Gridiron Gang (2006) - Quotes

Consequences of Choices in a Dangerous Environment

Sean: I just got back from the hospital. Kelvin's gonna be okay.

Willie: Better for me if the nigga was dead.

Sean: Ya think so? I really don't think it matters cause you're screwed either way, Willie. Your homeys know what you did yesterday. So you go back to the hood, they're gonna put a bullet in your head, cause they think you're not down for the set anymore. No matter what you say now. You know what? I think they're right.

Willie: [Lunges at Sean before being put into a chokehold] Manǃ

Sean: [Lets go of Willie] You better be good to me, asshole, cause I'm all you gotǃ

Willie: [Throws a pillow at Sean, who grabs it and throws it aside] Man, fuck youǃ

Sean: Who else cares about you?!

Willie: I don't need nobody elseǃ

Sean: You don't give a shit about me or anybody elseǃ

Willie: Man, that's rightǃ

Sean: Then why'd you try to save Kelvin yesterday?! Huh? Answer me thatǃ Why'd you side with the enemy over your own homeboy?!

Willie: Man, cause-a youǃ And this damn football team, manǃ

Sean: That's bullshitǃ You made a choiceǃ

Willie: No, I didn'tǃ I ain't even what was happenin to meǃ It was just so... everything so quickǃ I don't what's happenin to me, man.

Sean: I do. You're not the loser you were when you first got here, Willie. You're just not used to bein a winner.

Willie: My father said I was a waste of his time and his money.

Sean: Your father was a loser, Willie. My old man was the same way. He spent so much time tellin me I was no good, tellin me I was nothin'. I believed him.

Willie: That why you so pissed off all the time?

Sean: [Sits down with Willie] Yeah, that's probably got somethin to do with it. I know how you feel, Willie. You get to the point where you expect to screw up. You expect to fail. If we wanna win, we gotta let em go. Forgive em and move on.

Willie: Forgive em?

Sean: Forgive em. Otherwise we give em too much power over us. And they don't deserve it.

Willie: Well, how long it take you to forgive your dad?

Sean: [Stares deep into space and thought for a moment] Till just now. Till just now.

Willie: Kelvin's gonna be okay?

Sean: Yeah.

Willie: Whole football team's done, though, huh?

Sean: Maybe not.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Overcoming Early Setbacks in Team Performance

Sean: First one is always the toughest. We made a lotta mistakes out there today. All of us. Me too.

Willie: No shit.

Sean: They were ready. They've been playin together for three years. We've been together for three weeks. Lemme tell you somethin else. I still don't believe that they're 38 points better than you. I still don't believe they're the better team. I would not trade you for them. I want you to hold your heads up high. We got nine games left. We're just gonna have to work harder.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Embracing the Mustang Challenge Together

Sean: [The players cheer] This is it. The day you've been waitin for. I know you're nervous. So am I. My first game too. Now it's time to go out there and put it on the scoreboard. Now it's time to see who has the heart. Now is the time to prove to yourselves and prove to everybody out there that even though you're locked up, you are somebody. And you are worthy of somethingǃ And you're able to do something special that no one else in the world can do, which you can walk through those doors, hold your heads up high and call yourselves Mustangsǃ Are you ready to go out there and take what's yours? (Players: "Yeahǃ") What you've worked hard for? (Players: "Yeahǃ") Are you ready to accept the Mustang challenge? Lead usǃ Lead usǃ

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Confrontation on the Football Field

Sean: What was that about?!

Willie: Man, just send me to the boxǃ

Sean: No, you start trouble on a football field, we finish it on a football fieldǃ

Willie: I ain't doin shit wit imǃ

Sean: Why not?!

Willie: Was his set smoked Rajaǃ

Kelvin: 88s killed my best friendǃ

Sean: Shut upǃ How long your sets been at war?

Kelvin: Ancient times, dude.

Sean: How'd it get started? You even know?

Kelvin: They started that shit, dawgǃ

Willie: Man, that's a goddamn lieǃ

Sean: Shut upǃ Willie, lemme ask you something. How'd you feel when Roger died? Did you cry? How bout you, Kelvin? How did you feel when your friend was killed? Did you cry?

Kelvin: Yes, sir, I did.

Sean: [Both boys refuse] Yeah. So it's just gonna go on like this forever? Killin each other cause ya live five blocks in the wrong direction? How bout we call a peace right here? Goddamn it, why not?!

Willie: I mean, we just, like, little gangsters. It wouldn't even mean nothin'.

Sean: It'd mean somethin here. Right here, right now, it would mean somethin'.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

A Father's Regret and Aspiration

Sean: You got a pass, Junior?

