On this week’s episode, I talk about a football player who impacted my life, and a new movie about his life that you should see with your family this fall.

 

When I was in high school, we were across town from another high school named Woodlawn.

• We had heard about racially motivated riots there and how some of the kids had to be bussed into school.
• During the football season, I became aware of a student on Woodlawn’s team named Tony Nathan.
• He was unbelievable—a running back no one could stop.
• In the fall of my 10th grade year I would get the newspaper every Saturday and read the articles about Tony.

 

They announced that undefeated Woodlawn would play Banks, another undefeated powerhouse, in the playoffs.

• The game would be played at Legion Field where at the time Auburn and Alabama played each other every year.
• I talked my dad into going, and when we got there, 20,000 people must have been standing outside the gate.
• They delayed the game so they could keep bringing people in; once we got in, you could see lines of cars stuck on the interstate.
• There were 40,000 people in the stadium, 20,000 were turned away, and they estimated another 40,000 were stuck on the interstate.

 

The upcoming movie Woodlawn centers around the whole Woodlawn team’s spiritual awakening around this time and has so many lessons for the whole family.

• It’s really not a football movie. It’s built around a football team, but it’s a movie about family, decisions, hardship, and overcoming.
• You will want your teenagers to see this.
• The only reason I would talk about this on the podcast is because I think it will be a great resource for your family.

 

Click here to learn more about the major motion picture Woodlawn, in theaters October 16, 2015, and tune in to the podcast to hear more from Andy about his personal connection with the film.