Roger Ebert gave the film three stars.
Ebert's review says that by the end he was simultaneously hoping ESU would win its big game and that the school would pull the plug on its football program; it is called a perfect review that sums it up.

First practice into Latimer's weight-room scene; night-before-the-game speech; Darnell's lost football into Latimer's place at the table; first Mississippi State game; second loss without Kane; second half of the final game

In the discussion (16)

Approx. transcript time · 00:36:29Read transcript

The first practice includes Darnell's first run and fumble and the coach's question "are you hurt or are you injured?", which the speaker says he has used on his daughter.
Whether the hurt-versus-injured line originated with Parcells is debated; it was probably heard before the movie.
Welcome to the Jungle kicks in for the pit drill, then the exhausted locker room gives way to Latimer pressing 465 while coaches say gaining 35 pounds over a summer is not hard; the stretch is called an unassailable, almost perfect five minutes.
Latimer's clean and jerk, throwing 315 down and kicking it while seemingly mad at the weight, is incredible; headbutting cars came from a real South Carolina player in a 1988 Sports Illustrated article that made the writer want the character. — Ryen Russillo
Latimer's first dive-bar scene shows Joe ordering two tequila shots for himself but takes too long to register Latimer's added 35 pounds; he was long mistaken for Sting the wrestler.
Latimer's steroid-era physique, like the Ultimate Warrior's, does not happen now in 2020 and makes the dialogue hard to follow.
Small details ring true, such as players lying on the locker-room floor with pads as pillows after the Guns N' Roses practice, then Latimer doing about 24 overhead reps of 315 and kicking the weights, which players copied.
The night-before-the-big-game speech ("We're the lucky ones") gives goosebumps; the speaker says he loves being in college stadium tunnels and gets chills for something he does not get to do; it was on the list of rewatchable scenes.
Darnell losing his football in class leads to Latimer's "place at the table" moment, which should be a constant meme; carrying the football around was copied by high school coaches, though a typed lineup taped to glass is preposterous.
The first Mississippi State game has a fumble, Latimer's helmet rip on a sack (compared with Kyle Turley and Aaron Brooks), and Alvin Mack's "you're the guy who shot my mother" heckling.
Alvin Mack's actor moved like a real football player and made the heckles feel original, a delicate thing to pull off.
The second loss without Kane, where Mack is hurt and Latimer is bowled over, is famous but painful to watch; why Mack's injury ends his career is questioned, with his visibly turned leg as the answer.
The entire second half of the final game is lumped together: the coach's mini pep talk, Ray finally throwing a good block, Latimer's snot bubbles, Darnell's punt return that Omar Epps seemingly performed, and the big catch; the fans not charging the field is the biggest quandary.
The fans not rushing the field is explained as a fatigued fan base, tired of a non-undefeated team about to go to a bowl. — Kyle Brandt
The pick is the practice sequence into the workout rather than the game, though Welcome to the Jungle is an 80s song and the scene should have used Pantera or Helmet. — Kyle Brandt
Asked for a pick, the reply mentions the Iowa fourth-and-goal involving Latimer, which stings every time, and says the last 15 minutes of the film are really liked and not on TV enough.

Weightlifting Scouting Report

Latimer's slightly loose clean and jerk; backwards lat pulldown; unconvincing knee rehab

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 00:54:22Read transcript

The special category asks for a scouting report rating each character's weightlifting.
The speaker admits Kyle texted about going sleeveless; he then loaded over 300 pounds to film a chest-day video for Kyle, lost the right side, had to dump it and deleted the video. — Ryen Russillo
Most of the workout scenes are fine, but sitting backwards in a lat pulldown to hit on a girl is weird, and Latimer's clean and jerk looks a little loose on the right side though he makes it work.
The knee rehab does not ring true: she seems to be going through the motions and the whole scene is awkward.

What’s Aged the Best?

Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski); Darnell-Ray feud; Kane Is Able bumper sticker; 80,000-fans chemistry-experiment line; bow-tie academic; Darnell's dating theory; jock adrenaline factor; Latimer's injection scene; Chris Berman

In the discussion (15)

Approx. transcript time · 00:59:17Read transcript

Latimer's actor says not a day goes by without someone yelling "place at the table"; he is unrecognizable as a neo-Nazi in Higher Learning and later played Leatherface, but this was his best role.
Latimer belongs on a Mount Rushmore of football-movie characters and is a 1990s ogre in the Donald Gibb mold.
Why he never became a lead in action movies is a great question: he can act, as in the scene telling Alvin not everybody has his ability, and he has the look.
It is a tough lane (Jeff Speakman's The Perfect Weapon is cited); a theory holds that distractingly striking people struggle to carry vehicles, like a Peter Parker versus Spider-Man distinction.
He could have been Dalton's younger brother in Road House; his credits include Necessary Roughness, Street Fighter, Higher Learning, Any Given Sunday, Rollerball and the Texas Chainsaw remake.
The Darnell versus Ray feud is distinct, with Ray modeled on the Beverly Hills Cop banana-in-the-tailpipe type and the pair likened to Carlton versus the Fresh Prince; everyone roots for Darnell though he is kind of a dick.
Halle Berry is called terrible in the film for breaking up with Ray at a party and following Darnell, with a joke about her Monster's Ball Oscar speech.
The "Kane Is Able" bumper sticker is a great psych gag.
The spitting into each other's mouths was computer-generated after the fact according to both actors in the oral histories, a disappointment; don't spit in friends' mouths during COVID.
The line asking when 80,000 people last showed up to watch a kid do a chemistry experiment captures why football matters at colleges, and the bow-tie academic is a required stock character.
Darnell's theory for dating Halle Berry's character, going where white people go like skating and bowling, is called cutting edge.
The jock, adrenaline factor holds up: in 1993 the Pantera-loving jocks had Latimer as their guy, and rewatching felt like being back in the high school weight room.
Latimer injecting himself in the backside is rough on nicer TVs; the speaker says he has never used, and nobody he knows went straight to curls after injecting, especially with dated dumbbells. — Ryen Russillo
An unanswerable Berman question: was Tim Weyman's name written so Berman could say he could "go all the Wayman"; Berman's nickname riffs, such as Jeff Conine the Barbarian, suggest he made it up on the spot.
A recent Berman story: a joke nickname "Jeremy double chin" made on a podcast four days earlier was used by Berman on Monday Night Football 18 hours later; Berman has aged both the best and the worst.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Latimer's sexual assault scene; James Caan's performance; opening-game rainstorm; Joe Kane's age; cut road-lying scene; Kristy Swanson's tennis jorts; Ray the tailback's casting; Joe Kane's body double; no college overtime; Chris Berman's shtick; Ray Griffen's party sweater; Darnell licking his hands; quickly dropped assault charges; missed 1993 music

In the discussion (21)

Approx. transcript time · 01:08:56Read transcript

Latimer's sexual assault scene was rougher and more terrifying than remembered, deplorable for a liked character, yet realistic for late-80s and early-90s campuses.
A 2020 film would handle it differently; it recalled the Gandolfini and Alabama Worley scene.
The scene is accurate and terrifying, and the small cast heightens how scary it is.
The scene is important because it shows Latimer as the worst character, which makes him conflicting and great; a comparison is drawn to a Vision Quest scene, and films have become more careful in the last 15 years.
James Kahn is not great here, like a coach who had a mild stroke; the "keep that index finger on the ball" line and the halftime speech lose the speaker.
Caan's best scenes are kicking a player off the team and the academic board hearing where he sells his soul to football.
A research claim that Popovich adopted James Kahn's coaching personality is admitted to be made up, and another participant flags the habit of throwing in fake information.
No NBA arena has ever hyped a crowd with the James Kahn scene.
The opening-game rainstorm looks like a monsoon.
A prediction game on the next item is won by the guess that Joe Kane is 32 years old; the deleted scene was next on the list.
The actor was actually 33, with a receding hairline, and Halle Berry at 27 with hair extensions seems like a teacher rather than a junior.
Craig Sheffer is the biggest flaw: not big enough to be a quarterback, never a big star, and too old, like an assistant coach.
Joe Kane is only a junior; Tim Weyman looks mid-40s; Halle Berry was making Boomerang at the same time.
The deleted scene of Joe lying in the road as cars swerve was cut after two young men were reportedly killed imitating it; it is missing from the VHS, later airings and Amazon but is on YouTube.
Sheffer's quote that he refused to do the scene until his agents were called is met with skepticism.
The cut leaves a hole: pre-internet it was unobtainable, and without it Joe jumps from party quarterback to borderline suicidal, like cutting Maverick's MIG encounter.
Cutting it while keeping the assault scene and the train-tracks stunt is inconsistent; the Cliffhanger comparison argues imitation risk does not justify it.
Further items: Christy Swanson playing tennis in jorts, Ray the tailback needing a better actor, Joe Kane's obvious heavier body double, the lack of college overtime, and Chris Berman doing the same shtick 27 years later, though that is countered as having come back around to respect.
Ray Griffin's party sweater (but not his khakis) has aged badly, as has Darnell licking his hands before the last kickoff; Newman gloves are fondly recalled.
The assault being resolved in seconds because the victim's booster father drops charges is not any real dad's reaction.
The film missed several chances to feel musically like 1993.

