History Film / WeAreMarshall

''We Are Marshall'' is a 2006 film which tells the [[BasedOnATrueStory true story]] of the 1971 [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballConferences Marshall University]] football team's attempt to rebuild following a plane crash which kills most of the 1970 team and coaching staff returning from a game against East Carolina University. Most of the action involves the season after the crash, using surviving members of the team, players drawn from other sports, and freshmen (who were not normally allowed to play at the time).[[note]]The NCAA then did not allow freshmen to play on varsity teams in football and men's basketball; Marshall was given a waiver due to the exceptional circumstances. That rule was abolished in 1972, and freshmen have played ever since.[[/note]] The film ends with the "Young Thundering Herd"s victory against Xavier University.

''We Are Marshall'' is a 2006 film which tells the [[BasedOnATrueStory true story]] of the 1971 [[CollegiateAmericanFootballConferences Marshall University]] football team's attempt to rebuild following a plane crash which kills most of the 1970 team and coaching staff returning from a game against East Carolina University. Most of the action involves the season after the crash, using surviving members of the team, players drawn from other sports, and freshmen (who were not normally allowed to play at the time).[[note]]The NCAA then did not allow freshmen to play on varsity teams in football and men's basketball; Marshall was given a waiver due to the exceptional circumstances. That rule was abolished in 1972, and freshmen have played ever since.[[/note]] The film ends with the "Young Thundering Herd"s victory against Xavier University.

''We Are Marshall'' is a 2006 film which tells the [[BasedOnATrueStory true story]] of the 1971 Marshall University football team's attempt to rebuild following a plane crash which kills most of the 1970 team and coaching staff returning from a game against East Carolina University. Most of the action involves the season after the crash, using surviving members of the team, players drawn from other sports, and freshmen (who were not normally allowed to play at the time).[[note]]The NCAA then did not allow freshmen to play on varsity teams in football and men's basketball; Marshall was given a waiver due to the exceptional circumstances. That rule was abolished in 1972, and freshmen have played ever since.[[/note]] The film ends with the "Young Thundering Herd"s victory against Xavier University.

* MisfitMobilizationMoment: Nate Ruffin rallying the remaining team members to go gather up the student body for their inverted BalconySpeech.

* UntranslatedTitle: In European French (but not Canadian).

* AdultFear: Red Dawson's wife, believing him to be on the plane, isn't told that he had decided to drive back and do a recruiting errand along the way (the neighbor he called forgot while watching a game show). She spends the majority of the evening thinking that her husband has been killed.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The "Young Thundering Herd" was made up of players who couldn't make the East Carolina trip, freshmen (who, at the time, had to get special permission to play) , walk-ons and athletes from other sports.
* RealityEnsues: While the team being reformed in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy is very inspirational, a bunch of the team's worst players, athletes from other parts of the university, walk-ons, and freshmen are not going to put on a winning season until they get better.

* BasedOnATrueStory: While it takes some dramatic license to better fit all the feelgood sports movie tropes, it's fairly faithful to how the real story played out, particularly in how UnderdogsNeverLose was averted. Some details that might seem like fiction were absolutely true--Bobby Bowden really did help the Marshall program get back on its feet, and the DownToTheLastPlay game at the climax really did happen that way, [[spoiler:a 15-13 win over Xavier University via a screen pass touchdown]].

* BasedOnATrueStory: While it takes some dramatic license to better fit all the feelgood sports movie tropes, it's fairly faithful to how the real story played out, particularly in how UnderdogsNeverLose was averted. Some details that might seem like fiction were absolutely true--Bobby Bowden really did help the Marshall program get back on its feet, and the DownToTheLastPlay game at the climax really did happen that way [[spoiler:a 15-13 win over Xavier University via a screen pass touchdown]].

* YouAreInCommandNow: Defied - Red Dawson, the only surviving member of the coaching staff, defers to new athletic director Jack Lengyel in leading the team.

->"One day, not today, not tomorrow, not this season, probably not next season either but one day, you and I are gonna wake up and suddenly we're gonna be like every other team in every other sport where winning is everything and nothing else matters. And when that day comes, well thats, thats when we'll honor them."
-->-- Coach Jack Lengyel, ''We Are Marshall''

''We Are Marshall'' is a 2006 film which tells the [[BasedOnATrueStory true story]] of the 1971 Marshall University football team's attempt to rebuild following a plane crash which kills most of the 1970 team and coaching staff returning from a game against East Carolina University. Most of the action involves the season after the crash, using surviving members of the team, players drawn from other sports, and freshmen (who were not normally allowed to play at the time).[[note]]The NCAA then did not allow freshmen to play on varsity teams in football and men's basketball; Marshall was given a waiver [[CaptainObvious for obvious reasons]]. That rule was abolished in 1972, and freshmen have played ever since.[[/note]] The film ends with the "Young Thundering Herd"s victory against Xavier University.

!!We Are Marshall contains examples of the following tropes:

* UnderdogsNeverLose: Defied - The Herd only wins once, on screen, and the ending text reveals that was the last game they'd win for a while. Also justified, as the new team was made up of some of the worse players, athletes from other parts of the university's sports programs, walk-ons, and freshmen.

* UnderdogsNeverLose: Defied - The Herd only wins once, on screen, and the ending text reveals that was the last game they'd win for a while.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The "Young Thundering Herd" was made up of players who couldn't make the East Carolina trip, freshmen (who had to get special permission to play) , walk-ons and athletes from other sports.

''We Are Marshall'' is a 2006 film which tells the [[BasedOnATrueStory true story]] of the 1971 Marshall University football team's attempt to rebuild following a plane crash which kills most of the 1970 team and coaching staff returning from a game against East Carolina University. Most of the action involves the season after the crash, using surviving members of the team, players drawn from other sports, and freshmen (who were not normally allowed to play at the time).[[note]]The NCAA then did not allow freshmen to play on varsity teams in football and men's basketball; Marshall was given a waiver for obvious reasons. That rule was abolished in 1972, and freshmen have played ever since.[[/note]] The film ends with the "Young Thundering Herd"s victory against Xavier University.

* MisfitMobilizationMoment: Nate Ruffin rallying the surviving team members to go gather up the student body for their inverted BalconySpeech.

* CriticalResearchFailure: During the Xavier game, an announcer calls the team the "Pirates". Xavier's actual nickname was (and still is) "Musketeers". ("Pirates" is actually the nickname of East Carolina, the team that Marshall played in its last game before the crash.)

''We Are Marshall'' is a 2006 film which tells the [[BasedOnATrueStory true story]] of the 1970-1971 Marshall University football team's attempts to rebuild following a plane crash which kills most of the 1970 team and coaching staff returning from a game against East Carolina University. Most of the action follows the following season using surviving members of the team, players drawn from other sports, and freshmen (who were not normally allowed to play at the time). The film ends with the "Young Thundering Herd"s victory against Xavier University.

* BalconySpeech[=/=]RousingSpeech: Inverted - School president Deadmon is called to the balcony to see the assembled student body chanting "WE ARE MARSHALL!"

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The "Young Thundering Herd" was made up of players who couldn't make the East Carolina trip, freshman (who had to get special permission to play), walk-ons and athletes from other sports.

* YouAreInCommand: Defied - Red Dawson, the only surviving member of the coaching staff, defers to new athletic director Jack Lengyel in leading the team.

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