- Go, Green! - Boo!
Come on, Eagles! You're killing me. Show some pride out there.
Some pride? What are you talking about?
These guys lost their pride two months ago.
What're you doing? Over!
- They're still our boys, Tommy. - Not this year, pally.
Not in this town. Not in this town!
- Stupid... - You stink!
Come on! Come on! Come on!
Ball down.
Hey, way to pack it in, Eagles! You're quitters!
31-0 to a team should've been worse than us!
What a bunch of losers!
Hey! Hey! Where do you think you's going, huh?
Game's not over yet.
Get back down to your seats, there.
Believe this?
McCormack.
You know what NFL stands for? "Not for long," pal. "Not for long."
See you on the unemployment line.
Hey, coach! Thanks for the three wins! You're a bum!
A reminder, Eagles fans,
to place your orders for next year's season tickets.
Come on!
Maybe next year, yeah?
Yeah.
Maybe we'll all be millionaires.
Way to finish, guys. Waited a whole season for this.
- The worst team in the league! - Losers!
Go! Go!
- Watch it. Watch out. - Go! Go! Go!
Watch out!
- Jeez, Pete. - Hey, ref, you better make that call.
You all right?
Hey!
That's enough!
- I said, come on! - Come on.
- Pete! - Yeah!
- Come on. - You!
I'm gonna kill that guy.
Why don't you try getting by him first, Pete?
Why don't you shut your mouth?
- Huddle up! - Come on!
- Hey, get in the huddle. - Look who decided to show.
Let's go. Huddle up! Huddle up!
- Vincent! - Yo, wait a minute.
No way! Not him. You don't show on time, you don't play!
What's the matter, cuz?
Afraid he's gonna run all over you again?
Would you shut up? Let's play some football.
What's up?
- About time you got here. - Sorry, guys.
All right, let's do the one where Vince kind of runs by everybody on one.
- Ready? - Here we go.
Break!
- Ready? - Break!
- Wanna tell me why you're late? - My car's in a bad mood.
- Watch the middle. - Set!
- Hut! - Go! Go!
Here we go! Here we go!
- Here we go. - Get him! Get him!
Good hit. Yeah! Good hit.
- You okay? - Yeah, I'm good.
Set! Hut!
Fumble, fumble, fumble! I got it! I got it! Yeah!
- Break! - Break!
- I got one! I got one! I got one! - You ain't got nothing.
Set! Hut!
Look out, Matt! Come on, look out!
Hut!
- Move it! - Move! Move!
Ball! Ball! Ball!
I got it! I got it!
- You all right? - I'm all right.
- Nice save, Vince. - Thanks, man.
Game over!
Oh, man, my car!
- Oh, yeah, huh? - Pete!
Right there, huh? Remember that? Come on!
- Pete, come on, cut it out. - Did you see that?
- We won. - Come on, let's go.
- You got money? - Yeah.
You better have money.
Yeah!
You look cold. Come a little closer.
Hey.
Come on, it was only for a few plays.
That's great, Vince.
We're out of work and you're playing games.
It's not like you couldn't use the time for anything else, right?
- Look, we're not out of work. - Please.
The school's giving you, what, two days a week substitute teaching?
You tend bar at night.
What do you call that? Gainfully employed?
What do you want me to do?
Look, things are gonna get better, all right? I promise.
When, Vince? When are things gonna get better?
- Hi, Mr Papale. - Hi.
So, the assignment was first act, Romeo and Juliet.
Oh, Mr Papale. May I help you?
I'm sorry. Must be a mistake. I thought this was my class.
Hey, Mr Papale.
Hey, guys.
Mr Papale. Can I have a word with you, please?
We were trying to call you.
Well, there was a mix-up with the bill and they shut my phone off,
but it should be back on today.
We were calling you to let you know that you won't be needed this summer.
The district is forcing us to make more cutbacks.
And we have a lot of teachers with more seniority than you.
I'm sorry.
I know it's a hell of a deal.
Well, it's no secret to anybody here
that it's been a rough stretch for the Eagles organisation.
The last few seasons haven't lived up to my expectations
or to the expectations of the many fans of this great team.
But, gentlemen, today, that is going to change.
The man who's gonna bring us back recently led UCLA
to a Rose Bowl win over Ohio State.
Please welcome Mr Dick Vermeil.
Thank you, Mr Tose. Thank you.
Well, I'd like to start by saying what a tremendous honour it is
to coach this particular football team...
- Think he brought his surfboard? - ... and to coach in this city.
- Surfboard, Beach Boy records. - The Philadelphia Eagles
have a very long and proud tradition of winning and excellence.
It's a tradition that's been lost in recent years.
It's a tradition that I'm committed to restoring.
Man should be committed for taking this job.
Hey, Mick, you mean to tell me
you didn't see that guy clothesline Pete?
- I didn't see nothing. - I saw it from the car.
Hey, that team had you guys beat by a mile on that play.
Oh, yeah? Then why aren't you drinking over there?
- Go to their bar, traitor. - You want that on your tab?
Hey, put a leash on that monkey.
Vince, why does he get to run a tab, I don't?
Because he's got a job, that's why.
That's great, Max. Yeah, that's a great way to treat a friend.
Hey, Max. Any chance I could pick up a few more hours?
- Sure. Why? - First up, let's bring in
Wade Chambers of Channel 11 Sports.
Well, the Eagles took their time on this one. But for the first time...
I'm giving my cousin from New York a few hours starting Thursday.
- You can have the rest if you want. - Thanks. Appreciate it.
Owner Leonard Tose announced the hiring of UCLA 's Dick Vermeil
- as the Eagles' head coach. - Hey, Grumpy.
You wanna turn up the tube?
... wasted no time before making this surprising announcement.
