S01:E10 Good vs Great

[AgentRXS]

Quote

Miami, 1990s: After a devastating injury his freshman year, Dwayne strives to get his college football career back on track. As he fights for playing time, he wonders if big dreams and hard work are enough to get him to the NFL.

Original Air Date;  April 27, 2021

[mtlchick]

Hey, it’s the other OTHER Hemsworth brother! That is one strong gene pool. 
 

 

[thuganomics85]

I actually couldn't place Luke Hemsworth as Coach Erickson until they listed his name in the credits.  I guess I'm just so use to him on Westworld that seeing him with the 90s era coach look was too much to comprehend!

Episode was an accurate representation of Dwayne's football career, from what I heard: solid, but unspectacular on the field and never really got a chance to stand out.  To be fair, even if he did reach great level, it would have really been hard to make a mark when you're on the same team with the likes of Warren Sapp AND Ray Lewis.  Damn, that college turned out some players!

Working at a call center sounds bad enough, but one without air conditioning?  Literal hell on earth!

Loved the dream/fantasies of Dwayne getting drafted and how smaller his gifts were each time his draft number got lower.  Especially at the end when he could only afford a mobile home and Rocky was like "Should have just kept the cash."

[Traveller519]

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

I actually couldn't place Luke Hemsworth as Coach Erickson until they listed his name in the credits.  I guess I'm just so use to him on Westworld that seeing him with the 90s era coach look was too much to comprehend!

Episode was an accurate representation of Dwayne's football career, from what I heard: solid, but unspectacular on the field and never really got a chance to stand out.  To be fair, even if he did reach great level, it would have really been hard to make a mark when you're on the same team with the likes of Warren Sapp AND Ray Lewis.  Damn, that college turned out some players!

Working at a call center sounds bad enough, but one without air conditioning?  Literal hell on earth!

Loved the dream/fantasies of Dwayne getting drafted and how smaller his gifts were each time his draft number got lower.  Especially at the end when he could only afford a mobile home and Rocky was like "Should have just kept the cash."

Those were some amazing teams. That defensive line also had Kenny Holmes, another first rounder who started in a Super Bowl and Kenard Lang...also a future first rounder. That was a dominant era of Miami football.

I'm a little bummed we had to burn so quickly through the remainder of his college career so quickly, but I guess there isn't as much to the story there. Still it would have been great to show him actually graduating, making good on what his high school coach pitched him on. Also I feel like they could have gone a bit more into the discussion with Carlos Jones about middle management being an okay path for a lot of people. I know Dwayne's whole thing is about striving to be the best, but in an episode about coming to terms with your limitations, understanding the other routes many people take would have been great.

As a Calgarian, I'm hoping we get to see his brief stint in the CFL with the Stampeders. He's quoted coach Wally Buono as the final person who sat him down to tell him his future wasn't in football, which lead to the back in Florida, "7 Bucks in my pocket" moment.

[rmontro]

On 4/28/2021 at 12:27 PM, Traveller519 said:

I'm a little bummed we had to burn so quickly through the remainder of his college career so quickly, but I guess there isn't as much to the story there.

The nice thing about this format where they jump around in time is that they can always go back and revisit his college days and maybe tell some different stories.  Maybe focus on one story arc from a particular period per season, if there are more seasons. 

Looks like we're going to get to a point where Dwayne is elected president and follow things from there.  I don't see him losing.

[tennisgurl]

Dwayne really was unlucky in his college football career, not only getting injured right away but being a solid but unremarkable player on a team with some of the very best players of the era. Its hard to stand out when your standing next to guys like Warren Saap and Ray freaking Lewis. Miami was seriously turning out superstars left and right, what a stacked freaking team. No wonder Miami was such a big deal school to go to for football, even if it meant that Dwayne got pushed to the sidelines, literally. I hope that this isn't the end of seeing Dwayne in college, I would like to see more flashbacks to his time there, but they could also I guess move on to the next part of his football career. I want to look up more about his career but is that basically like looking at spoilers? 

"Get that players name, I'll send his mom a note!" Working in a call center sounds bad enough, but without air conditioning? In Florida? Yee gods what a nightmare. 

