National Champions Movie Review

Bringing about the question of fairness authentically and genuinely that audiences can relate to, football fan and non-football fan alike, “National Champions” entertains us into thinking about more than just Saturday’s game. What of the athlete that gets us from the end of the baseball season to basketballs, allowing us not to miss either?

Football is more than loved in this country; it’s worshipped. Jerseys and hats were the beginning of how we showed the outside world who “our” team was. Now, people don their entire homes in gear and memorabilia to show their support. Towels, shoes, Christmas decorations, BBQ sets… clocks! These are just some of the ways that schools and the National Collegiate Athletic Association  (NCAA) generate a profit from your love of the game and your favorite team. But again, I ask you, what of the athlete?

If you’ve watched football at all for the last few decades, you are entirely aware that this topic came into play at some point during the season. Fans debated about it and so did the commentators. In the movie, we see this question being posed by the leading player on one of the best teams just three days before the National Championship game is played in New Orleans.

Star quarterback LeMarcus James (Stephan James) and his teammate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) gather some press for an impromptu conference asking to be considered. He tells fans of the game how much members of the NCAA are getting paid from each game, breaking it down, shocking all who listen.

He also does this for his fellow teammates, asking them to think about what they’re leaving on the field for… nothing. Yes, nothing, because out of 12,000 who try to get into the pros, only 300 actually make it. The rest are left on the field, broken and penniless because while they were in school, they weren’t allowed to accept money, even free food, and they certainly didn’t have time for a job.

Will the NCAA help them when the knee they injured while playing against their biggest rival got blown out? Will they get compensation for the lifetime of pain they’ll endure because of it?

James asks his friends to consider boycotting the game with him and Emmett to get some answers and maybe even some of the billions being raked in by the members of the system. The NCAA asks football players to work for free so they can cash in and get bigger bonuses.

James tells us that fifteen billion dollars goes to the, ‘lucrative oligarchy.’ He considers it the new slave trade. This hits home for many.

From his press conference, sports announcers and players discuss the boycott and support the young players. Some are individuals playing themselves, shedding light on the real controversy.

Every football fan will love the reality this brings, and the non-football fans they’ve dragged to the theater with them are going to be energized by its humanity. They may even enjoy it more than those who knew about what went on in college sports all these years.

Nowadays, players actually do make money from the game. They’re allowed to cash in on their LIN; their Likeness, Images and Names. They still do not and most likely will not get money from the NCAA. But you’ll enjoy this suspenseful drama about what it was like before players were allowed to accept payment for their efforts in getting you that championship season you can be proud of.

The movie gets into a dark, personal part of James’ past. This is in an effort by the NCAA to try and get him to play the game.

Look beyond these scenes for the real film. It was so intense that it didn’t need to use blackmail tactics to convince the audience to like it. The true story that’s being told is quite enough, especially in the performances bringing the truth to you. What we get from them is reason enough to take “National Champions” in this Christmas.

Uzo Aduba, who plays a conniving lawyer named Katherine, is willing to do what it takes to get the home team the win. Too bad she cheers for the wrong section. But she is so convincing and compelling.

J.K. Simmons gives some emotional speeches as James’ head coach. His heart is being trampled on by someone he saw as his son. His wife isn’t helping either, but that’s melodrama you’ll discover later… and something truly not necessary.

But the real heart of the film is Stephan James’ fiery sermons about who the game really is, along with Ric Roman Waugh’s direction, that will make the audience sit up and take notice of the bigger picture in the world around them.

Why did the NCAA fight this? And why did it take so long for them to agree to allow athletes, most of whom are not bound for the next playing field, to make anything when they make so much? What was their motivation? How many houses can one person have?