Before I take your questions, I'd like to make a quick announcement.
This coming Saturday, at Veterans Stadium at 9:00 a.m.,
the Philadelphia Eagles will hold open tryouts.
- We're open to all comers. - It's open.
- This guy's out of his mind. - So we can go ahead
- and start with the questions now. - There you have it, Eagle fans.
So strap on your helmets. Throw on those shoulder pads.
Here's your chance to play in the NFL.
I guess four wins wasn't so bad after all.
- Yo, Vince. What do you say? - What?
You're faster than half those guys anyway.
Hey, come on. Give it a shot.
Yeah, Vince.
Papale at the 40.
At the 30. The 20.
He's at the 10.
Sharon!
- Hey. - Hey. Sixteen-hour first day.
- You're not going soft on me, are you? - Look who's talking.
Well, I found out today
that there aren't any sprinkler systems on the East Coast.
Only took me a half an hour to make that little discovery.
You happen to see that press conference today?
Yeah. You looked good.
The tryout come off sounding a little desperate?
Maybe a little.
You don't seriously think you're gonna find someone, do you?
I'm just trying to get people excited, that's all.
So, Max just told me. She took everything?
- And she wants a divorce? - Look, it's nothing, all right?
Just forget about it, Tommy.
Gin and tonic, light on the tonic, and a Red neat for you, yeah?
- That's right. - Here you go.
Sweetheart, if you could cook Italian, I'd marry you.
- Lf she had no legs, you'd marry her. - Get out of here.
- Sorry I'm late, Max. - Hey, Vince, we're covered.
- I know, I know, Max. I'm sorry. - Hey, no problem.
Anything you need, all right?
Vince Papale, meet my cousin, Janet Cantwell.
- Hey. - Nice to meet you.
And just so everyone knows,
we have a minor character flaw
that we're all gonna have to deal with here.
- I don't see many flaws, Max. - Watch it, Tommy.
Hubba-hubba.
My cousin, who is from New York,
who was born in New York, is a New York Giants fan.
- Go, Giants. - You gotta be kidding me.
- A passionate New York Giants fan. - Come on.
Max, she's a Giant fan?
- Maxie, come on. - I know, I know.
62-10.
Giants humiliate the Eagles. What was that? Three years ago?
And we actually get our players from something called the NFL draft.
- Yeah! - What kind of talk is that?
See, Vince?
That's another reason why you gotta try out this weekend.
- Nobody's trying out, Tommy, okay? - Why not?
You clean up at all our games.
- He's 30 years old, for one thing. - Oh, shut your mouth.
Yeah, there's a little difference between Mean Joe Greene
and Bobby from the Tanker, you think?
Hey, hey, screw Mean Joe.
We don't even play Pittsburgh this year.
- Petey's right. - Yeah, why not?
Your old lady ain't gonna stop you.
What? What'd you say, Johnny?
- What? - What do you mean, "What"?
You playing stupid now? You got a problem with me, Johnny?
What'd I do?
Why don't you get out of here, Johnny?
Come on, right now.
Hey, forget it. He's drunk.
He just needs to find some work, that's all.
You know, you and your thing.
Johnny losing it 'cause he can't pay a bill.
Now, Pete...
Pete ain't been right since his brother Andrew came back dead from the war.
What about you, Tommy? You hanging in okay?
Yeah, same old.
Bunch of guys talking about going on a strike.
I ain't worried.
You know I'm serious about this tryout, right?
Hey. I have, like, eight beers in me,
but I'm serious, okay?
Tommy, I mean, I played one year of high school ball.
It ain't gonna happen.
There's no one I know that is a bigger Eagle fan than you, okay?
Nobody.
All right, we're talking about Veterans Stadium here.
Where Eagles dare. I mean, that is sacred ground, pally.
Even if you're down there for one hour, man,
you're down there.
Old Maxie's ready to call it a night, huh?
Last call, pally.
Saddest music I know.
- Hi, Pop. - Vince.
Come on in.
I never did like her.
I never told you that, did I?
Guess maybe I should've seen it coming, huh?
What does she think?
You're the only guy out there trying to make ends meet?
All those years, your mother being sick...
Well, that was nobody's fault.
But this...
Pop, I never had to ask you this before,
but I'm gonna have trouble making rent.
Yeah.
- How much you need? - Hundred bucks.
- I can pay you back as soon as I... - No, no, forget it.
There've been times I've needed help, too.
This is family.
We've had some rough times, you and me,
but we stick on this one, okay?
Thanks.
So, what do you make of this new coach?
Beat Woody Hayes in the Rose Bowl.
Saying something.
You know, I heard from Maxie that the guys are riding you pretty hard
about going to this tryout.
Yeah, well...
You know, Vince,
it might not be the worst thing to let this one go.
A man can only take so much failure.
Hello, Philly fans.
I'm here today with literally hundreds of Eagle hopefuls waiting for their shot
at coach Dick Vermeil's much-publicised open tryout.
Come on.
Now, what brings you out here today, sir?
- Gonna be an Eagle, baby. - Yeah!
What makes you think you have a chance out here?
Well, Wade, two years' high school football, varsity.
Yeah!
I'm 28 years old. Look at me. I'm in the best shape of my life!
Now, is there anything else you'd like to say?
Absolutely.
Fight, Eagles, fight On the road to victory
Fight, Eagles, fight
What more can I say?
That's it. Looking for some Philadelphia Eagles here.
Lift your legs up. Okay.
Go! Go! Come on. Move it. Move it.
Come on. Hustle, hustle, hustle.
Let's go. Four more.
Come on. Hit it!
All right. Beautiful. Let's do it.
You know what?
Forty-yard dash. Move it. Move it. Let's go.