The presidential campaign cant last forever, so eventually I am guessing Dwayne will win and we will focus on his presidency as the framing device? As long as Randall and his sweaters are still around, I'm good with that.  

[ratgirlagogo]

20 hours ago, rmontro said:

Looks like we're going to get to a point where Dwayne is elected president and follow things from there.  I don't see him losing

 

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

The presidential campaign cant last forever, so eventually I am guessing Dwayne will win and we will focus on his presidency as the framing device? As long as Randall and his sweaters are still around, I'm good with that. 

I love this show, but I'm very uncomfortable with the campaign framing device because I'm pretty sure Dwayne Johnson is considering a Presidential run in all seriousness. He has said so in the press:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/19/the-rock-reveals-why-hes-considering-running-for-president.html

Hell, why shouldn't he?  If  Donald Trump could win, any well known media figure might win, yes? Not that I think Rock would be like Trump, mind you.   I believe that Arnold Scharzenegger might well have become president if his foreign birth didn't make it unconstitutional.  Rock's chances of winning would be excellent, IMO, and while I love The Rock as both wrestler and actor I don't know if I'd love him as a president.

I'm a devoted wrestling fan, like thuganomics, and the wrestling stuff is my favorite aspect of the show.  Little things like not just the mention of Rocky Johnson's tag team partner Tony Atlas - but also the throwaway line about Tony's notorious foot fetish!  Love.

[rmontro]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I hope that this isn't the end of seeing Dwayne in college, I would like to see more flashbacks to his time there, but they could also I guess move on to the next part of his football career

It's amazing to see what kind of life Dwayne has had, and how varied.  Famous family, friends, played on a national championship football team (which is portrayed as a "failure"), the next part of his football career (not spoiling!), massively successful as a pro wrestler and then top box office draw.  I bet most people would be happy to have any small part off that.

 

3 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Rock's chances of winning would be excellent, IMO, and while I love The Rock as both wrestler and actor I don't know if I'd love him as a president.

Rock is immensely popular, so I do think he would have the potential to be the true unifying force the country so desperately needs right now.  I don't know a lot about his politics though.  I like his statements about putting aside hate and unifying, but we've heard that before. 

[Raja]

On 4/28/2021 at 9:27 AM, Traveller519 said:

 

I'm a little bummed we had to burn so quickly through the remainder of his college career so quickly, but I guess there isn't as much to the story there. Still it would have been great to show him actually graduating, making good on what his high school coach pitched him on. Also I feel like they could have gone a bit more into the discussion with Carlos Jones about middle management being an okay path for a lot of people. I know Dwayne's whole thing is about striving to be the best, but in an episode about coming to terms with your limitations, understanding the other routes many people take would have been great.

 

That his ex wife is also an executive producer I don't think their romance  would be a no show like a certain Hulkish wrestler has been so far.

9 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

The presidential campaign cant last forever, so eventually I am guessing Dwayne will win and we will focus on his presidency as the framing device? As long as Randall and his sweaters are still around, I'm good with that.  

Somebody remind me just how long did the Korean War last again?😇

[Kel Varnsen]

On 4/28/2021 at 12:27 PM, Traveller519 said:

As a Calgarian, I'm hoping we get to see his brief stint in the CFL with the Stampeders.

I read The Rock's autobiography probably 20 years ago. It was good (not as good as Mick Foley's though). The stories about his time on the Stampeders practice squad and how he made no money (CFL player is basically a part time job for most players), so there could be some good stories there.

I also wonder if the oldest Rock will eventually join the WWF. I was big into wrestling when he came out with the Rocky Miavia gimmick and everyone hated it, and not even in that good heel heat kind of way.

On 4/29/2021 at 8:14 PM, rmontro said:

The nice thing about this format where they jump around in time is that they can always go back and revisit his college days and maybe tell some different stories.  Maybe focus on one story arc from a particular period per season, if there are more seasons. 

Plus depending on how long this show goes for, it wouldn't be that hard to retell his University story from a different angle using the version of the Rock that is now in high school.

My favourite part of this episode was the grandmother. Her lines about the different mascots and how old one of the coaches looked were hilarious.