Junior: I had a phone call.

Sean: From who?

Junior: It's my boy's birthday, man. He's two-years-old. He's two-years-old and I missed it. I wanna be a Mustang, coach.

Sean: Why should I trust you?

Junior: Cause I ain't gonna mess up.

Sean: That's what you told the judge the last time you got out.

Junior: No more. I'm tired of bein a loser, man. Makin a mess of everything. Coach, I wanna show people I can play. I can do somethin with my life. I just wanna make my son proud.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Motivation and Team Spirit in Practice

Sean: All right, bring it in. Great practice, great practice. Way to work, way to work. Everybody in close. Get in close. Take a knee. You guys worked really hard this week. You should be proud. You haven't heard that a whole lot, have you? You've earned it. Boys, it's a whole new world out there when you earn things. All right, bring it in. Everybody in. Everybody in. Mustangs on three. One, two, threeǃ (Everyone: "MUSTANGSǃ")

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Transforming Losers into Winners Through Teamwork

Sean: All right, everybody, listen up. Whatever neighborhood you came from, whatever gang you claim, whatever hood you're from, this is your hood now. You're no longer a Blood, no longer a Crip, no longer an esé. You're Mustang. This football program will be three-pronged. Number one, the dorm. You're gonna have to learn to get along with people from other neighborhoods. Different backgrounds. Number two, school. You're gonna have to apply yourself. Become a better student. And number three, the gridiron.

Bug: Hey, coach. What's the gridiron?

Sean: You're standin on the gridiron. The gridiron is a football field. On the gridiron, we play football. On the gridiron, we do it my way. Not your way, my way. Your way got you here. And you're here, cause ya lost. Right now, you're losers. Mustangs are winners. And if you accept this challenge, when it's all over come December, you're gonna be winners.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Teamwork and Commitment in Football Training

Sean: You wanna play football with this team, you're gonna live with the team, eat with the team, and work with the team.

Miguel Perez: Is practice gonna be hard?

Sean: It's a lot harder than five homeboys beatin up a security guard, Perez.

Perez: Then I'm in.

Sean: How bout you, Bates?

Kenny Bates: I don't know.

Sean: Don't be scared.

Bates: I'm not scared.

Sean: You're on the team.

Leon Hayes: Yo. I'll play quarterback.

Sean: You got any experience, Leon?

Leon: Man, I got so much experience I could give some away and still have more than I could use.

Sean: All right.

Junior Palaita: I'll play.

Sean: I can't use you, Junior.

Junior: Why not?

Sean: Cause you got no discipline. You'll be tryin to start fights every time I turn my back.

Junior: You ain't even gonna give me a chance?

Sean: [Kelvin doesn't answer] You've had plenty of chances. Who else? How bout you, Owens? You played defensive back, didn't you? For Washington? You wanna check your calendar and get back to me? Or maybe you got another liquor store to rob.

Kelvin Owens: Yeah, I'll play.

Sean: How bout you, Evans?

Jamal Evans: I mean, I played Pop Warner when I was younger but that's about it, though.

Sean: You're on the team.

Bug Wendal: I got experience. I played for, like, three years.

Sean: What position'd you play?

Bug: Out to the side.

Sean: Was that out to the side on offense or defense?

Bug: If the ball's thrown from... man, I don't know what I'm talkin'.

Sean: All right, Bug. How bout you be water boy?

Bug: Cool.

Sean: All right.

Donald Madlock: Yo, Mr. Porter. Can I play?

Sean: You're getting out in a week, Madlock.

Madlock: I wanna stay in.

Sean: You wanna stay in jail?

Madlock: Yeah, man. South Central in summertime gets hot. Gets crazy. People start shootin each other and stuff.

Sean: I'll talk to your case worker. All right?

Madlock: All right.

Sean: [To Willie Weathers] New booty? What's your name?

Willie Weathers: Willie Weathers.

Sean: [Willie stands up] Get vertical when you talk to me. You any relation to Roger Weathers?

Willie: He was my cousin, man.

Sean: I want you to play on this team, Willie.

Willie: Naw, man, it's a'ight.

Sean: You're playin'.

Willie: Why?

Sean: Cause I want you to live longer than your cousin.

Leon: Hey. Who we gonna play against?

Sean: We'll let you know.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Building Leadership Through Team Sports

Sean: Listen, Paul, we convince a kid to stop gangbanging, all we do is create a void. And unless we fill that void with somethin better, we're gonna lose em. According to the teaching staff, the kids here have trouble being punctual, responding to authority, being a member of a team, and accepting criticism. What one activity can improve em on all these areas?

Paul Higa: You wanna start a football team?

Sean: Exactly.