Come on. Let's go, fellas. Do it.
Come on, next group.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Move it. Move it. Don't talk to him. Keep moving.
Go, go, go, go!
No, no, this is... This is too stupid.
This is more stupid than I'm used to.
Here we go. Next. Next. Come on, get those knees up.
- Thanks. Is this the updated list? - Dick.
- Yes, sir. - Dick, this is brilliant.
We haven't had this many cameras here in 10 years.
I want you to meet three of your best players.
We got Dean German. Come here, guys. Come here.
T.J. Banks. Ronnie Sampson.
Say hello to Dick Vermeil, your new coach.
- How you doing, coach? - Gentlemen.
Mr Tose, Channel 8. They want five minutes.
Get over there. Run a sprint.
Will somebody run a sprint around here?
You're a joke. You gotta be kidding me.
So, how's it looking, coach? Seeing anything yet?
You're not worried, are you, T.J.?
Should I be?
Well, last year we had one of the worst defences in the league.
Offence wasn't much better.
I'd say everybody needs to worry.
See you boys at camp.
We'll be there, coach.
Longer than you will.
Go, go, go, go.
5.9.
Let's go!
- Gents. - Coach.
Hey.
- Let's go. - Come on, guys. Come on.
6.4?
Let's go, gentlemen. Find another gear.
Go!
They do know they're supposed to be running, right?
5.7. Next.
You see?
- How we doing? - Get your head up. Let's go.
I've seen glaciers move faster.
Throw him a few.
You gotta be kidding me with these numbers, Dick.
Can I please let these guys go?
- Yeah, go on. - Thank you.
- That's it, gentlemen. - Oh, that's it?
- That's it? - Thank you for coming out.
- Whoa, whoa, coach! - What do you mean, that's it?
Good workout. Thanks for coming. You worked real hard.
Gotta work on your speed a little, okay?
Great. Give me a break.
How long you been having trouble with this?
Since I bought it.
- I'm Dick Vermeil. - Vince Papale.
Vince.
Pretty good workout you just turned in. Any idea how fast you were running?
- No, not really. - That was a 4.5.
This means you're a heck of a lot faster than this car of yours.
- Where'd you play your college ball? - I didn't play college ball.
Vince, you mind me asking you how old you are?
No, I don't mind.
You mind me asking how old you are, coach?
- Let's bring in Wade Chambers now... - Figure that one out.
... who spent most of his morning at Veterans Stadium,
watching Eagle hopefuls.
- Hey, buddy. - Hey.
I guess we can call them hopefuls. How'd it go out there this morning?
It wasn't exactly a banner day...
You had a chance to go and didn't, did you?
Former head coach Mike McCormack
may not have run the tightest ship in the NFL,
but at least it wasn't a ship of fools.
- Fight, Eagles, fight - Look at this.
On the road to victory
That player, no surprise, did not get an invitation to training camp.
But believe it or not,
new head coach Dick Vermeil has decided to invite one person
and one person only.
He is Philadelphia native Vince Papale...
What?
... a former teacher who didn't even play college ball.
Oh, you must be kidding me!
Congratulations!
Next round's on the house for my boy Vince here.
I'll have another beer.
Hey! I grew up with brothers, but I got no problem hitting a girl.
- She called Petey a girl. - Vince!
Yo, Vince, she's disrespecting your team here.
I'm not disrespecting his team. I'm just respecting mine.
All right, already, sweetheart. You're such a Giants fan?
- Name me a Giant. Any Giant. - Any Giant?
- Dangerous game, Johnny. - I'm a dangerous guy.
- Sam Huff. - Everybody knows Sam Huff.
Sam Huff. All-American linebacker, West Virginia.
Five years, All-Pro. Led the Giants to the Championship Game
in '56, '58, '59, '61, '62 and '63.
Hey. How many Championships they win?
- Oh, shut up, Tommy. - Oh, okay.
The big goose egg.
Oh, Ace wants to get into the game.
All right, teach me something about your beloved lggles.
- That's easy. Tommy McDonald. - Oh, that's Vince's boy.
All-American wide receiver, Oklahoma.
Led the Eagles to the Championship in 1960 over Green Bay.
1960.
And who'd they beat to get there? Yeah.
The New York Giants!
See, that's what I'm talking about.
All right, everybody, quiet down.
The last year or two we ain't had much to raise our glasses to.
- Yeah. - You got that right.
But we sure got something tonight, don't we?
Yeah.
To Vince Papale, neighbourhood boy,
who, starting two days from now, will be on the field
mixing it up with Bill Bergey.
Bergey!
T-Bone Parker.
T-Bone!
- Frankie LeMaster. - Yeah!
For that team we still love.
Yeah!
The Philadelphia Eagles!
- You okay? - Yeah.
Let's go outside for a minute.
Max, I'm all right.
I already got some help. Don't worry.
Yeah, well, you're about to get some more.
Come on. Pay some bills while you're at camp.
- Max. - What?
Look, it's not like I'm gonna be making the team.
Don't talk like that.
You go out there and you play like you're better than they are.
- Come on. - I'm gonna make it up to you, all right?
Oh, you're damn right, you are.
- Thanks, Max. - All right.
Hey.
- Hey, you heading home? - Yeah.
One of you guys should get back in there. It's getting crazy.
- Animals. - I got it.
No, no, no. You should go home, too. You're in training, remember?
And walk her home while you're at it. She's on your way.
No, I'm fine.
Right, and I'm gonna tell Uncle Richie I let you walk home at night
in South Philly wearing that?
Come on.
Good night.
Whoa, whoa.
Wait a second. Are you kidding me?
Wade Chambers right here at my place?
Is this Max's?
Yeah, it's Max's.
Look at the... Max Cantwell.
