In 2019 there was a sports movie that came out that everyone should watch. In Search of Greatness is a documentary film that dives into the deeper meaning of what it means to be great. The film talks about many athletes that have transformed their sport from Rocky Marciano to Serena Williams. The producers interviewed Jerry Rice, Wayne Gretzky and Pele. This allows a deeper dive into why and how they transformed their sports.
What is this film?
In the film, the audience can deeper understand how athletes transformed their sport. The film starts with establishing who Rice, Gretzky and Pele are. More specifically, the athletes start to dive into how they on a statistical point of view would not be great athletes.
Rice addresses how the NFL Combine worked against him. Although a wide receiver, he was considered a slow runner due to the combine. He specifically states that he knows he wasn’t fast, but knew he had “football speed”.
A primary example of this is Tom Brady’s Combine. Statistically speaking he was not great. People linked him to being too skinny or too slow. But that has not stopped Brady from being one of the better NFL players.
This is the same thing with Gretzky. In the film, he said that if he were to be put in the NHL Combine, he would probably be the lowest-ranked one. He couldn’t bench or jump well. But, his overall ability to creatively play made him different.
David Epstein, author of “The Sports Gene”, addresses the current problem of measuring athletes. Combines can measure the specific physical attributes of a player. However, creativity is completely undermined. He argues that coaches have become pigeonholed when it comes to statistics. There is a degree of validation that comes from measuring the athletes.
“It is making something important because we can measure it. It’s not measuring it because it’s important,” Epstein said.
This becomes a key theme for the film. These athletes don’t focus on what is against them, but rather on what they have. They don’t adapt to the formula, but rather they change how they play to complement their physical limitations or attributes.
Why should people watch In Search of Greatness?
Watching this film allows the audience to see why these athletes are great. People can watch the transformation from playing in the streets to a professional setting.
Many of the athletes played because of their love for the sport. They dedicated their time to improving themselves and finding ways to defy the normal formula.
The film addresses what sports mean to people, as well as the direction we want to go with it. It asks the audience what we want to see from the future of sports. In Search of Greatness pushes the audience to think deeper about what sports mean to our society. And more specifically, what does greatness mean to us.
Although this film is geared towards sports fans, everyone should watch it. It talks specifically about how these athletes improved upon themselves to change the sport. Well, this can be done for anything.
The main point of this film is to inspire you to go after your dreams, even if every statistical odd is against you. If you have the will and drive to accomplish it then you will. Be creative in how you work so you can change yourself and the industry that you are in.
There is a combination of luck and will that need to be put in to accomplish your dreams. This film will motivate and inspire you to go after your goals.
Overall, this film pushes the audience to think about what they want out of life. It can range from sports to music to any other industry. But the core theme is there. Having the will and dedication to accomplish something will bring you to your goals.
This article can’t cover every avenue that the film goes down. By watching the film, you are allowing yourself to feel the inspiration and motivation to do what you love. Go watch In Search of Greatness. Even if your goal is not to be great in whatever you do, this film may inspire you to find something in life that you love to do.
