In a horrific incident occurred in November 1970,almost the whole football team and coaches from Marshall University died in a plane crash. After the time, Nate Ruffin - a player who was sick and absent from that deadly journey - met with the students to persuade the board of governors to play in the 1971 season. At that moment, the head of the college, Don Dedeman, must find a coach to assemble a new team. They petitioned the National League for Student Safety to allow new players to play and coach Jack Lengiel began leading young players to win again.
25 August 1980, Huntington, West Virginia, USA
31 July 1970, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
5 October 1990, Clinton, Mississippi, USA
12 February 1936, Blairsville, Georgia, USA
24 March 1986, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
10 May 1977, Troy, Alabama, USA
5 January 1978, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
1 July 1964, Stuttgart, Germany
23 September 1978, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
16 August 1980, Clearwater, Florida, USA
26 January 1949, San Francisco, California, USA
15 January 1983, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
20 January 1977, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
February 28, 2008
McConaughey campily channels Jon Stewart channeling George W. Bush for his impersonation of Lengyel.December 22, 2006
This was undeniably a horrific event for the victims' families friends, colleagues as well as for the entire community. But the movie seems to almost exploit this tragedy so it can make audiences weep, and ultimately, cheer.December 22, 2006
What's missing is any kind of insight into the lives of the dead players or the members of the Young Thundering Herd who rise up to replace them.December 26, 2006
Unlike a lot of sports movies, it doesn't end with a championship or a great upset over a powerhouse. The real victory on the Marshall campus was in fielding a team that honored and respected the legacy of the 1970 team.December 22, 2006
A series of montage and anecdotal vignettes follows as they recruit a whole new team, learn lessons from the catastrophe, lose and then win, with plenty of sentimentality sprinkled over the whole thing.September 17, 2007
A sentimental, simplistically inspiring movie that leans heavily on Matthew McConaughey's substantial energy and charisma for its success.September 08, 2007
Despite its best intentions, there is much in We Are Marshall that holds it back from being the best it can be.September 28, 2007
We Are Marshall is not a bad movie; it is a potentially nice, familiar movie unfortunately marred by the unspeakably awful performance of Matthew McConaughey.November 20, 2007
...would've benefited from the presence of virtually any other actor in the central role...March 24, 2007
What allows We Are Marshall to stand above many of the other 2006 sports movies is both the undeniable power of the story itself and the strong ensemble McG gathered to tell it.December 22, 2006
We Are Marshall isn't about grief or loss, but how these things can be overcome. It's uplifting, but shallow.December 22, 2006
We Are Marshall is a bit of a shame, because the subject matter could have been something special in the hands of stronger filmmakers.