- This is my cousin, Janet. - Hi.
And this is the man you probably wanna talk to, Vince Papale.
Oh, no, thanks.
People wanna know who you are, Vince.
All we need's five minutes.
Hey, you could do it right here outside my bar.
- I gotta walk Janet home. - Oh, no. I can wait.
- All right, five minutes. - All right.
- Popoli or Papal? - Papale.
And all set.
I'm here on Franklin Street with Vince Papale,
a bartender at Max's Bar and Grill
and perhaps future professional football player
with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hey, whoa, whoa.
So, Vince, tell us about your day at Veterans Stadium.
Hey, Pete! What are you, a knucklehead?
- All right, let's cut it. - Going on my kegs?
- Sorry. - Come on, we're on TV here!
So, how'd you become a Giants fan?
Besides the fact I was born in New York?
Five brothers, all older. Not much choice, yeah?
That's why I like bartending.
It's like I'm back home listening to my brothers argue.
You worked right there in the city?
Yeah.
So, you got something pretty big happening here.
I'll be right back here in a couple days.
This is my place.
Tommy McDonald, huh?
I'll see you around?
- Hello? - Hey.
Turn on Channel 11. They're gonna do your interview in one minute.
Vinnie.
Pardon me, Mrs Spegnetti.
Do you think maybe I could watch your TV just for a few minutes?
Okay.
Vince Papale, a part-time bartender,
will be at Eagles training camp in just two days.
- This is no Tinseltown fairy tale, folks. - Vinnie, that's you on TV.
This is a real-life Cinderella story, with a cleat instead of a slipper,
right here in Philadelphia.
Eagles, baby, Eagles!
- Oh, my God, my neighbour's famous. - Wade Chambers, Channel 11 News.
Good luck, Vince. We'll be pulling for you.
- Don. - Thanks, Wade.
Certainly a different approach being taken
by new Eagles coach Dick Vermeil.
In other news tonight, a three-alarm fire broke out...
Change in game plan, coach?
Just need to shake things up.
If it means doing this for a couple of weeks,
might not be such a bad thing.
Just be careful, Dick.
This isn't UCLA anymore.
These are the toughest fans there are.
They threw snowballs at Santa Claus. You remember?
Gonna get some sleep?
I'll sleep in December.
Not if you make the playoffs.
- Hey, Petey. - Hey.
- What are you doing here? - Nothing.
I was over at Mom's for dinner. Sunday night, you know.
Figured I'd just stop and see if you was here.
- You been here long? - No, a few minutes is all.
Your big day tomorrow, huh?
I mean, I guess, you know? See what happens.
It's a good thing, Vinnie. No matter how long it goes.
Even if it's just for a day.
I never said good luck to Andrew, you know, before he left for Nam.
You do good out there, okay?
Just don't touch anything that's not yours.
Excuse me.
My name's spelled wrong.
Nothing personal, but by the time I get to it, is it really gonna matter?
Yeah. Come on.
- What's up, Cool Breeze? - All right?
Hey, man.
What's going on?
- Oh, yeah. - You deserve it, man.
Gonna reach Harold Carmichael stats.
- There ain't no way he's gonna do that. - Hey, Carmichael.
No, I was talking to Mom the other day. Everything's good.
Getting D.
You ready for this?
I'm probably gonna hit them hard right out of the gate, A.C.
See who's who.
That's not what I meant.
- Better be good, golden boy! - Rookie coach.
- This ain't college no more. - You got one year, buddy.
- You better be renting month-to-month! - Welcome to the NFL.
Gentlemen, you're about to hear me say a word
you'll never hear me say again.
Lose.
Means to fail.
Means to be reduced, to surrender, to relinquish.
Over the years, this team has surrendered.
It's been reduced.
This team has failed.
No more.
No more. Starting today, we are on a path toward winning.
And that's gonna require a lot more work and sacrifice
than many of you are used to.
Six straight weeks of two-a-days.
We'll go three, three-and-a-half-hour sessions.
We are gonna shake the rust out of these shoulder pads
and we're gonna become winners.
And I don't care what your story is.
Veteran, rookie, free agent. I don't care.
You earn a spot on this team by what you show me on this field.
That's it.
I play no favourites.
None.
All right. Let's go to work.
One, two, three, two. One, two, three, three.
One, two, three, four.
Work, work, work!
Down!
Get that helmet back on! What do you think this is, a waltz?
- Run it again. - All right!
- Do it again. - You heard the man!
We're doing it again!
Bring it! Down! Get up!
25, 26, 27, 28...
Come on. Keep moving.
Blue 99. Hut.
Look at that white boy run!
Thinks he's a football player!
Hey, old man.
This ain't high school!
Hey, Banks!
That old man just made you look bad.
That's the way to finish, Papale!
Stay on your feet or get off the field!
Come on!
Let's go, rook.
Come on!
Stay down!
You gotta show me more than that, 83.
I'll catch you later.
- Next time, Stan. - All right.
Oh, dig! What do you think you're doing out there, Pops?
- What? - It's the first day of camp.
Might wanna settle down.
Try helping out the ones who are actually gonna make this team.
- 442, Papale. - Thanks.
Dinner's at 7:00.
Receivers' meeting at 9:00.
Lights out, 11:00.
Hey, coach.
- Isn't there someone else in here? - Not anymore.
Hey, big guy. Come here for a second.
Check this.
She's cold-blooded, huh?
Do you dig that?
A Giants shirt? What, are you trying to get me killed here?
So how'd it go?
I got a room. Just haven't unpacked yet.
I mean, it's a little different from playing
with Maxie and the boys, though, that's for sure.
Well, I'll be sure to let them know that.
Hey, you working tomorrow night?
I just thought maybe if you weren't doing anything...
