"Facing the Giants" - Not Only a Great Movie About Football but About Life

Facing the Giants is a wonderful movie for the whole family! My children like this movie so much that ask to watch it over and over and never seem to get tired of it. I have to admit that I enjoy it as much - if not more - than they do because I better understand the deeper meaning of the themes presented, at it is not just about football.

The story involves a football coach at a private Christian school whose team has steadily gotten worse since he became the coach several years before. He is disgusted with the way things have gone with his team and he can't understand why his career and life has gotten so bad.

His best players have decided to transfer to another football team at another school and the staff/alumni are starting to make plans to replace him with another coach. His car is old and breaks down a lot. He and his wife have health issues that make them unable to have children. He feels like he just wants to quit. He reaches a low point in his life and is not sure where to turn. Even though he is a Christian believer, he has become lax in his faith and forgotten to put his trust in God for his needs.

At that low point, the coach becomes inspired by a Christian believer in the school who, by the believer's good example, renews his faith and encourages him to continue coaching for the school. In his search of the Scriptures he rediscovers that God helps those who rely upon him and he completely changes his mindset about football and about winning and losing. The coaches life immediately starts to improve when he puts his priorities into their proper place and aligns his life with God's plan.

Through his change of attitude he is able to inspire his remaining football players to completely change their outlook and enable them to accomplish much more than anyone thought possible. There is one very memorable scene where the coach challenges one of the senior members of the team to carry a teammate on his back across the football field. That drill is a turning point that changes the minds of their players about what is possible when a positive attitude drives what you do.

The kicker - aptly named David - since he is a symbol of the Bible figure who defeated the Giant Goliath in the Old Testament - also realizes the value of changing his attitude and becomes pivotal to the success of the team when they play the best football team in the state.

Again, I highly recommend this movie for its entertainment value - it has a lot of funny scenes and the action is captivating - as well as for the lessons it teaches.