What, to you, is the message of the movie?

I guess I did learn from it that sports aren't really what I succeed at. There's other stuff I'm probably more passionate about and more willing to fail at in an effort to become better.

One issue I had was that when my coach discovered I wasn't very aggressive, rather than do anything about it he just put 2 of us on this white line in front of the goalie and never really worked with anybody to help them improve. At least, I don't remember any of that happening. Guess it may have come had we been older and I played more than one season, but I didn't know that at the time! Seems like something Buttermaker would have addressed though.

It's a little frustrating, and not just in sports, how no one wants anyone else to discipline their kids. You get pestered at the mall by a 5 year old, or someone's hitting your kid and their parents aren't around, you yell at them to stop and somehow you're being an ass while their negligence is OK.

I remember for the first several years of my life when I'd be in a restaurant that when I'd finish, the straw would still be picking up water from the ice so it made that really annoying slurping sound. I did that for years, and I remember sitting there with at a table with my brother. Our parents both worked at this restaurant, and on Saturdays she worked days and he worked evenings, so he'd take us up there for lunch while she finished and punched out. There was a waitress there this one day whose boyfriend was there too and we talked to the 2 of them for a while and the guy seemed pretty cool. So when I finished my drink I do the slurp thing like I've done for years, my brother asks me to stop but I don't. Suddenly the guy calls me out by name, since he'd obviously just learned it, or heard us talking probably, and says the same thing. It was because an outsider complained that I finally learned it was annoying and I should stop, and I never did it again!

I hate when kids get used in politics too. A few years ago my city voted to change the school district borderlines to acquire 7 schools from another district that are in our city limits. It was an effort to revitalize that part of town, and they'd get tax money from all the homes and businesses over there. However, it seems like our own school district has already gone downhill and it seemed to me like a situation of spreading it even thinner. Guess that's kinda beside the point, but anyway, the campaign signs said "Vote Yes" and then right underneath it in lowercase "for our kids". I see it as a guilt trip and an intimidation tactic.

I remember my aunt and uncle getting pissed at somebody in their small town who didn't wanna pay school tax and I think they voted for a tax increase or something. I can't remember if these people moved or if my aunt and uncle were thinking about moving over it, but the whole thing just sounded stupid. These are the same aunt and uncle whose first son played like every sport and then the second one played some but not as many, leaving the youngest one to in my opinion to feel he had to out of obligation. He seemed the least into it of anyone.

Reminds me of Dazed and Confused when Randall 'Pink' Floyd doesn't wanna play football. Sorta fitting that Linklater was the one who did the remake of Bad News Bears since that movie's lighting makes me think a lot of this film and it takes place in '76. Just wish I'd been able to be a bigger fan of that version.

There is nothing wrong with winning, in fact that's the point of the contest, isn't it?

Desire to win has many positive aspects. It drives the coaches to help every kid on the roster become a better player, to teach them the rules and strategies and to improve their own skills as coaches, managers and mentors.

Problems occur when admirable goals like sportsmanship and teamwork are sacrificed at the expense of winning. And there's the constant aspect of the adults enjoying victory vicariously, at which point the kids start to become pieces on a game board.

I played in LL for years and my own kids play competitive softball now. There are leagues that are run well and those are run for the benefit of a few connected families and some that apparently benefit nobody. I had great coaches who honestly changed my life, and terrible ones that made me want to quit the game forever. But every bit of it, positive and negative, was an invaluable learning experience, one that I made sure my own children will also have. I honestly believe American society has suffered in the past 30 years due to decreased participation in team sports and a reduced emphasis on actual competition.

That's why Bad News Bears is quite probably my favorite movie of all time. It hits every one of those notes, from the desire to win forcing effort, the value of teamwork and the negative aspects of competition and kids sports.

Finally, my signature:


"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?"

I think there were a couple of turning points in the movie when Buttermaker admits he's been an AH like getting drunk and decides they need to practice and they don't want to. They have been a laughing stock and all want to quit. Buttermaker calls them a bunch of babies and get out on that field. He's really angry and has an attitude adjustment. Later after they've made it to the last game of the playoffs, Joey doesn't care anymore and drops the ball at his controlling father's feet there is another turning point where Buttermaker doesn't want to compete anymore especially against Roy Turner he wants his kids to just play ball. I think the moral is do the best you can but winning isn't everything.

I think the saddest thing about the Bad News Bears is that Tatum and her father had a bet over whose movie would be a bigger blockbuster. Bad News Bears or Barry Lyndon...it was Bad News Bears. What a train wreck of a father, Ryan O'Neal.

I just hope the people who have the attitude that sports is all that matters got something from the movie too. That maybe they realize we can't all be good at it.

I think all of us who grew up after the 70s are going to watch 8mm home movies of kids from the 50s one day and be extremely jealous of their childhood.

That's when the team sucked. I'm talking in the final game when they were good enough to be in the championship game and Buttermaker decides to give everyone a chance to play and have fun rather than worry about the scoreboard. The kids don't seem to resent him for that decision so I'm wondering if it's that they feel overmatched, don't care anymore, or if they hate the Yankees so much that they won't feel like losers by losing a baseball game to them. I've noticed that people who like to use expressions like "it's just a game" or "it's only a game" are the same ones who turn around and act like winning/losing one defines them, and are even more likely to be the ones who suggest you play in the first place. Ugh, how 'bout a little consistency!