Feb. 13, 2025

Yesterday evening, I sat down to watch Remember the Titans for what was probably the 100th time. I had never thought about what made the movie so special, but I always knew that it was a comfort movie that had many values all should learn. Perhaps one of the most influential of its time, Remember the Titans perfectly encapsulates the struggle of discrimination and loss while also reminding the audience of team values and friendship.

Based on the true story of the Titans, a football team from Alexandria, Virginia, and their rise to success.  Remember the Titans follow coaches Bill Yoast (Will Patton) and Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) as they lead their newly integrated team. They face challenges right from the start as much of the town -and many of the students- are opposed to the newly forced integration of an all-black and all-white school.  With the coaches' leadership, the boys learn to look past race and see their teammates as friends and allies, both on and off the field. They learn to communicate with each other and support each other through both triumph and tragedy. 

Despite the film’s nearly exclusive focus on football (which is like a religion to some), we can still see good biblical messages in this movie. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 and 12 states, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” Though the Titans went through many hardships, they began to see that these were conquered better together than alone. Even the tensions of racial inequality begin to ease when the boys put aside the difference of skin color and focus on what they love: football. When one of the boys falls down, the others are there to pick them up and encourage him to keep going, just as God tells us to do. These themes and connections are ultimately what make Remember the Titans so memorable and special to many. 

As Christians, it is important to remember that this movie is a work of Hollywood, and liberties have been taken to dramatize it.  Language and intense scenes are featured in this film, so mindfulness is imperative before allowing yourself and your family to watch.