Not that we'd be, you know, doing anything official, but...
Well, being as you put it that way,
sure, yeah.
Great. Hey, and thanks for the package, really.
- No problem. - All right, I'll call you tomorrow.
All right. Bye.
Take him down!
Good job! Good job!
She was right, old man!
- You ain't going nowhere. - That's right, German!
Come here!
- Hey! - Hold on. That's enough! Break it up.
- Come on! - Back off!
I said, back off!
A.C., get them over to the sleds.
All right, team. Let's move it.
You heard the man. Let's move it.
Move! Yeah!
Game over!
Philly, huh?
I needed a change.
A new city seemed like a good start.
My ex.
- Husband? - Boyfriend.
He wasn't what he said he was.
What'd he say he was?
Single.
How about you? If you don't mind me asking.
Married five years.
Showed up one day, she wasn't there.
- Sorry. - No, that's okay.
So now you play football.
Well, I've been playing since I was a kid.
Nothing big, you know.
My mom was the one that got me started.
- Your mom? - Yeah. Yeah, she was a great athlete.
I mean, she got sick when I was really young.
Had a lot of medical problems.
What about your dad?
Well, he worked at the factory.
I mean, he'd come home as much as he could,
but, you know, he had to pay the bills.
I think her medical condition really bothered him a lot, though.
We always had the Eagles.
You know, he'd love to tell the story of Steve Van Buren.
The '48 Championship Game?
I have five brothers, remember?
Yeah, I remember now.
Anyway, I mean, he'd talk about Steve Van Buren
scoring the only touchdown against the Chicago Cardinals,
which won them the Championship.
7-0.
How do you know all of that?
First cut's always the deepest.
Coach wants to see you. Bring your playbook.
Once again, the evening's top story.
Union leaders are now calling for a strike against Westinghouse.
Two thousand workers could be on the picket lines
as early as tomorrow night.
And now over to Wade Chambers and sports.
Well, the biggest news today from Eagles training camp
is that Philly's own Vince Papale has made it past the first round of cuts.
The part-time bartender remains a long shot to make the team,
but the mere fact that he's still around, well, that's amazing in itself.
Attaboy, Vince.
Vermeil's coaching staff seems to be focusing on defence this year.
Welcome to special teams, gentlemen.
The only way that many of you will make this roster
is by proving yourself right here.
To be successful, you must throw away all fear.
Speed and agility are critical,
but desire and determination are even more important.
Ready.
Move it, move it!
That's it.
- Got it. - Way to go, Banks!
Way to bring it home.
- Looks good, right? - Yeah.
Next!
Keep them on the 20.
There you go, Sampson!
That's what we're looking for out here!
Cream's coming to the top now, Pops.
- Give me some. - Oh, yeah.
What you doing in here?
How am I supposed to run in all this stuff?
That stuff protects you. It's there for a reason.
You can't wear quarterback pads.
You won't last a week wearing those.
Nothing personal, but is it really gonna matter?
All right. Come on. You can do it!
Ready.
- What about Franks? - They're beating him on the weak side.
He better figure something out if he wants to stick around.
Chicken soup.
Cures everything, yeah?
- Tommy been in yet? - Not so far.
Anybody take you to Colombo's yet?
The best cheese steak in Philly.
Anybody asking?
Well, if Maxie don't have you working Friday.
Long as 9:00 gets you back for your curfew.
All right.
Hey, Rick, can you make me up a grilled cheese?
- Make it with fries. - Oh, yeah.
You're jumping back pretty fast, huh, buddy boy?
You really think a nice-looking girl from New York's gonna come back,
start over with one of us?
Just 'cause everybody's cheering for you trying to be an Eagle?
We're just talking here. What's your problem, Johnny?
You'll still be nothing, man.
When all this is over and done, nothing.
Just like the rest of us.
Hey, Rick, can I get some more fries?
Sure, why not?
- Hey. - Hey.
So, this is the place, huh? As good as it gets?
Yeah. I mean, it's a little busy tonight.
Yeah.
Hey. You're Papale, right?
Yeah.
I don't care what anybody says. You're doing a great job.
- Thank you. - Keep sticking it to those guys.
- All right? - All right.
- Sorry about that. - I guess you're still on the team, huh?
Yeah, well, there's a lot more cuts to go, but...
What?
I was just thinking, you know.
I didn't think I was gonna make it past the first week of all this,
and now that I have, I mean...
Well, maybe it's just better if I just think about one thing
instead of everything else.
For right now.
"Everything else"?
Did you think this was a date or something?
Vince, I'm the last one that wants to start something right now.
Barely a month ago, I was with the wrong guy, you were married.
We're not exactly the perfect match.
I didn't mean for it to sound like that. That's not what I meant.
No, you know, Max thought it was gonna be busy
at his place tonight, too, so I'm gonna go over there
and see if I can help him out.
- Janet... - No, we'll do this another night.
I'll tell everyone you said hi.
Denny Franks, right?
Vermeil's trying to mix things up.
He's putting rooks with veterans, veterans with rooks.
Crazy.
So, are you like everyone else around here?
You mean, do I hate you? Yeah. I'm a centre. I hate everybody.
Yeah, well, your weak-side block, it's not good enough.
Says who?
I heard some coaches talking...
- What colour are my knuckles? - What?
What colour are my knuckles?
- They're white. - They're white.
You see, white 'cause my weight's forward.
Means I'm coming after you.
If I'm laying back, the colour comes back.
Tired of watching you get hammered every day.
I appreciate that.
Is there anything else I should know?
Yeah, lose the Giants shirt hanging in my closet.
You want a job? You want a job? Let's go.
- Let's go. - Go, next group.
- Set. - Move it, move it, move it.
