We're too excited. We love you.
Hello?
A new helmet for a scholarship player.
Yeah!
- Hey, Luke you know what time it is?
- What time is it?
- I think it's time to...
- Hit that line, hit that line
Keep on going
And run that ball right down the field
Give a cheer, rah rah
Never fear, rah rah
Arkansas will never yield
On your toes Razorbacks to the finish
And carry on with all your might
For it's A-R-K-A-N-S-A-S for Arkansas
Fight, fight, fight
Is that other truck coming?
I thought they said they'd be here.
Hey, hey, is that truck empty?
You gotta go get him
and bring him back here.
Hey, over here.
Thanks a lot. Yeah, right here. Thank you.
They're good kids.
Yes, they are.
Good kids indeed.
But it makes me wonder,
what does that really mean,
"Good"?
Some day the stars are gonna burn out
and there ain't gonna be
anything or anybody left.
And nobody's gonna remember
anything that we did, cruel or kind.
In the great scheme of things...
if you shake my hand or spit in my eye...
what difference does it really make?
See in our world, Pol Pot gets 72 years.
Brandon Burlsworth gets 22. Why?
Just random. Meaningless.
Just like those flowers
they're dumping out there
couldn't be any more random
if they just sprouted up on their own.
Like this whole silly universe.
Huh.
You know, people make...
God feel random.
They praise him
when they get what they want.
They say he works in mysterious ways
when they don't.
That's right, Marty.
And those people aren't like you and me.
They wanna see order and meaning.
Don't have the courage to face
the universe for what it really is.
Pitiless indifference.
Is that supposed to be me?
Why yes it is.
Not quite there yet.
But I believe I'll get you
before it's all said and done.
I hope you do.
Marty.
Hey coach.
You know,
I'm sure that I'll get over his death,
but I'm not sure
I'll ever get over his life.
I mean, it's like
I was telling the team.
I mean, we're lucky.
Now, we get to tell folks that once upon a
time we actually knew somebody like that.
Well, if there were any justice
in the world, you still would.
You see what the boys are doing out there?
I mean, you really seen it?
Hey, Gabe.
You guys are doing a great job,
but you better hurry.
People are showing up already.
This early?
Yeah, looks like
"Field of Dreams" out there.
Guys, we gotta go. Let's move it.
A lot of folks out there.
Think we should start letting in early?
You think they'd mind waiting a bit?
Not quite ready in there.
Hey, Mom.
- Oh, honey.
- Grandma.
- Hi, sweetheart.
- Hey, get over here, you troublemaker.
Pastor Rick.
Mary-Alice just told me
what happened with Marty. Try again?
No, no, honey.
Leave him alone for now.
He just... needs to see.
I'll show you where we're sitting.
Get set. Get set.
159, 159.
Hut.
He never misses that kind of block.
I'm a dead man as soon as I get the ball.
- Don't let 96 in again, you got it, Burls?
- Yeah.
All right, 5-35. Split arrow,
on two, on two.
- Ready?
- Hut hut.
Get Will, get Will.
Ben 32.
Ten hut.
Burls!
I said 96, not 56. You got me?
Looks like the Hogs are on course
for another losing season.
And your offense hasn't cracked 20 points
in five straight games.
Why can't you guys move the ball?
I'm on my back every other down.
Well, you might want to ask
some of the other guys that question.
Excuse me.
Today was my fault.
I couldn't get my man,
so Clint couldn't do his job.
I'm gonna get it corrected,
and you can see what he can do.
He's the best quarterback
Arkansas has had in 20 years.
What do you think your chances are...?
Did you forget how to play
football today, Burlsworth?
No, coach.
Something's wrong with my eyes.
- Your eyes?
- Yeah.
Follow me, son.
Ooh, it's Clark Kent.
Look at him.
Burls, man, we play football.
Man, we don't scuba dive.
You going swimming?
I gotta see what I'm hitting.
