Past The 'Keeper

Vince Papale’s football career ended in stardom but it was a long road that took him to that point in his life.

Actor Mark Wahlberg portrays Papale’s journey through the film Invincible. Based in Papale’s hometown of Philadelphia, Pa. he was working as a supply manager two days a week until budget cuts eliminated his job completely.

Nothing was going well for him.

His wife divorced him, believing Papale would never amount to anything in life, but when then-Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil announces that he will hold an open tryout to spice things up for the team, Papale tries out — reluctantly.

With so much trouble in his life up to this point, most people would have give up and never taken the tryout seriously, but Papale didn’t just go — he went there to prove he could play with the big boys of the NFL.

Day after day, his teammates never gave him a chance, always trying their hardest to put him down, hurt him, and prove this 30-year old didn’t deserve a shot to play with them.

But Papale was used to this kind of treatment his whole life and it never stopped him from doing what he wanted to do — and doing it to his best ability.

A true die-hard fan, Papale was being covered by the local news station throughout his tryout and eventually shocks the world and actually makes the team.

The team had been so bad in recent years that a win was rare. But in just his second professional game, Papale recovers a fumbled football and runs it all the way back for a touchdown with his best friends in the stands watching and cheering him on.

This is a story that truly shows what passion, a love for the game, and commitment can get you. I could watch this movie over and over again, yet I will never stop getting chills down my spine.

A true never-give-up movie is a must-see not only for sports fans, but for anyone who has ever been told they couldn’t make it.

In case you haven’t seen or heard of the movie, here’s a trailer: