Facing the Giants

The "moral substitute" for the clichéd sports movie. It follows the life of down-and-out football coach Grant Taylor as he manages to coach his tiny, apathetic high school football team to an incredible season.


 * Avoid the Dreaded G Rating: Inverted when the MPAA assigned it a PG rating due to "football violence" and discussion of infertility. Curiously, it was not appealed; with Focus on the Family reviewer Bob Waliszewski suggesting that this may have actually helped the film's success.
 * Chain of Corrections: The Charles Schulz/Charles Lindbergh/Limburger cheese banter before the third-act turnaround.
 * David Versus Goliath: The title says it all.
 * Deus Ex Machina: The one match they lost after turning to the Lord and the winning team gets DQ'd due to having two 19-year-olds in the team.
 * Down to the Last Play
 * Dyeing for Your Art: The actor playing the black coach shaved his head for the scene where baldness is discussed.
 * Gosh Dang It to Heck: And how!
 * Heel Faith Turn: A textbook literal example.
 * Law of Inverse Fertility:
 * Mondegreen: The DVD subtitles interpret "Kojak" as "Cool Jack".
 * The Moral Substitute: Considering that this movie was made by a church, this should not be a surprise.
 * Put Me in Coach
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: The kicker who makes the game-winning field-goal is named David Childers. His best friend (and holder) is named Jonathan Weston. Take a wild guess as to where the idea for the names came from.