Brandon, what are you doing? Huh?
Did you order the "no sex specs"?
It's the cheapest pair
the trainer showed me.
Well, fire the trainer.
Brandon, what am I gonna do with you?
Look at these things.
Damn, Burlsworth.
Those things are so thick, you look at
map, you can see the people waving.
I don't have to look good to play good.
God. I knew it.
These plays aren't working. Can you
believe what these idiots are calling...
Hey, shut it down.
We can only see what's in front of us.
Coach has got eyes in the press box.
He can see the whole field.
Brandon.
I just got a... What are you doing?
Nothing, coach. What's up?
I just got a call from Marty. Um...
Your father collapsed.
He's in the hospital right now.
Apparently, he's got lung cancer.
It's going to the brain, and...
He's lost his sight.
I'm not missing the practice, coach.
I'll go afterwards.
Son, football is just
a few years of your life.
A soul lasts forever.
So come on now, let's get you home.
He's in room five, just down the hall.
- Hey, Daddy.
- Brandon?
Aah. I thought you that tall, bright angel
coming to take me home.
Glad you're here, boy.
- Daddy, I wanted to...
- I'm glad you call me Daddy.
Makes me feel good, but you know
I... I never earned it.
So, you don't have to call me...
I wish I could've lived
a life like you, Brandon.
We all know what's right.
Well, we wanna do things right. But...
difference is you just do it.
You just do it.
I think you're lucky not knowing me.
And your brother's
a good man in spite of me.
Seeing how I was,
it taught him not to trust.
And that's the one thing you gotta have.
You gotta have trust.
What... what's this?
It's the title to your car.
He paid it off.
I sold my guitar last month,
trying to help your mom out.
You know, she's struggling,
trying to keep the house.
Working three jobs.
You might be a big help to her,
Brandon.
I hear you got a job at the NFL.
That's a long shot, Daddy.
Not something you base
a financial plan on.
Well, them long shots,
they pay off the biggest, you know?
I'd like to see Barb finally get her a man
that gives instead of takes.
Now, I didn't do my part.
It's up to you boys to take care of her.
You understand?
We understand.
You'll have plenty of time to do
your part, Dad. You're gonna be just fine.
God can heal you
if he wants to and he does.
'Cause you're a good man,
you deserve a second chance.
I'd give it to you.
And I can't be more merciful
than God, now can I?
So, you're gonna be fine,
everything's gonna be just fine.
Let's just Pray-
Lord...
make Dad better.
We ask you, Lord Jesus Christ
to make him better.
So, please give us some kind of sign
that we can see.
Marty, it's those who haven't seen...
and have believed that are blessed.
Why? Why is that?
If we ask in His name, we should get
exactly what we want, right?
It says in the book, the prayer
of a righteous man is power and effective.
And if you're not a righteous man,
Brandon, I don't know who is, so pray.
Right now. Pray.
Marty.
Let's pray.
- Marty...
- No. Lord...
Nobody's promised tomorrow, son.
Lord, he's a good man.
He deserves a second chance here.
We're just praying for... for you,
Lord, to help us out a little bit.
Just to let him have a little bit more
time with us. That's all I'm asking.
You have eternity.
What's a couple more years to you.
It's everything to us.
I want him to get to know my children,
and I want him to get to know Brandon.
Lord, please, let him be better.
Please, Lord.
- We ask in the name of the Lord...
- Oh, God.
- Jesus Christ.
- Marty.
We're praying to you Lord,
please watch over Daddy.
"He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures.
He leadeth me besides the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Yea though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil.
For thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me."
- Go home, Razor-hacks!
- You guys are terrible!
You suck!
Not how the Hogs
wanted to end their season.
It was a safe bet heads are gonna roll.
- Boo!
- Go back to South Carolina, fool.
What a great honor and privilege it is
to present our new head football coach,
who is a native Arkansan,
Houston Nutt.
Thank you, coach. Glad to be here.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
Are you gonna keep
any of your coaches?
Well, we don't know,
we'll just have to wait and see.
I know how you feel
about change, Burls.
But this is nature of college football.
Heck, this is nature of life.
Coach.
Is there any way you think
I could make it to the NFL?
Sure. Easy. Just make All-American next
year and you're a lock.
Well, how do I do that?
Dad's kidding, Brandon.
- Oh.
- Jeez...
Sorry, coach.
Listen, Brandon.
We got a new coach coming in.
His job is to rebuild the losing team.
And you're a senior next year.
All-American?
There's a chance you might
not even get to play this year.
But you have been
one heck of a player for us.
And Lord knows that you've worked
harder than anybody else,
on and off the field. You're getting
a master's degree while playing football.
You're the only person in this school's
history that's ever done that.
Did you know that?
But the fact is in division one,
less than 2% of scholarship players
ever go pro.
And those are the guys that came in with
a whole lot more natural goods than you.
You know?
Guess I'll just keep trying my best.
See if someone notices.
It's still a team sport, Burls.
And if you're hoping
to catch somebody's eye,
well, those people tend to pay a lot more
attention to teams that win.
Hello?
Who is that?
Hey. This is university property.
Brandon? What are you doing here
at this hour?
Working on my steps, coach.
Hold on one second.
Spring practice is over, son.
You don't have anything to prove.
I'm not trying to prove anything.
I've been doing this since I got here.
And your coaches were okay with it?
I never told them.
Well, you know what they say, character
is what you do when nobody's looking.
There's always someone looking, coach.
Just don't stay too late.
Coach.
We can win now. This year.
You don't have to rebuild.
Is that so?
I know how this works.
You bench the seniors, play the freshmen.
And four years from now,
everybody says you rebuilt the program.
Our careers are ruined in the process.
You saw what happened
to your last coach. Didn't ya?
We deserve a chance.
You guys were last in your division
for two years running.
We're picked to be last
again next season.
But you think we can win now.
Yes, sir.
We want it bad.
Real bad.
Show me...
and you won't hear the word, "rebuild."
'Sup, Burls?
Wait, hey, hey, hey...
Don't clean my closet again.
What are you doing?
- Brandon, I'm not going home till Friday.
- You're not going home at all.
- None of us are.
- What?
Chokeslam, baby.
I know you like that.
- Yo, Brandon, what are you doing?
- Burls?
- Whoa, I'm trying to get a high score.
- Hey, hey, hey.
Get packed.
I found a townhouse for us this summer.
It's our senior season
and we're gonna win this year.
Okay, 3-CPO just blew a circuit.
B, we're going Wi...
Woo-hoo, look who we have here.
A couple of Razor-hacks.
You boys gonna make
this neighborhood suck too?
- You guys are terrible.
- I'll be right back.
Hey! Never mind them.
We start working tomorrow.
'Hell, get up, 'Hmm?
- I made up some steps, I wanna show you.
- What? What time is it? Steps?
Don't worry about it, come on, let's go.
Come on. Let's go.
- Can I put on some clothes?
- Ward, you're defense.
Say what?
How bad do you want it?
Hut. Come on, come on, come on.
We gotta hurry. Dig, dig. Just dig deep.
Okay, yeah. Right there, right there.
Come on.
Seriously, guys?
What's gotten into you two?
Hey Lucas, get down here.
What? No. Absolutely not.
Do you know what time it is?
It's 3:23 in the morning.
- It's senior year, dude.
- Dude, I understand it's senior year.
But I'm tired.
You're waking up people.
Come on, Lucas.
You can be our linebacker.
No. No. B, B, I'm a receiver.
Set. Hit.
Reset.
Set. Hit.
They might not be that bad this year.
Kidding me? They're still terrible!
- Hey, Brandon, come in.
- Hey, coach.
- We're starting Second Timothy tonight?
- Yeah. That's the plan.
- Whoa!
- Whoa!
- Garrett, how are you?
- What's up, coach?
- Good to... Anthony.
- Hey, coach.
It's good to see you guys.
You believe how hard they're working?
Seems like a whole new team this year.
Wish I could say it's all 'cause of me.
You know that's not true.
You know, coach?
I believe we're gonna have
a winning season this year.
And Brandon Burlsworth
is gonna take us there.
Fifty-seven walk-ons?
Is that normal, coach?
That's the Burlsworth factor.
Move, move!
And we are underway now
with the Hogs' 1998 conference opener
against tin-ranked, Alabama.
Okay, boys, they've rolled
into our town looking for an easy win.
Let's show 'em otherwise. Go, go!
- How bad do you want it?
- Real bad.
- How bad?
- Real bad.
Yeah, let's roll. Let's roll.
Let's get it. Let's roll.
- Hi, Marty.
- Go get 'em, Bran!
- Yeah, move it, move it!
- Hey.
- What happened?
- It was a touchdown. Didn't you see it?
That was amazing.
Bye, Marty!
Hey, you might wanna put that lens on the
camera before you miss the whole game.
Oh. Thank you.
A stunning day
for this fired-up Razorback team.
They just delivered Alabama
their worst defeat in 41 years.
All right, boys,
get together now, come on.
Marty, make sure you get the scoreboard
in the background, win or lose.
Yeah. We're doing this every game.
Trust me.
This ain't a shot I'm gonna miss.
Sir? Your son sure is a heck of a player.
Thank you.
All right, son, smile.
- It's a seat... oh!
- Bring it up.
That means you hit your seat.
Living on a chain
- Faster, gentlemen.
I need you to work harder.
"I have fought a good fight.
I have finished my course.
I have kept the faith."
Mary, Mary, you're on my mind
Before too long
you'll officially be mine
Come on now, get in
your freaking head, don't sweat.
Come on, use the Burls way,
the Burls way.
And this is what I'm gonna do
- Set.
Set.
"Proud, arrogant, abusive
and disobedient to their parents."
And everything is gonna
be right, right, right, yeah
I'm gonna have a good time tonight
Rock-N-Roll music gonna play all night
Good one, boy.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
Now, that's paradise.
What's Burlsworth gonna do, man?
No. What's he gonna do?
- No, he didn't!
- Oh!
That's my B.
"Traitors, Hades.
High-minded lovers of pleasure.
Worthy lovers of God."
Hut!
And this is what I'm gonna do
'Cause I feel good tonight
Hey.
Gonna have a good time tonight
Rock-N-Roll music gonna play all night
Come on, baby, it won't take long
Excuse me.
They'll have a good time tonight
- Touchdown!
- Yeah, baby!
When Burlsworth first got here,
with his 80% body fat.
Now it's 60%. Cute little guy.
Wait...
Oh, big hit by Nathan Ward.
We're gonna have a good time tonight
Stoerner going deep.
Lucas has it. Here he goes again.
Poor kid.
Rock-N-Roll music gonna play all night
One-eighty, hut!
And with that last-minute score,
the Razorbacks take down Auburn 24-21,
bringing their record
to an astonishing 8-0.
What a magic season this has been.
Yeah! Yeah!
The stage has now been set
for the big showdown of the undefeated
next week as you travel
to Tennessee.
Do you really think
you can beat the number one team
in the nation on their own turf?
Well, those guys are tough.
We'll have to put our heads down, work
as hard as we can. We'll see what happens.
Brandon?
Brandon, most people think...
Thanks, man.
- Marty. What's up, man?
- Oh.
You're killing me.
- You did it.
- Thanks, man, thanks.
- Congratulations.
- I almost forgot.
About the picture. Where's the guys at?
Bran, the game's been over for a half
hour. They're in the locker room.
Woo! One game, you know.
We going out tonight.
- Oh, yeah.
- Okay, brother.
- Sexy member for the booth.
- Yeah, you know you need to smell good.
- You need all the help you can get.
- There you go.
Garrett! Lucas!
Come on. We gotta get our picture.
- Y'all are portraying the Hogs.
- Man, Burls, we gotta miss this one, man.
- We already showered, man.
- Yeah, we're fresh and clean. Right?
Here we go, guys. Ready?
Cheese.
A sports legend is being
written this season,
with the amazing lives of the tenth-ranked
Arkansas Razorbacks.
And their star offensive guard,
Brandon Burlsworth.
Who has become quite possibly
the greatest walk-on story
In the history of college football.
This week,
Burlsworth and the 8-0 Hogs
face off against number
one Tennessee in a game
that could determine
the national championship.
You heard me right.
The Arkansas Razorbacks
have a chance to win it all.
Arkansas has roared out of the gate,
taking control of this game
from Tennessee.
Number one team in the nation
in serious trouble on its homefield.
Martin throws. And open pop.
Touchdown, Tennessee.
That's a go.
Finds Lucas in the end zone.
Refusing to be denied.
Tennessee is making it clear
they're not going down without a fight.
He's in the 50, He's in the 45, He's...
He's absolutely shredding
that Tennessee secondary.
This field goal would
extend the Razorback lead to five.
One, 27!
Move it, move it, move it!
- Set.
- Set!
Get the ball! Get the ball!
This will be... This will be AI Wilson.
He has the ball out there to the 25.
To the 30, to the 35, to the 40.
To the 45, to the 50.
To the 45, to the 40.
AI Wilson at the 20.
Burlsworth got him.
- Burlsworth got him.
- Yeah!
The big guard from Arkansas ran him down,
and saved a certain touchdown.
A spectacular play. Oh, my.
Burlsworth's
had an amazing season.
Only one penalty called on him all year
and a team-high in knock down blocks.
So, Tennessee will get marked
on third down, ten into the shotgun.
Here comes the pressure, past outfield
is clawed behind this landing Wilson.
And so, with 1:59 to go, Tennessee
is faced with fourth down and ten.
It's Arkansas 24, Tennessee 22.
Tennessee, last chance
probably in the football game.
Trailing by two.
Come on now, defense.
Hold 'em and we got this!
This will be marked again
going into the shotgun.
Hold 'em, Ward. Hold 'em.
This is huge, fourth down and nine.
Perhaps the season hanging in the balance.
The stadium is shaking.
Martin zips it over
the middle, incomplete.
Broken up by David Barrett,
tangled up with Peerless Price.
Yeah!
Arkansas stops
Tennessee, leading by two.
On the fourth down try, Tennessee failed
and with 1:54 to go, Tennessee has to...
You see how hard work pays off?
Now, let's run out the clock,
and beg to God,
and get ready
for that national championship.
And so, Arkansas begins to
think that this will be a major upset win,
undefeated at 8-0,
about to head back to Fayetteville 9-0.
And now, all Arkansas
has to do is run out the clock.
Another huge victory
for this Cinderella team.
Nobody can deny that the Arkansas
Razorbacks earned this win today.
I think Sports
Illustrated has its next cover.
- Down to the 11 for Arkansas.
- 47 remaining.
One time out left.
Stoerner lost the football!
Oh, my goodness,
he stumbled and fumbled!
And Billy Ratliff recovers!
Oh, Arkansas had the game won,
and Clint Stoerner
laid the football on the ground.
And Tennessee recovers
dangerously close to scoring position.
What a devastating blow
for this Arkansas team.
Touchdown, Tennessee!
And Tennessee remains undefeated
as they snatch victory
from an Arkansas team
that seemed to have this game won.
This was a game for the ages.
And here is the play that fans will
be talking about for years to come.
Clint Stoerner stumbling...
Coach, do you have any comment
on the big play?
One play doesn't win
or lose a football game.
Uh, Clint Stoerner played
an excellent football game,
he threw three touchdown passes.
Don't you think
he also fumbled away the victory
when you guys had the game in the bag?
I'm sorry, Clinton. It wasn't your fault.
I tripped you.
I know.
You don't have to take the heat.
They'll crucify you, it'll be awful.
And it's just not fair.
You gotta tell them I did it.
But it wasn't your fault, Burls.
Falling down's a part of the game, it
doesn't give me license to drop the ball.
You wouldn't have dropped anything, if it
wasn't for my feet getting in the way.
I mean, after all
we've worked this season,
I ruined our shot
at the national championship.
Burls, five years from now,
no one's gonna remember
who won
the national championship or not.
They're gonna have to look it up
in a book.
There's nothing real about that.
You know, what I do over there
in the next five minutes...
Well, that's real.
I dropped the ball, Brandon.
Let me face the consequences.
Hey, Brandon?
I told you lately that I love you?
No, coach. You haven't.
Well...
I do.
I love you, Brandon.
Love you too, coach.
It's all right, big rascal.
Radio Well, it was really
a disappointing season for Alabama.
I mean, they're Alabama, they were...
One last final, son.
Then you're a free man.
I've had a great time, Mama.
Thank you... for everything.
Oh.
Come on.
Here you go, man.
Now, I gotta start paying you back.
Let's not talk about that
till after you win the Citrus Bowl.
So, you been coming here all this time,
Mama, and not telling me?
Once a week since he's been at school.
Sometimes twice a week.
- Y'all be careful now, okay? I love y'all.
- I love you, too.
- Shut up, man.
- Love you, Cheesecake.
- Love you. Be safe.
- All right, talk to you later?
Bye, Mama.
- Marty, don't go!
- What is going on?
Hold on. Don't leave!
Marty, turn on your radio!
Turn on your radio right now.
Again, some very exciting news
for Hog fans today.
We've just heard that right guard
Brandon Burlsworth
has been named first-team
All-American...
Oh, Marty! Do you think he's heard?
Mama!
- Marty! Marty!
- Go, go, go. go, go!
Mama!
My brother's an All-American!
Makes me nauseous!
Thank God for you, Brandon.
There are rules, and you just proved it.
Oh, boy, here it goes.
Here we go.
Marty?
Marty, we're done.
Right, okay. Thank you, Blake.
Thank you very much.
I wanted to return something.
This was Brandon's.
You remember when we used
to play football on your street?
When I was nine years old, a bigger kid
on the block threw my ball up a tree.
So, Brandon gave me his.
He was always kind.
Treated me like I was his age.
You were blessed
to have a brother like that.
Some might argue that being blessed
just makes it worse
when things get taken away.
Please, that's enough.
The whole team looked up to Brandon,
all those years.
We knew how hard he was working.
And he always kept faith in what he was
doing, no matter how things looked.
You coming up, sir?
Yeah, I'm coming.
You know, Mikey,
you do have a point there.
Brandon did have faith.
He believed that if he worked hard
and did everything he was supposed to,
God would make everything
turn out for the best.
Didn't everything turn out
for the best, Marty?
You wanna go up, now?
No, son, you go.
I'm just gonna stay right here a bit.
Mam In the next pick in the draft,
Indianapolis selects offensive guard
from the University of Arkansas...
Brandon Burlsworth.
Indianapolis takes Brandon
Burlsworth the guard from Arkansas
figures to have a long career
in the NFL in an outstanding pure guard.
Was a walk-on originally...
Everybody's gonna love this guy.
You better order a truckload
of those ugly glasses.
I think they're pretty cool.
- Whatchu think?
- Yeah, they look a lot better on him.
- Brandon Burlsworth...
- Look.
Right up there with the elite guards
in this draft. Nice pick, certainly.
- Break it down!
- Johnson, Burlsworth.
Remember, this is mini camp,
not Monday night football.
I don't want anybody getting hurt.
Let's go.