Gabriel Carteris Award for a Character Who Can't Possibly Still Be a Student

Joe Kane

The panel proposes a new category here.

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:17:05Read transcript

A new award for high school and college movies is proposed for characters who cannot possibly still be students, going to Joe Kane over Teen Wolf's Nick.
The host calls the idea wonderful and says he will add it to the next high school or college movie.

Casting What-Ifs

Johnny Depp as Joe Kane

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:25:47Read transcript

According to an oral history, the director wanted Johnny Depp for the Joe Kane role after 21 Jump Street, but Depp, not a sports fan, turned it down.
Sheffer's quote that he was cast after throwing three or four bombs of about 65 yards on the Disney lot is met with disbelief.
How many NFL quarterbacks can throw 65 yards is debated, with Mahomes, Cam Newton, Rivers and Brees discussed, and a spin-off segment proposed.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Offensive lineman later on ER; Joe Kane's father; urine-swap guy

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:29:26Read transcript

One of the offensive linemen later became the big medical-assistant character on ER.
Joe Kane's father, Elmo the chef from Vision Quest, outshines the room in bit parts, including the Christmas beer-can decorations scene, with talent near Duvall-level actors.
The urine-swap guy is added as a That Guy; the actor played one of Kiefer Sutherland's Klan brothers in A Time to Kill.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski)

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:30:27Read transcript

Latimer wins the Dion Waiters Award without debate.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski)

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:30:27Read transcript

Latimer also wins the Vincent Hanna award for spectacular overacting; it is not worth a debate.

Reverse Dion Waiters Award for the Guy Who Does the Least With the Most, a.k.a. the Jimmy Butler Award

Bo Schembechler

The panel proposes a new category here.

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:30:27Read transcript

A new reverse Dion Waiters Award for the worst heat check goes to Bo Schembechler, on autopilot in the booth without a pulse.
They likely had little time with him; unlike the fun booth work of Rob Schneider in Necessary Roughness and Bob Euker in Major League, the Schembechler scenes could have been cut, and the boosters crowding one window to watch the game is also called weird.

Recasting Couch

Young Ben Affleck as Joe Kane; Robert Duvall as the coach

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:31:46Read transcript

Quick joke options include Will Smith and Latimer as the coach.
The two choices are Robert Duvall in James Kahn's coach role, coming off Days of Thunder, or a young Ben Affleck, big and the right age after Dazed and Confused, as Joe Kane.
Affleck is the choice for his athletic size and connective tissue to the story.
Duvall is the choice because Khan mails in too many scenes; Kane's age matters less since people age differently. — Ryen Russillo

Half-Assed Internet Research

Necessary Roughness and Higher Learning reunions; South Carolina-Tennessee game filming; Duane Davis's injury claims; Mike Hold as Kane's double; unscripted final-play fumble; real-life inspirations; Sheffer's hit claims

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:33:28Read transcript

Latimer and Alvin Mack were teammates in Necessary Roughness; Mack's actor also played football players in Beetlejuice; Epps, Swanson and Latimer's actor were all in Higher Learning.
Fans in orange are visible in the crowd shots from the South Carolina game even though nobody in the game wears orange, perhaps because the opponent was Tennessee.
Mack's actor claimed he blew out his knee at Mizzou and that two stuntmen blew out their knees on the injury play, which is doubted after slow-motion review.
Today there would be a week of coverage on the making of the movie.
Joe Kane's football double was South Carolina quarterback Mike Hold, whose ISO passes are gorgeous; a star label is admitted to be thrown in.
Action for three games was filmed in 16 minutes during South Carolina's October 31 game against Tennessee; Hold's unscripted fumble and sidearm pass to Epps made the film, though his hand was moving forward and it should have been incomplete.
Latimer was based on the 1988 Sports Illustrated steroid story, a Penn State quarterback inspired the rehab plot, and the coach's-daughter plot came from another story.
Sheffer's claim of taking big hits and doing a full 360 is mocked, along with a made-up quote.

