History Film / SemiPro

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: But of course; it's a sports comedy after all. The Tropics start the film at the bottom of the standings due to a combination of poor (or non-existent) coaching and lack of confidence. [[spoilers:It turns out they're actually a pretty damn good basketball team after all once they get a proper coach.]]

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Ultimately averted with both Moon and Monix, depending on which one you feel is the film's true protagonist. Moon is certainly an egotist and a terrible basketball coach, but he genuinely loves his team and his guys. [[spoiler:He even lashes out at the merger meeting when being told he'll be getting a big buyout, stating he'd rather have his team instead, and while he does pout a bit he lets Monix take over as coach when he realizes it's the right thing to do.]] He's also willing to put himself at incredible (and admittedly idiotic) risk to try and drum up business, including fighting a bear and doing a daredevil stunt on roller skates despite having no training whatsoever.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Ultimately averted with both Moon and Monix, depending on which one you feel is the film's true protagonist. Moon is certainly an egotist and a terrible basketball coach, but he genuinely loves his team and his guys. [[Spoiler:He even lashes out at the merger meeting when being told he'll be getting a big buyout, stating he'd rather have his team instead, and while he does pout a bit he lets Monix take over as coach when he realizes it's the right thing to do.]] He's also willing to put himself at incredible (and admittedly idiotic) risk to try and drum up business, including fighting a bear and doing a daredevil stunt on roller skates despite having no training whatsoever.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Jackie Moon, who clearly thinks quite highly of himself despite the fact that he's coasting on the fame of a single hit song [[spoiler:that he stole from his own mother]] and owning a rather bad basketball team with few fans. To be fair, he's probably a modest deal in Flint, but [[spoiler:the merger meeting puts both him and the standing of the Tropics into harsh perspective.]]

* JadedWashout: Color commentator Lou Redwood, a former player who "still dreams of glory" and considers suiting up again. His normally good-natured broadcast partner Dick Pepperfield mocks him for this, suggesting that Lou's prime is long gone. Redwood seems to spend most of his time on-air drinking, casually dropping obscenities and awaiting the next inevitable brawl. Monix applies as well, as even though he's still playing ball, he has gone from being on the NBA world champion Celtics to being traded to the Tropics for a literal washing machine. [[spoiler: Monix has found a much healthier outlook by the film's end, having patched up most of his personal life and rediscovering his love for basketball.)

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Jackie uses some rather modern bombastic theatrics and stunts reminiscent of modern NBA halftime shows and marketing ploys to promote his team. They confuse his audiences more than anything .

* ButNotTooBlack: [[spoiler:Jackie Moon.]]

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Kyle attempts to when he walks in on Monix and Lynn making out on the sofa, only to be stopped when Lynn spots him.

* AlternateHistory
* AluminumChristmasTrees: One of the Tropics' more outlandish promotional stunts has Jackie wrestling a bear after a game. ABA teams actually hosted man vs. bear wrestling matches on game days to lure in fans.

A 2008 sports-comedy, starring Creator/WillFerrell, Woody Harrelson, and [[Music/{{OutKast}} André Benjamin.]]

* RealityEnsues: Even after everything the Tropics do to make it to fourth place [[spoiler:the NBA refuses to take them as one of the merger teams because Flint is too small a media market to host a pro team.]]

* WastebasketBall: Ed Monix misses the wastebasket while being introduced as the team's new captain.

* FunnyAfro: Several. It is set in TheSeventies after all.

* DumbassHasAPoint: While he suggests it primarily out of self-interest (he originally believed his team would be part of the NBA merger) and arrogance, Jackie's proposal that the "best four teams should go" rather than the ones who are the most marketable or are largely successful already is objectively a more fair way to determine which teams will avoid being dissolved.