"We Are Marshall" - Film Preview

Marshall fans and moviegoers across the country will be headed to theatres Friday, December 22 to see the anticipated opening of We Are Marshall. The movie is a true story of the rebuilding of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football program following a plane crash in 1970 that killed 75 people, including 37 players, 12 coaches and administrators, 21 boosters, and five crew members. The plane crash is one of the worst disasters in American sports history.

The 1970 Marshall team was returning from a disappointing loss at East Carolina University when the plane fell short of the runway at Tri-State Airport near Huntington, WV. Rain and foggy weather conditions were cited as the reason for the crash.

The movie begins at the ECU game and follows Marshall’s first year after the crash. The difficult decision whether or not to continue the program, the people involved in the rebuilding process, and the community rallying around the school to support the program are just a few of the events relived in the movie. Key people, such as Assistant Coach Red Dawson, who left the ECU game on a recruiting trip and did not return home with the team, and head coach of the 1971 team, Jack Lengyel are portrayed in the movie.

Red Dawson, played by Matthew Fox of ABC’s Lost, stayed at Marshall as an assistant coach and was a vital reason the program was able to triumph over tragedy. Jack Lengyel, portrayed by Matthew McConaughey, was hired to coach the 1971 team and brought a breath of fresh air to a school and community in mourning. The movie is directed by McG. McG took a risk leaving his usual high action films for the chance to tell Marshall’s solemn story.

It is an inspirational and courageous reflection of the strength of a school and community. The determination of the people connected to the plane crash to not let those who died to ever be forgotten still runs through the community today.

Each and every member of the Marshall community carries with them the pride of what we have been able to accomplish. This movie will surely cause the Herd faithful to shed several tears when remembering what happened to this family in 1970. Others, not connected to the school, will garner a new respect for what it means to Marshall when they take the field on Saturday’s in autumn.