Apex Mountain

Omar Epps; Halle Berry's hair extensions; Craig Sheffer; Craig Sheffer's tall tales; Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski); steroids

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:39:42Read transcript

Omar Epps is at Apex: coming off Juice and before Higher Learning, he was one of the great sports-movie actors, before things faltered after ER.
Halle Berry's hair extensions are Apex only because she never did it again.
Craig Sheffer is a yes, and this is also the Apex of his tall tales, including a reported Parcells letter about backing up the Patriots' quarterback; one participant says he read it and it was true, though it amounted to Parcells saying he would love to have him around.
Kristy Swanson's peak is probably Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead.
The guy who played Latimer is absolutely at Apex.
The film may be the Apex Mountain for steroids, before the McMahon trial and baseball's reckoning; it is called wildly irresponsible steroid porn, and the case is agreed with.
Asked whether Princeton had a urine guy, the speaker jokes he was named Kevin and charged $100. — Kyle Brandt
A final Apex question is whether this is when people realized Michigan sucks, with its image turning from Big Chill favor to loathsome; Weyman's draft stock is also debated.

Picking Nits

Impossible urine-swap procedure; Ray letting Darnell cut in; Ray changing the play for Darnell; bowl eligibility

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:42:52Read transcript

The urine injection is an impossible medical procedure, and the twisting cylinder in the toilet-paper dispenser is like James Bond gear.
Ray would never let Darnell cut in on the dance, and nobody cuts in anyway.
Ray changing the play for Darnell right after their drink-throwing fight is less believable still.
ESU's bowl eligibility at 7-4 versus 8-3 is questioned; there were only 19 bowls then versus about 45 now.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Yes

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:47:41Read transcript

The category answer is yes.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Did Brett Favre model his career on Joe Kane?; most depressing sports-movie injury; ESU's conference; Joe Kane's draft slot

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 01:47:41Read transcript

Did Brett Farv model his career on Joe Kane? The Mississippi link, painkillers, alcohol and recklessness fit, and he might have hung out with a freshman.
The counter is that Farv had plenty of friends as a rookie, such as Edgar Bennett.
Most depressing sports-movie injury among Alvin Mack, Jerry Birdier, Boobie Miles and Lance Harbor: Harbor has a coaching future, and the scene between Mack and his coach is heartbreaking.
Alvin Mack is the pick as well: a projected top-five pick with a long Ray Lewis-like career.
The reply quotes lines from the movie Concussion rather than naming an injury. — Ryen Russillo
ESU's conference could never be figured out.
Joe Kane would not be a first-round pick after rehab with that throwing motion; Jake Plummer is the comp, with second, third and fifth rounds suggested.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Mack family door knocker; Latimer's neck roll; Latimer's urine-sample kit

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:50:34Read transcript

The Mack family door knocker is the first pick.
Asked what the Mack home would rent for on Airbnb, the speaker jokes the framing is not up to code. — Ryen Russillo
Anything from Latimer, maybe his ankh necklace but probably his neck roll, which launched a neck-roll craze.
Latimer's urine-sample replacement kit, or a used sample kept in a wine fridge, would be a great conversation piece.

Who Won the Movie?

Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski)

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:52:54Read transcript

Asked who won the movie, the immediate answer is Michigan, then "Mm. Ladimir" follows, possibly the same speaker revising the answer. — Ryen Russillo
Latimer won because he is the first thing people think of from the movie, like walking out of Rocky IV wanting to be Drago.
Iowa football, which took out Mack and Latimer in one night, is said to have a case.
Latimer won as well, along with everyone who later emulated him; there has not been a character like him in a football movie since.

Podcast choices

Speaker not identified: Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski)
Speaker not identified: Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski)

More from the conversation

A cold-open quote tease is followed by trailer audio for the film before the episode opens.

Approx. transcript time · 00:01:31Read transcript

The episode opens with two participants joining to discuss a 1993 college football movie described as flawed, enjoyable and entertaining, and possibly the best college football movie ever.

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The film is called a favorite sports movie, very personal, that got the speaker where he is today.

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Seen at 18, the film changed the speaker's mind about PEDs several times; he jokes it is kind of pro-PEDs, and that an enduring lesson is maybe don't listen to the coach.

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The Iowa goal-line stand is joked to be the saddest scene since The Notebook.

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The film is likened to a dinner that looks perfect on the table but has uneven dishes; the recipe hits every note around six characters (the coach, quarterback, linebacker Latimer, the special-teams guy and the running-back battle), yet there is a better movie inside with a ceiling it never reached.

Approx. transcript time · 00:03:56Read transcript

Too much is on the table: two fully fleshed-out love stories, when the speaker wants more Bull in the Ring and less ice skating and motorcycle; at 15 he was ogling Kristy Swanson, but now it needs more football and less cheesy romance.

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When there is football the movie sails, such as the first real practice with the circle hitting drill.

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Asked what he would change, the speaker notes the writer also wrote The Sting and aimed for an edgier, real sports movie, but it wraps a bow on things: the starting running back loses his girlfriend to Omar Epps's character, loses his job, blows a block, then changes the play to get him a touchdown, which felt a little Disney.

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In 1993 TV was not yet good (ER and NYPD Blue arrived around 1994); today this would clearly be a Netflix show exploring every character, with a forward nod to the later Netflix category.

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As a high school freshman in 1993, the speaker and his teammates saw the film in their jerseys, found the varsity and rival Libertyville team waiting for the later showing, and for years every opposing team had one player painting his face like Latimer and wearing 56.

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The speaker never painted his face; he calls himself the poser of the group because he was at UVM with no football team while Kyle played for Princeton; the film tackled the NCAA, injuries and cheating, though ESU's cheating looked mild next to today's.

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Sexual assault and PEDs are cited as everyday issues for programs at the time.

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A sports-movie history: the 1974-86 Longest Yard to Hoosiers era perfected version 1.0, then an early-90s new wave with The Program and William Friedkin's Blue Chips led to Tin Cup and He Got Game; David Ward also directed both Major League films, and nobody has pulled off this kind of movie since.

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The film is called the grunge sports movie: it goes dark with a roid-rage assault scene and a drunk, suicidal lead instead of a safe Rose Bowl ending.

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The linebacker's ending, turning off the radio with his leg in a cast, is noted as a sign he will never leave that house.

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Moving moments include Alvin Mack giving his mother a door knocker and promising to buy the house to go with it, and James Caan's coach vouching before the board for a backup quarterback he despises.

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Joe's visit to his passed-out, smoking father, including the dad's lines about not wanting him to get excited and about rehab, is praised as an amazing scene.

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The film should have ended in a loss, with Omar Epps's touchdown called back for holding and a sack, like Friday Night Lights; the Michigan loss is still called devastating.

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The players are huge, including the enormous offensive lineman who runs with Joe, while the Michigan Heisman rival Wayman is mocked as looking like a mall cop.

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Michigan reportedly allowed its likeness only if Michigan won, called the most Michigan thing ever.

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Mississippi State comes off terribly, getting its asses kicked by Latimer, though the real early-90s Bulldogs were going to bowls; the joke is its AD was fired a week after release.

Approx. transcript time · 00:14:53Read transcript

Backstory: Alabama and Oklahoma declined, Mississippi State agreed and Michigan agreed only if it won; ESU's schedule (Mississippi State, Michigan, Iowa, a badly lit Georgia Tech opener and finale), its conference and whether it is a mid-major are never made clear, and it was filmed in South Carolina.

Approx. transcript time · 00:15:40Read transcript

The football was realistic for 1993: after The Longest Yard's wide shots, North Dallas Forty's close cameras began 20 years of botched football scenes (Johnny Be Good is cited), while The Program used NFL Films crew, long lenses, slow motion and scripted plays run at a real halftime.

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Research says the actors hit each other for 12-hour days, eight-a-days, and were all banged up by the end, which likely would not fly now.

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Imagining the set: three or so name actors on scale pay plus a crowd of extra players hitting hour after hour.

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Later films such as Friday Night Lights and Invincible followed the approach, with great-looking hits.

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The most cringeworthy element is Darnell Jefferson talking to himself while running ("showtime, baby"); the hitting should have been left silent and beautiful.

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Kane's actor reportedly got the part after throwing 65 yards on the Disney lot, a figure the hosts flag as high.

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Despite the believable hitting, details slip: Kane breaks the huddle on four, takes a 17-step drop for a screen, and Omar Epps looked unsure taking handoffs despite saying he thought he could be a Dallas Cowboy; Latimer's actor thought he was paralyzed from a stinger.

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Craig Sheffer is unfathomably skinny for a Heisman quarterback, with a stunt double and sleeves cuffed in the lat pull-down scene.

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There is a lot of internet content, including multiple oral histories and a South Carolina one; Sheffer's slightly wonky throwing motion made rollout shots unusable.