Come on! All the way. Touch the line! Touch the line!
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Come on, gentlemen. Let's act like you wanna be here!
First group again.
- All right, let's go. Let's go. - Set.
You heard him, first group.
Right. All the way, all the way.
Shake it off. Shake it off.
Push through. That's good. Push them through. Come on.
You do know we have a whole season in front of us?
That's it. Hit and release. Hit and release.
Come on. Do it again. Do it again.
We're still looking for the last five players, right, A.C.?
I know.
But do we need to kill the first 40 to find the last five?
Fred! Nutcracker, other side of the field!
Get in there.
- Come on, rook. - Put it on him, 57.
- Come on, boy. - Feel it. Come on.
- Out of nowhere... - You gotta feel it, Papale.
- What are you doing? - That's not quick enough, German.
- Come on. - Run it again. Now.
- Let's go. - Rook came to play today, man.
German, he's about to dial your number.
Pastahead Papale!
- Hey, German. - German!
- Go, German! - Go!
Get him, get him.
Hey, 57, I don't know. He's got your number, baby.
Get up!
Let's go.
It ain't over. It ain't over. It ain't over.
Come on.
- Come on! - Come on!
- Set. - Take that rookie down.
- You showed him, German. - Let's move them downstairs.
- All right, gentlemen. Lower field. - Yeah.
Let's move.
Let's go.
All right, Vince. It's all right.
A less-than-perfect start for new head coach Dick Vermeil,
the Eagles losing their preseason opener today
to San Diego, 20-7.
Still with the team, for one more week, at least,
South Philly's own favourite son, Vince Papale.
- To Vinnie. - Cheers, brother.
New week, same story.
The Eagles, losers of their opener a week ago,
dropped their second straight game today,
a 14-7 decision to the Steelers.
Well, let's just hope this isn't the beginning of a long season, folks.
If Dick Vermeil was hoping for a honeymoon,
he'll have to win a game first,
Miami handing the Eagles their third straight preseason loss today, 24- 16.
Vinnie.
With final cuts only days away,
South Philly's Vince Papale saw a noticeable drop in playing time
as the Eagles lose to Cleveland tonight, 21- 17,
bringing their preseason record to 0 and 6.
Vince.
What brings you back to the old neighbourhood?
Don't you guys have kind of a curfew out there?
How you doing, Pop?
You know.
That was a hell of a time to borrow money from you, Pop,
with the strike and all.
I talked to Maxie. I'm gonna get my hours back.
They let you go?
No, not yet.
They will, though, tomorrow.
I've just been kidding myself, Pop.
I mean, no one needs some hack from South Philly.
These guys are playing the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Roger Staubach, Ed Jones, Randy White.
They need a football player. They don't need me.
Look, Vince...
Look, it was gonna happen sooner rather than later, Pop, right?
I'm just tired of letting everybody down.
You know, Sharon, the school.
And everything that's going on with you and Tommy and everybody.
I mean, that's what's gonna make tomorrow hard.
You know how I used to tell you
about Van Buren scoring that touchdown back in '48?
Yeah, I know.
I know.
That touchdown got me through 30 years at that factory.
Got me through all those times your mother being sick.
When I told you not to get your hopes up,
didn't mean that I wasn't.
Okay?
Okay, so we got one receiver slot open.
It's either Sampson or Papale.
Let's just go around the table.
Sampson.
But it's closer than I thought it would be.
Sampson.
Your job's hard enough, Dick.
Go with a guy like Papale next year, once you've established yourself.
You've got Mr Tose, the media, everyone breathing down your neck.
A good share of the veterans don't even like him.
He's got heart.
People don't want heart, Dick. They want wins.
Knock, knock.
- Hey. - Remember us?
Yes.
I needed this.
- Hey, Dad, can I try on the helmets? - Yes. They're right over there.
Put them back where you found them, though, all right?
Right.
- They wanted to bring you dinner. - Wow!
I guess we're a little late.
- No, I want it. - No, I want it.
No, this is great. This is great.
- You look exhausted. - Well, thank you.
What's going on?
No, we're just...
We're thinking about letting go of Papale.
"We"? Isn't that your decision?
This time it's a little different.
But you said he was somebody you could build a team around.
Carol, there's a lot of other things to consider here.
What was it that you used to say to your kids at Hillsdale High?
That character is tested when you're up against it?
Yeah.
And that's not the problem here. He's got plenty of character.
Who said I was talking about him?
Papale, coach wants to see you.
Hey.
- About time he's out of here. - Yeah.
Got ourselves a roster. Hear that?
Good times, baby.
- Hey, coach. - Hey, Vince.
Come on in. Close the door.
We haven't had much of a chance to talk, have we?
Not really.
How you holding up?
Well, couple bumps here and there, nothing bad.
So, how you doing, coach? You hanging in okay?
Couple of bumps here and there.
I'm all right.
It's not college, that's for sure. Everything about it's a little...
A little faster, little harder.
I'm sure you can relate.
Just wanna thank you for sticking with me for this long, coach.
Why don't you hang on to that for a few more months?
Welcome to the Eagles.
When's the last time you've gone two days without you needing a jump?
- Sorry. I tried Pete. - Are you kidding me?
His car's worse than yours. You'd both be stuck here.
Your cable's good.
Looks like you got a charge.
Hey, buddy, you sure this thing won't start?
You kidding me?
- You kidding with me right now? - Nope.
You're a freaking Eagle, aren't you?
You're a freaking Philadelphia Eagle!
- I wanted you to know first. - This is huge.
This is bigger than when Tony Pantalano came back from Nam
with the Bronze Star.
Give me the keys.
Let's go to Max's. You're buying.
Hey.
So, how you doing with the strike and everything? You all right?
