The express

[Redrum]

A ? For all the older fans . How much did you enjoy the movie ? And did it correctly portray the real story? I’m watching it now for like the 20th time

 

[orange79]

Loved the movie, but there were a lot of factual issues. Most glaring to me, the WVFU game was in Syracuse that year. Also, WVFU didn't have lights to play night games that year.

And the score was never 15-14 in the Cotton Bowl, as it was in the movie.

There were more, but those are the glaring ones I remember.

 

[Stevenson]

Ernie Davis was white and played for Rutgers. Other than that, it’s spot on.

 

[Redrum]

Ernie Davis was white and played for Rutgers. Other than that, it’s spot on.

Lol

 

[Eric15]

“The film suggests that Syracuse University had to win the 1960 Cotton Bowl to be named college football's national champion, when in fact the selection was made at the end of the regular season. This practice did not change until the late-60's.”

I was today years old when I learned that we were already national champions prior to the Texas Cotton Bowl game.

 

[Hicks Street]

I believe in the movie, Schwartzwalder allows the team to vote on whether to play in the Cotton Bowl or Orange Bowl. He returns and the team notifies him that they want to go to the Cotton Bowl to play the best team possible. I have seen a report from one of the players on the team that Schwatzwalder did tell the team to decide between the two bowls. However, when the coach returned, the team notified him that they had chosen the Orange Bowl. Coach Ben sai

 

[Hicks Street]

(to finish) d to vote again.

 

[bcubs9497]

A ? For all the older fans . How much did you enjoy the movie ? And did it correctly portray the real story? I’m watching it now for like the 20th time

I liked it. Also, it was instrumental in getting Steven.

 

[dan7800]

What streaming services is the movie on (other than buying from Amazon)?

 

[sufandu]

I believe players from that era also said the racism from the WVU fans was extremely dramatized in the movie. Players have also said that HCBS was portrayed inaccurately with regards to race issues. I think stuff like that is important to point out. I certainly would not want to be falsely placed in a category like that. The way they portrayed the culture in Texas for the bowl game seemed to be more accurate to what actually happened.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

I've always liked the movie a lot, although as O79 points out there were many inaccuracies plus a lot of it wasn't even filmed in Syracuse.

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that the Cotton Bowl was never close. We led something like 15-0 at the half and 23-6 after three quarters. Texas scored in the 4th to bring them within 9 but never threatened thereafter. The Longhorns, playing a de-facto home game, were never in it unlike the way the movie portrayed.

As a kid I can recall some of the Black players saying that the Texas players spit in their faces and I seem to recall that the refs wouldn't explain calls to our captains. So screw Texas; I wish the movie had better reflected how we stomped their butts. It ushered in a lifetime of rooting against Texas. I have Dick in MI Alzheimers; I forget everything except the grudges and there are few grudges like sports grudges (with Exhibit A being SU-Notre Dame 1961)

Anyway Ernie was the closest thing you could get to a sports "god" in our house. My Mom was from Elmira and I think they both went to the same high school, albeit many decades apart. I can remember her crying when he passed. Many years ago a poster on...I want to say the AOL board...read a post of mine lamenting losing my childhood copy of Boys Life with Ernie on the cover. He was kind enough to send me his copy and I still have it.

Although I have been retired for 8 years, on my desk at home is the slip of paper that Ernie autographed for me when I was young. It appears in my avatar. As an aside, also on that slip of paper are the autographs of John Brown, Al Bemiller, John Nichols, and Art Baker. Pretty good haul for young me.

The part in the movie where he is talking to Floyd always sort of chokes me up because Floyd was also a hero of mine too.

I don't believe that they got the personality right, as in the movie Ernie was portrayed as very serious and my memory is that he always seemed to be smiling.

Finally, I'll never forget the first time I passed Ben on the quad when I was a freshman. I was shocked at how little he was.

 

[texascpa]

Interesting read from the Houston Chronicle. While a Texas paper, of course, they spoke with Ernie's teammate John Brown. Interesting snippet about Darryl Royal the year after The Cotton Bowl.

 

[donniesyracuse]

Ernie Davis’s family is watching the Cotton Bowl outside on their porch. It must have been the warmest New Year’s Day in Elmira history.

 

[Chip]

Finally, I'll never forget the first time I passed Ben on the quad when I was a freshman. I was shocked at how little he was.

I had this effect when running into Bob Costas (in Cooperstown at the Reggie Jackson HOF induction ceremony) and Adam Sandler in Central Park.