Paul: Sean, look at them. Our whole system's designed to prevent them from making contact.

Sean: Our whole system right now is a joke.

Ted Dexter: Malcolm, you're not buying into this, are you?

Malcolm: Seventy-five percent of our kids end up back in jail. How much worse could it be?

Ted: Well, who are they gonna play against?

Sean: I'll find em high school teams to play.

Ted: Wait a minute, you wanna take em out of the camp? You really think you can trust these kids?

Sean: Not now, no. But if they were a football team...

Ted: Oh, come on, Sean. It's-it's impossible.

Sean: Then let's try the impossible, because the possible just ain't workin'. Paul, we've got to give these kids a target and we've gotta fill that void. You played football, didn't you?

Paul: Defensive end. Second Team All League. All right, we'll give it a try. But your neck is way out on this.

Confrontation Over Violence and Accountability

Roger Weathers: Mr. Porter?

Sean Porter: Gettin beatin in the middle of the night, how'd you like it, Roger? You like that?

Roger: Whatchu hitting me for?!

Sean: What you hit Kelvin Owens for?!

Roger: He dissed my hood!

Sean: And now he's out there asleep and you're stuck in here. So what does that make you?

Roger: Hey, man. Can you do dat?

Sean: Can I do what?

Roger: Be smackin me and shit.

Sean: I guess I can.

Roger: SHIT, man!!!

Sean: Roger, you're 17-years-old. Where you gonna be in four years, huh?

Roger: I don't know.

Sean: Answer me. Where you gonna be when you're 21?

Roger: Probably in jail.

Sean: What? Look at me! What'd you say?

Roger: In jail.

Sean: [Bends down to talk with Roger; Stands up, grabs the newspaper, and walks away] No. You're not gonna be in jail. You're gonna be dead. You're a good kid, Roger. But you're gonna be back out on the streets tomorrow. Back in your hood with your homeys. You wanna stay alive, you gotta make a life for yourself outside of your set. If you don't do that, if you don't find an alternative, you're gonna die. If you want any kinda help, if you want to talk, I'm here for you. Think about it.

Embracing Gaming and Competition

Leon Hayes: Yeah. I played games. I play Madden!

Belief in Team and Personal Growth

Willie Weathers: They ain't that good, man. We're better. And it means much more to us. You know? When this all started, man, coach, he said we'd be winners. I thought he was full of shit, man. I hated y'all. Didn't want no part of it. But then we made a team. We showed people somethin'. Coach is right. We changed. We're not losers no more. All we gotta do is go out there and show it one more time. You know what I'm sayin'?

Transformative Outcomes Beyond the Game

Sean Porter: [Closing lines] We played the championship game the next week. We lost 17-14. But we played a helluva game. And no one called us losers. I told em, far as I was concerned, they were champs. Since then all the kids have been released. 24 are goin to school. Three are working full-time jobs. And only five are back in jail. That's a lot better than the average failure rate of 75 percent. After his release, Junior Palaita got a job working for a furniture company and lives with his family. Kelvin Owens recovered from his bullet wound. He's gonna play for Washington High next season. Miguel Perez and Donald Madlock went back to their old gangs and are now in California Youth Authority prisons. Kenny Bates is goin to school in Redondo Beach and living with his mom. Leon Hayes is trying to resist the crack dealer's lifestyle. He's gonna play football for Dorsey High this year. Bug Wendal was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton. Willie Weathers got a full scholarship to play football for a top boarding school. A school that's long way from 88th Street. And how'd things change for me? Not a whole lot.

The Power of Self-Belief

Sean Porter: Ya got nobody but yourself, but, goddamn it, that's all you need. Believe in yourself and knock me on my ass!

Pushing Limits to Discover Potential

Sean Porter: I know you're a good football player. You may even be great. And I am gonna push you until we find out.

Belief in Team Strength and Resilience

Sean Porter: Lemme tell you somethin else, I still don't believe that they're 38 points better than you. I still don't believe that they're the better team. I would not trade you for them. I want you to hold your heads up high.

Proving Worth Beyond Confinement

Sean Porter: It's time to prove to everyone out there that even though you're locked up, you are somebody.

Embracing the Challenge of the Impossible

Sean Porter: Then let's try the impossible, because the possible just ain't workin'.

Consequences of Choices Among Teenagers

Sean Porter: [First lines] Most 16, 17-year-old kids, they make a bad choice, something gets broken, they screw up in class, hurt somebody's feelings, show up at the prom drunk, they get sent to the principal's office, have their car keys taken away, or get grounded. Then there's kids, they make a bad choice, somebody ends up shot dead in a parkin lot. Those kids get sent here.