I'm good now.
Philadelphia Eagles!
Yo, get in here!
He's at the 40.
- He's at the 30. - Yo, look who it is. Yo!
- He's at the 20. - He's at the 20.
Number 83, Vince Papale of the Philadelphia Eagles!
- My bartender, right here. - Congratulations.
I was gonna call you this week.
E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!
Yo! You! Harold Carmichael, Bill Bergey.
You're gonna be playing with these guys.
That's right.
You did it.
Your seats are gonna be so much better than ours this year.
Yeah, don't go giving mine away, all right?
I know where you're sitting.
Kingie.
- Hey, Pop. - Come here.
Stevie Van Buren's got nothing on you.
Thanks, Pop.
Maxie, line 'em up. It's my turn to buy.
- From the Eagle's dad? - From the Eagle.
- Thanks, Maxie. Tonight was great. - Forget it.
There is something important I wanna talk to you about, though.
I've decided you can pay me back anytime you want.
First cheque.
- I'm proud of you, Vince. - Thanks.
Let me ask you a question, Maxie. About Johnny.
He's scared, that's all. Put yourself in his place.
I don't even know what's going on, you know, in his mind.
I mean, he's been doing nothing but riding me the past few weeks.
Yeah, I know.
He thinks you're gonna leave.
This is the worst time in his life right now.
He's got no job. He's got no family.
He's just got us.
You're one of us.
You know how it works in South Philly.
Our strength has always been in our numbers.
Give it to me.
That's right. Get your game face on.
Must have been something I ate.
Oh, yeah. Room service.
Definitely.
Cowboy fans...
Blue skies, 81 degrees, a great day for the season opener.
- There he is. - No one's expecting miracles today,
but all eyes will be on coach Dick Vermeil's team
as they take on the defending NFC champions.
Come on.
And now the crowd welcomes Tom Landry, NFC Coach of the Year.
Come on, guys. Come on. Come on.
Philadelphia calls it.
- Heads. - Philadelphia calls heads.
- Tails. - We want the ball.
- Dallas will receive. - All right, kick team.
Let's go.
Bring it in here. Come on, come on.
- Attack on three. One, two, three. - Attack!
Let's go win!
Watch your outsides!
Watch your lanes. Watch your lanes.
- Go, Vinnie. - All right, here we go.
There he is.
And the first game of the regular season is underway.
Let's go, defence!
Rookie Vince Papale had an absolute bead on the runner,
but he froze like a deer in the headlights.
Oh, man, that wasn't good.
All right, let's go, guys. Let's go.
- Sorry, coach. - You're sorry?
I stuck my neck out for you.
You start playing football or you're gone.
Losers!
What happened, coach?
- We missed the wedge. - He froze.
He got outside us.
Blue 17. Set.
Hut! Hut!
Yeah. Yeah.
We lose all six of our preseason games, now this.
0 and 7.
It's not exactly the direction I was hoping for.
It'll get better. Come on.
Could be another long season, Eagle fans.
Not only was the team no match at all for the Cowboys,
but South Philly's Vince Papale was a total bust in his pro debut.
Coach Dick Vermeil's heart may have been in the right place,
but this team needs players right now, not 30-year-old bartenders.
Hey.
What are you doing here?
I was just walking around.
I needed to tell you something.
- You know that night at Colombo's, I... - You don't need to explain.
I know, but please.
It wasn't that I was just thinking about that one thing.
I was just scared because I knew the way I could feel about you,
and it was just too soon. At least for me.
I don't know what's gonna happen with all this.
Even if I never got to see you again,
you go off, you get married, you have five kids,
I just wanted to let you know how I felt.
I can't, Vince.
Yeah.
Well, maybe I'll see you at work?
If we run into that this week, and there's a good chance we will,
we'll work deep to short, highllow the corner.
The corner bites, first option will be Carmichael. Okay?
If he falls off, Mike, you stick your foot in the ground
and you get rid of the ball fast.
You hesitated last week. We can't afford it. Charlie will be right here.
Take the short man if the long man's not there.
We can't hesitate, guys. Let's take what the defence gives us
and let's move the chains.
Hustle, hustle, Jared. Go deep.
Oh, come on.
- Ball, ball! - Oh. I got you, I got you.
Got it!
Wait up! Wait up!
Go, go, go.
Bring it on!
Yeah!
Come on. Go, go.
Take your boy back. Take your boy back.
- Mick. - What?
What's up with that? Huh? Mick.
What? Was that, like, a late hit?
What'd I do?
Let's go.
Time-out, Mick! All right, come on, let's go.
- Everybody over to the side. - Oh, dear.
Hustle up. Let's go. Hustle.
You gotta hit him low, man.
What are you doing here?
You come to watch us get dragged through the mud?
No, I was just driving around.
You know, Vince,
I don't know how much longer the Eagles are gonna need you,
but your friends could use a little help.
I got a game this weekend. I can't, Johnny.
Come on now, guys. Come on now.
Get in there.
Shake it off.
I'm not throwing you the ball at all. It's my ball.
Come on, we got this. Come on, come on. I mean, we got this.
- Come on, baby. - We got this.
Tone, you're down. Pat, you're in. Let's go.
Come on. Put the ball into play. Let's go.
- Knock his teeth out. - I got you, man.
- Let's go, man. - Let's go. Let's play.
- Come on, let's go. - Line up.
So what? It don't matter.
You're nuts, you know that?
- What's up, Max? - What's up, Vince?
Good to see you.
Let's just play some ball.
We're gonna pass through the rain and you can't stop us.
Down!
Set. Hut!
Huddle up.
On one.
Ready? Break.
Vince, you okay?
Never better, Maxie. Never better.
Play ball!
Down!
Set. Hut.
Yes!
Yeah!
Yeah.
Yes!
- Good try, all right? - Definitely.
Good game, guys.
Come on. Come on, let's get a drink. Let's get a drink.
Tanker boys are buying again.
- Good game, guys. - Yo, Vince.
Even if this is your last game with the Eagles,
win one for the boys in the neighbourhood, huh?
Hey!
- Hi. - Hey.
Vince...
Oh, my God, are you all...
- What happened? - No, it's nothing.
Maxie and the boys needed a little help with the game tonight.
You're the help?
What do those guys look like?
It's good to see you. How you doing?
I'm good.
What you said the other night...
I don't know, I guess I needed a couple days to hear it.
So if you still...
I wasn't done.
I can finish later.
Morning.
Get any sleep?
Not too much.
Neither did I.
Well, look at it this way.
If it doesn't work out, at least we'll have a great lawn back in LA.
Give 'em hell.
- Wanna get out of my seat? - Hey!
- I said, get out of my seat. - Hey! Hey!
Come on.
- Never mind. - Thank you.
- Thank you. Thank you. - Get her out of here!
Hey. She's with us. Relax.
You're not a real Eagles fan.
- E-A... - Shut your mouth!
...G- L... - Shut your mouth.
...E- S. - Go, Giants.
A team with character will find a way to beat a team with better talent.
I believe that.
And you guys are not the team that's short on talent here today.
And I swear you'll never again be the team short on character.
We need to find the soul of this team again.
The soul that drove great Eagle players.
Players like Norm Van Brocklin,
Tommy McDonald, Steve Van Buren.
They weren't just out here playing for themselves. They played for a city.
People of Philadelphia have suffered.
You are what they turn to in times like these.
You are what gives them hope.
Let's win one for them.
Let's win one for us. Bring it in.
- One, two, three. - Eagles!
We're the Eagles.
Ladies and gentlemen,
let's welcome your Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles now receiving a mixed greeting from the fans here at the Vet.
No surprise, given the start to their season.
Six consecutive losses in the preseason,
followed by last Sunday's embarrassing loss in Dallas.
Break.
Special teams were a disaster last weekend.
If the Eagles are to have any shot today,
they need to make a statement right here and right now.
No return.
And the kick is away.
It is taken near the goal line.
What a hit to start things off.
Vince Papale putting the Giants back inside their own 15.
He's pointing at me. He's pointing at me.
What a turnaround from last week, when Papale could do nothing right.
There you go. Good speed. Nice, Vince.
- All right, baby, this one's for... - What a hit, baby. What a hit.
All right, let's go.
53...
Red 32. Hut.
27. Hut, hike.
Hut.
Craig Morton, rolling out to the right.
He's got an open receiver in the end zone.
Touchdown, Giants.
And New York draws first blood.
- This is our house. - Sit down!
Hey. Hey.
I told you, Andy, one more time. Come here.
Hut.
Okay, we're gonna go far left for 28, pass right. Okay?
Come on, Mike, take care of that ball!
Hut.
Boryla with a nice play-action fake, looking, moving out to his right.
He's got Carmichael.
- Touchdown, Eagles. - Yes!
No!
- Yeah, yeah. - Yeah!
Eagles and Giants now deadlocked at 7-7.
Let's get some points up.
Stick him, T.J. Come on.
A brilliant open-field tackle by Papale.
That was Papale!
Yeah.
Somebody block that guy.
That's the way it's done. That's football.
Yeah.
Eagles! Eagles! Eagles!
And listen to this crowd right now.
Eagles! Eagles! Eagles!
How long has it been since we've heard that?
The Eagles, drawing new life from this crowd.
But this game has become what we knew it would be all along,
a grind-it-out defensive struggle in which every yard is hard to get.
Again, the Eagles have been completely shut down.
Hut.
- Punt, punt. - Come on, team, let's go.
- Andy! Andy. - It's Frank.
Okay, Frank, they're holding my receivers all day long.
Eight minutes to go, fourth quarter, game tied at 14 apiece.
Late in the game now, only a minute 20 to play,
and the Eagles facing a key third and 10 from their own five-yard line.
Sullivan hit in the backfield. Now finding some running room.
Yeah!
And he's brought down very close to a first down.
- Official time-out for a measurement. - Come on.
Now, if the Eagles pick up the first down,
they'll still have a long way to go for a go-ahead score.
It's short.
- Yeah! - Damn.
Denied!
And they are short by inches.
- Fourth down. - Yeah.
Punt team.
Tight punt.
Eagle fans are not happy with the decision to punt,
but Vermeil, not taking any chances here.
Now hoping for overtime.
Relax, relax.
Listen up. Tight punt.
Good job. Keep it safe. Safe.
- This is a huge play for both teams. - Break.
No room for mistakes on either side.
Watch for the Giants to go for the block.
I'm coming in, baby.
- 61. 61. - Overload right.
Come on, baby.
Come on. We got this.
- Check Zorro. Check Zorro. - What?
What did he call?
Check Zorro. Check Zorro.
It appears the Eagles are calling a last-second audible
changing the play.
Check, check.
- What the hell is he doing? - Here we go, Vince.
- Watch the fake. - First down.
Yeah!
And Papale with a tremendous break on the ball.
Fumble.
Yeah!
Come on, Vince.
He got the ball!
- Come on, Vince! - Go.
- Papale's at the 40. - Come on, Vince.
The 30. The 20. The 10.
- Oh, my God. - Go, go, go!
That's it.
- Yes! - Unbelievable.
This is just unbelievable.
- Yes! - Yeah.
That's my boy!
That's your boy, Kingie.
That's the sound we've been looking for.
- Yes! - Go! Go! Go!
- Yes! - Oh, yeah!