Sports
Remembering The Original Titans
By: Sarah Rachul
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Remember the Titans is such an iconic movie, that you would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t seen it.
Its message still inspires new generations whether it comes to sports or the even more powerful message of acceptance.
So, with this popularity in mind, when you think of Coach Herman Boone, does a picture of Denzel Washington pop into your mind?
So many people forget that the Titans are a real team and Boone is a real man.
He is a real man that gave a moving speech at Ohio University on Nov. 10 for Dad’s Weekend.
It was an exciting atmosphere as a crowd of students and their dads listened to the great coach speak.
After speaking, Coach Boone was kind enough to sit down and answer some question about his life, his time as a coach and his opinions on the movie.
Sarah Rachul: “How long did it take you to hit your groove with public speaking?”
Coach Boone: “I haven’t gotten my groove yet! All coaches are used to speaking as such and you’re used to talking before people. You have to give interviews and that type of thing. It’s something that you don’t ever really get used to. Some of the most stressful times in my life are just before I get on a stage but then I get over it because I have a job to do and have a message to give.”
SR: “Did that fame ever affect your coaching?”
Coach: “I think so, that the first time I’ve ever been asked that, but if I look back I would have to say yes because it hurts when you’re hated for no reason and I asked myself over and over: what did I do to deserve this? What did I do to deserve this reaction? Did it affect my coaching? I tried not to allow it to but that’s when adversity creeps in and yes it affected my coaching.”
SR: “Did you ever imagine that a high school football team could make this much of an impact on the country?”
Coach: “No I never imagined it in my wildest imagination that that high school football team would become famous. Although I knew that they were special because they didn’t have to accept each other but they found that they did have to respect each other and once they learned to respect each other that many of the things they had been taught in life about different people from different cultures were not necessarily true. For that reason, I didn’t think it would have an affect on a nation but I did think it would have an affect on them as individuals.”
SR: “Do you still stay in contact with the team?”
Coach: “All the time. We have a foundation called '71 Original Titans and we stay in touch with each other and talk. They’ll ask for advice on certain things, real estate, jobs. We do stay in touch.”
SR: “How did you personally feel about some of the changes in the movie?”
Coach: “I remember saying God give me the serenity to change things I can, accept things I cannot and the wisdom to know the difference. Where I to stop a movie? No. It wasn’t about me, it was about a lot of people. So whether I disagreed or agreed didn’t make a difference, it’s a movie and how many high school football teams have a movie made of them as powerful as that? So I decided to keep my mouth shut.”