Hey, man, hey!
Chill out. He said take it easy.
What's wrong with you?
- I didn't hear the whistle.
- Okay, Johnson, get some water.
- Matter fact, everybody, hydrate.
- Let's go, guys.
Get some water.
- Hey, Burlsworth.
- Yes, sir?
We're all adults here, Burls,
call me Howard.
Are you prepared to run out
of that tunnel next season
when they introduce the starting lineup?
Sir?
Uh, I'm sorry. I mean Howard.
You're gonna be a starter, Brandon.
I'm serious.
- That's funny?
- I'm sorry.
It's just...
This is the first time in my life where
something I wanted came so easy.
Easy?
Brandon, it may have taken me a few
seconds to say you're a starter,
but it was years of your hard work
that gave me a reason to say it.
You are living proof
that when you do the right things,
good stuff happens.
And you have done everything right.
Enjoy it.
Hey, Burls...
Life is good.
Well, looky here.
All this time I never knew
I was coaching an All-American.
Didn't you always say there was
a, uh, horse in there somewhere?
Hey, look at you.
You gotta go get prettied up.
You can't go to the ring ceremony
looking like a hobo.
- Yeah.
- I mean, look at Burls.
He looks pretty sharp, right?
I won't be there, coach.
- What?
- Excuse me?
You, missing a team event? That's a first.
Burls, you're a big part of why we're
getting a division championship ring.
You really ought to be there.
I promised Ma that I'd take her
to church tonight
'cause I gotta go back
to Indianapolis tomorrow.
Oh, that's what it is.
He's about to sign a big contract, so he's
already forgetting about us little people.
Right, he's gonna be all rich. Next time
we see him, he's gonna be on TV, huh?
No.
I've always...
I've always longed for home.
Ever since I got here.
And I'm sure I'm gonna long for it
at Indianapolis, too.
When football's over, just come
look for me in that old house,
on Cherry Street, in Harrison, Arkansas,
'cause that's where I'll be.
Well, it's really come together
for you, Burls.
And I don't think I ever met
anybody who deserved it more.
Thanks, coach.
I'm gonna see you guys later.
It's time for me to go home.
Falling in love
When you come undone
Who do you need?
Who do you love?
I... love... you.
Who do you see?
Who do you love?
When you come...
I'll fly away
Well, I'll fly away, Oh, Lordy
I'll fly away
I'd die, Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away...
Mr. Burlsworth?
Your mama's probably wondering
where you are.
Wasn't he just days away from signing?
Could've set his mama up for life
if he just signed that contract,
gotten those benefits.
It's gonna be starting soon,
we need to go up.
All he wanted to do
was take care of his mama.
"Honor thy father and mother." Isn't that
one of the ten commandments, Marty?
What? God breaking his own rules, now?
Couldn't wait one week
to snatch your brother away.
Marty.
There is no loving God, Marty.
That's ridiculous.
There's just a howling void.
And a real man, an honest man,
doesn't get down on his knees,
and pray to it for its mercy.
He stands up to it,
and he looks it right in its face,
and he howls right back.
You know, I think I've had enough
of your company for today...
sir.
Mike...
you go on up now.
Go.
Go get 'em, Joe! Get 'em, go, go!
- All right, boys, let's call it a game.
- Boys. Let's go inside and change up.
Uncle Brandon's coming up
for church. Go, go, go.
Vicky, uh, is Brandon coming here, or are
we meeting him at Mama's house?
Uh, I'm not sure, why don't you call him?
That's weird.
- Easy, boys.
- Honey, why are there police?
All right...
keep the boys in the car, I'm gonna
go take a look inside, all right?
Mama!
No, no, no... oh, God...
- No! No, no!
- Mama, what?
No, no, you're mistaken,
you've got to be...
No, you're wrong! Brandon!
Brandon, he's dead.
- Wha...?
- My baby is dead!
Are you Marty Burlsworth?