Not tall people. At all.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

A couple other things: the long TD pass to Ernie was actually in the first half, as the scoring timing has been alluded to early. Also, if I remember correctly, I think Ernie hurt his hamstring trying to outkick someone on field goals in practice the week leading up to the game. He tried to kick a long one and pulled it.

 

[OrangePA]

I've always liked the movie a lot, although as O79 points out there were many inaccuracies plus a lot of it wasn't even filmed in Syracuse.

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that the Cotton Bowl was never close. We led something like 15-0 at the half and 23-6 after three quarters. Texas scored in the 4th to bring them within 9 but never threatened thereafter. The Longhorns, playing a de-facto home game, were never in it unlike the way the movie portrayed.

As a kid I can recall some of the Black players saying that the Texas players spit in their faces and I seem to recall that the refs wouldn't explain calls to our captains. So screw Texas; I wish the movie had better reflected how we stomped their butts. It ushered in a lifetime of rooting against Texas. I have Dick in MI Alzheimers; I forget everything except the grudges and there are few grudges like sports grudges (with Exhibit A being SU-Notre Dame 1961)

Anyway Ernie was the closest thing you could get to a sports "god" in our house. My Mom was from Elmira and I think they both went to the same high school, albeit many decades apart. I can remember her crying when he passed. Many years ago a poster on...I want to say the AOL board...read a post of mine lamenting losing my childhood copy of Boys Life with Ernie on the cover. He was kind enough to send me his copy and I still have it.

Although I have been retired for 8 years, on my desk at home is the slip of paper that Ernie autographed for me when I was young. It appears in my avatar. As an aside, also on that slip of paper are the autographs of John Brown, Al Bemiller, John Nichols, and Art Baker. Pretty good haul for young me.

The part in the movie where he is talking to Floyd always sort of chokes me up because Floyd was also a hero of mine too.

I don't believe that they got the personality right, as in the movie Ernie was portrayed as very serious and my memory is that he always seemed to be smiling.

Finally, I'll never forget the first time I passed Ben on the quad when I was a freshman. I was shocked at how little he was.

I always felt that The Express reflected Jim Brown’s story/experience - told within the context of the 1959 season.

Ernie was very different I think than what is depicted in the film.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

I always felt that The Express reflected Jim Brown’s story/experience - told within the context of the 1959 season.

The relationship with Ben? Sure, I will agree that they incorrectly morphed some of Jim's experience onto Ernie. But otherwise I think it was Ernie's story

It was very important for the film maker to use Jim Brown's story as a backdrop in order for the audience to understand exactly what the first Black Heisman Trophy winner was up against and why winning it was so historically significant. If they had wanted to they could have really driven it home by outlining the travesty of Jim Brown's own loss to the extraordinarily mediocre (as a college player) Paul Horning.

I have no doubt that Ernie faced a ton of the same things that Jim Brown faced in his life and in his college career. A ton.

To a degree, the Ernie Davis experience and the Jim Brown experience in the 1950's were probably a lot closer than I, being a white person, can ever know.

 

[cuse10]

Like 42 (the Jackie Robinson movie), it felt like a movie made for TV. Knowing that the West Virginia incident never happened rubs me the wrong way as a History major.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

This is why movies like this are "based on a true story" and not a verbatim retelling.

 

[OrangePA]

The relationship with Ben? Sure, I will agree that they incorrectly morphed some of Jim's experience onto Ernie. But otherwise I think it was Ernie's story

It was very important for the film maker to use Jim Brown's story as a backdrop in order for the audience to understand exactly what the first Black Heisman Trophy winner was up against and why winning it was so historically significant. If they had wanted to they could have really driven it home by outlining the travesty of Jim Brown's own loss to the extraordinarily mediocre (as a college player) Paul Horning.

I have no doubt that Ernie faced a ton of the same things that Jim Brown faced in his life and in his college career. A ton.

To a degree, the Ernie Davis experience and the Jim Brown experience in the 1950's were probably a lot closer than I, being a white person, can ever know.

My understanding is that Ernie and Jim had very different experiences at Syracuse University.

They were very different people.

Ernie in The Express has a lot of Jim in him.

 

[OrangePA]

A couple other things: the long TD pass to Ernie was actually in the first half, as the scoring timing has been alluded to early. Also, if I remember correctly, I think Ernie hurt his hamstring trying to outkick someone on field goals in practice the week leading up to the game. He tried to kick a long one and pulled it.

And the Orange had the ball at the Texas one yard line - about to score - as time expired in the first half.

Syracuse University was about to blow Texas out of the stadium.