We Are Marshall!

The front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer today features a picture of hottie Matthew McConaughey (that's for you, Kris. WOOT!) in a scene from his new movie, "We Are Marshall". I don't know about you, but I had no idea who "Marshall" was, or why it was worthy of a movie before today.

On Novemeber 14, 1970, I was exactly 3 years and 2 months old. I had a baby brother who was exactly 2 months old. And on that day, nearly 40 *cough* years ago, 75 people were killed in a plane crash in Huntington, WV. It was a flight charted by Marshall University to transport their football team, the coaches and trainer, and 33 boosters from East Carolina University back to Marshall. All were killed in the crash.

The entire football team, except one, was killed. Every coach, except one, was killed. The surviving player was back at Marshall, sidelined due to an injury. The surviving coach was driving back to Marshall, planning on making some recruiting stops along the way. Three of the players were from Cincinnati's Moeller High School, one of the top high school football teams in the nation. Another Cincinnati connection to the Marshall tragedy: The next year, Marshall won it's first home game... against Cincinnati's Xavier University. That game, of course, is the feel-good moment of the movie.

I, for one, cannot wait to see this movie- with plenty of Kleenex in hand. Triumph over tragedy. It's a storyline that never grows old... but it's made that much more special when it's a true story and not just fiction.