Oh, my God.
Your brother was involved in an accident.
- There was an 18-wheeler.
- I hate doing this.
- This is not...
- Someone crossed the center line...
If you want more information, you can call
the Arkansas State Police hotline.
He died instantly. I'm so sorry.
Marty! Marty!
Mama.
Marty!
No. No, no. No, Marty.
Shh, shh.
Tell me it's not true. It can't be true.
Oh, Mam!-
Oh, Marty.
Mart!!-
Marty, look what they did.
Isn't that wonderful?
You coming inside?
It's about ready to start.
I don't know.
Why'd this happen, Mom?
Can you answer me that?
Is there even a "why,"
or is this just an "is"?
The answer's are right there
in your brother's life,
if you want to see them, Marty.
Answers?
Yes.
All right, answer me this then.
What was the point
of my baby brother's life?
To show us how wonderful something could
be, so we could miss it that much more?
I mean, all that he did,
all his pain and suffering,
to make himself better... for... for what?
If you assume this is all there is,
you'd have a point, Marty.
But that's not true.
This life is a drop in the ocean.
One tick of eternity's clock,
and we'll all be together again, Marty.
And any trouble we had here,
will recede away like a dream.
- You don't know that, Mom.
- I do.
- No, you don't.
- I do, Marty.
Just 'cause you can't stand the chaos
doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Bad things happen to good people.
Evil people thrive.
It's like some giant game
of pick-up-sticks.
There's no master plan, Mom.
You assume you're seeing
the whole picture, son.
We can't even do that
in our day-to-day lives,
much less the whole world
and all the time with it.
Do you remember when Brandon had
to get those ridiculous-looking glasses?
- Mm-hmm.
- Yes?
You thought it was terrible at first.
But it turned out to be a good thing.
It made him stand out.
We're just too small.
Way too small to make the kind
of judgments you're making.
You have to trust
that something greater sees things
from a higher perspective
where everything makes sense.
I love you.
But it's almost time...
for my son's funeral.
We don't grieve today
'cause we think Brandon is gone.
We grieve because he's gone from us.
And we miss him.
Brandon would understand that.
But Brandon would also hope,
I think, that that our...
our joy would overcome our sorrow.
That we would celebrate with thanks
giving, that he finished his course,
kept the faith, and received his reward.
Why do bad things happen
to good people?
I admit, from where I'm standing,
I don't know.
But Brandon would say
just because we don't see the point,
doesn't mean there isn't one.
Every down at the line of scrimmage,
Brandon could only see the inches
right in front of his face,
but he had good reason to believe
that there was a game plan.
Now, we can have the same confidence
that Brandon had,
if we remember that oftentimes,
things aren't what they look like
in the moment.
Then in the end, there's always,
always the bigger picture.
Thanks, cheesecake.
I'll fly away
To a home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away
Oh, I'll fly away, oh, glory
I'll fly away
When I die, Hallelujuh, by and by
I'll fly away
Let Brandon hear.
When the shadows
of this life have gone
I'll fly away
Like a bird from prison
miles have flown
I'll fly away
Oh, I'll fly away, oh, glory
I'll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away
I'll fly away, one more time.
Oh, I'll fly away, oh, glory
I'll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away
I'll fly away, oh, glory
I'll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away
Oh, I'll fly away, oh, glory
I'll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away
Mmm, mmm, mmm
Some glad mornin'
When my life is old
I'll fly away
To a home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away
I'll fly away
Oh, glory, I will fly away
When that day, Hallelujah, by and by
I... I... I will fly away
When the shadows
Of this life is gone
I'll fly away
Like a bird
From prison walls have flown
Yeah, I'll fly away
I'll fly away
Oh, glory
I'll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away
Oh, how glad and happy
when we meet
I'll fly away
No more cold
Iron shackles on my feet
I'll fly away
Oh, glory, I'll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away
When I die
Hallelujah, by and by
I'll
Fly away