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Omar Epps's run (Juice, The Program, Major League 2, Higher Learning, ER, Scream 2, The Wood, Love & Basketball) gave him a rare baseball-football-basketball troika in Costner territory.

Approx. transcript time · 00:22:02Read transcript

Asked, as a Princeton running back, what Epps was missing, the speaker says Epps had the physique and look, including the shoulder-pad back flap, but the corny narration, a late fumble and a Walter Payton-style high-step mean the coach should have benched Jefferson.

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Asked whether he made out with his recruiting host, the speaker says he did not go to ESU; his host was a guy named Seth and there was no marching band.

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The film has no nudity; one participant guesses it is PG-13 but says he forgot to look it up.

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Omar Epps's final-play route, stopping in the end zone then spinning 180 toward the corner, would never work in a real game.

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ESU's football identity is unclear: a Heisman quarterback who only throws to running backs, no tight end, an I-formation passing offense, a telegraphed tailback-streak interception against Michigan, and a defense-first team that loses its middle linebacker.

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Kristy Swanson was at a golden time (Buffy, The Chase with Charlie Sheen, The Program, Higher Learning), including a left-handed tennis player; it was all working for one participant in Boston in 1993.

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Asked for his thoughts, the speaker says her look recalls the PED storyline, like Boo from Teen Wolf if she did a cycle, a callback to a previous Rewatchables.

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The tennis scene is discussed; Kristy Swanson plays in high-waisted cut-off jean shorts.

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Camille's psychology is fascinating: Joe treats her terribly from the start, yet the self-described non-football-dater falls for every bad-boy trick; a second racquetball scene after tennis is questioned.

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The six-pack of Sprite apology after a month of ignored rehab calls is called Bachelor-level corny; the character is judged bad.

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Asked whether he ever pulled the train-tracks stunt on a bad date, the speaker admits to a few bad nights but says the stunt is the best.

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A mid-2000s version would turn Joe into a vampire.

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The ESU Timberwolves play at Wolfden Stadium; Timberwolves is a far-north nickname for a presumably southern Eastern State University, and a timber-industry explanation is offered as an admitted joke.

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The prior season's rain game is the darkest scene ever, compared to the Miami Sharks in Any Given Sunday; nobody shortens the name to T-Wolves.

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Crowd footage was reportedly shot at halftime of a South Carolina game, so real fans hamming it up can be seen.

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A guessing game on ESU's state: the first guess is Georgia for warm weather and recruiting.

Approx. transcript time · 00:31:49Read transcript

Asked for his guess, the speaker says Joe does not seem like someone who flew to school and Mack's house points deeper south.

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Joe gives his dad a plane ticket, countered by the dad lacking a license; Georgia or Mississippi are offered, Mack's house feels deep-south Mississippi, but no one has a southern accent.

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Perhaps the filmmakers avoided a state deliberately and picked Timberwolves because no college team used it; loggers are asked to tweet in, and ESU Cheetahs is proposed as an undervalued nickname.

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The film had a $20 million budget and made $23 million, so it probably lost money.

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Omar Epps is quoted saying the film has a very defined, personal audience ("that was my joint"); the Latimer factor looms large in the cult following, cited as 80% of one participant's love for the film.

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Latimer is flagged for both What's Aged the Best and What's Aged the Worst before the break.

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A tangent on the week after the Michigan loss: Latimer's assault at a party, his move to a different apartment, the Bobby cheating situation, Joe's midweek dive-bar night, bar fight and DUI, then rehab would have been a massive story for a 1993 Heisman candidate.

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Joe's only friend on the team being a black freshman running back is called implausible for a college team, where friendships run by position and often by race.

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The damage to a draft prospect is debated; an Andrew Luck joke says he would still have gone first.

Approx. transcript time · 00:52:55Read transcript

Kyle Brandt is credited with quickly correcting "Ultimate Weapon" to The Perfect Weapon, called maybe the highlight of the podcast.

Approx. transcript time · 01:01:46Read transcript

Joe's father sleeping on a porch couch is a favorite; in an 80s version the dad would be in the seat for the last game, but in this 90s film the seat is empty.

Approx. transcript time · 01:52:12Read transcript

The close apologizes for not wearing a tank top and thanks Kyle and Russillo (ASR Priscilla); the tank tops are left uncontextualized for anyone who did not watch the video.

Approx. transcript time · 01:53:48Read transcript