I have been hoping that Arkansas could win the SEC Championship game but after 20 years we still haven’t done so. Wikipedia reports that four times have appeared at least five times. They are Florida (10), Alabama (7), LSU (5) and Tennessee (5). Arkansas does have 3 appearances but no wins. Florida has the most wins with 7, LSU has 4, Alabama has 3 and Tennessee has 2. Before Houston Nutt haters get cranked up you have to admit that Houston got us there on the dance floor twice and tied for the SEC West Championship in 1998 too. SEC West Champs 3 out of 10 aint so bad after all!!!!
History
The SEC was the first conference in the NCAA to hold a football championship game made possible when the conference expanded in 1991 to twelve members with the addition of the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina. The format has since been adopted by other conferences to decide their football champion (the first being the Big 12 in 1996).
In 2009, Alabama and Florida met in the SEC Championship Game for the seventh time in the eighteen year history of the game, the record for the most times any two teams have faced each other in the Championship game. The only other matchup in the SEC Championship played more than twice is Georgia and LSU, which has been played three times. Alabama has faced Florida in each of their seven SEC Championship game appearances. In addition, the 2009 game marked the second consecutive year that the number 1 (Florida) and number 2 (Alabama) ranked teams in the AP Poll met in the SEC Championship game. 2009 was the first time any conference championship game had featured two undefeated teams. Alabama won 32-13 and earned a berth in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game.
Arkansas Sports 360 has a good article on those 3 appearances that Arkansas made in the championship game and it is a shame that we lost that game in 2006 with those turnovers to Florida.
For a second there, Florida head coach Urban Meyer almost looked worried in the 2006 SEC Championship Game. That feeling didn’t last long, needless to say.
This football season marks the 21st for the Razorbacks as members of the SEC. Having completed two decades in the league it seemed worth reflecting on how far the program has come. Which victories over the last 20 years were the sweetest? Were there losses that hurt more than others? What coaching decisions still have folks scratching their heads? ArkansasSports360.com assembled a panel aimed at answering these questions. We have our list and we’d love to hear yours.
No. 9 on our moments you would love to forget …
Razorbacks Make Three SEC Title Games, Can’t Win When It Happened: 1995, 2002, 2006 Who To Remember: Danny Ford, Houston Nutt, Reggie Fish, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs
Why You’d Like To Forget: All Reggie Fish had to do was let the punt roll into the end zone.
Pretty simple, really. Don’t field the punt. Anything would have been better than fielding the punt. Instead, Fish tried to make a play inside the 10 — a huge no-no in the return game — and he mishandled it. Florida recovered, reclaimed momentum, won the game 38-28 and sent the Razorbacks to yet another loss in Atlanta.
Instead of a trip to the national title game (which Florida got) or the program’s first BCS bowl, the Razorbacks wound up playing Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. Deflated by the title game loss and decimated by internal strife the Razorbacks came out flat against the Badgers and lost 17-14.
Maybe it would have been easier to handle if the SEC title game loss had been lopsided as usual. Arkansas’ other trips to the SEC championship weren’t close losses and, quite honestly, were worse beatings than the final scores indicated.
Florida handled the Razorbacks with ease in 1995, winning 34-3. Georgia posted a closer, but no less convincing, 30-3 victory against Arkansas in 2002.
Each trip to the SEC championship began as cause for celebration, but ended with the program being reminded how much further there was to go.
Before a 10-game winning streak in 2006 came to an end in Atlanta, it looked like the UA might be ready to break through and join the league’s elite list of SEC champions.
Arkansas led 21-17 thanks to an interception returned for a touchdown and the defense held strong to force a punt. No more SEC West title rings, the Razorbacks were on their way to the real thing this time.
If only the return man had let the dang ball roll into the end zone.
Former player Lester McClain, is honored as the Legend of the Game before the start of the Tennessee Akron game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday. McClain became the first African-American player to wear an orange jersey and first in the SEC to see significant playing time.
____________
Vols Highlight Video, assorted time periods
(This video clip above shows Lester Mcclain against Memphis St in 1969.)
Kenny Chesney and former Tennessee Volunteers’ Quarterback Condredge Holloway give you an exclusive look at their new ESPN Documentary – “The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story”.
I got to see Lester Mcclain play in Jackson, MS in 1968 against Ole Miss. I went with my grandfather who was a big Ole Miss fan. My uncle Blythe was there too to see his #3 ranked Vols play.
Lester McClain, who is UT’s first black player (1968) also was a part of it. The quote he gave was very telling and I’ll paraphrase it because I’m not sure of it word for word but: “My daddy was 50 years old when I was born, and his daddy was 50 years old when he was born, my grandfather was born a slave. 50 years isn’t a long time.”
Georgia and I had already done these things several times in the preceding three hours, but like Tennessee, I didn’t think I had anything left to counter this time. Late — very late — in the fourth quarter, our offense had gone ice cold, we were down by 8, and my temperature was red hot, up by 2. The governor, the first Sen. Al Gore, a gaggle of congressmen and even the head tire kicker at Goodyear, whose blimp hovered above, were watching from various swell box seats. Millions were watching on TV, and even ABC’s saccharine Chris Schenkel (this guy makes Jim Nance sound like the grim reaper) thought Uga had this one all wrapped up.
I was watching from the couch in the ATO house tube room, alternating between teeth-rattling chills and wind sprints to the john, all wrapped up in a blanket.
It was the first and only home game I would miss in my four years at the University of Tennessee. It was the first and only home game UT wouldn’t win during those four magic years. It was our first game played on artificial turf, dubbed “Doug’s Rug” for Coach Dickey. It was the very first game and the very first catch for No. 85 in your Tennessee program, a shy sophomore from Nashville named Lester McClain.
It was a remarkable game.
Bubba Wyche (is that a good quarterback name, or what?) was staring at fourth down. Fans poured from Neyland Stadium, resigned to loss, and the clock ran faster than any of our backs had all day. He let the pass go, and Lester McClain pulled it in at the Georgia 48.
First and 10, Tennessee. First ever, SEC.
That pass gave us a chance, gave us hope. It changed the game and the way the game is played. Lester McClain is black. Two black players had gone before him at Kentucky, but neither had lettered, since you couldn’t play varsity as a freshman, and their careers were ended by injury and heartbreak. Lester’s roommate his freshman year, also black, didn’t come back his sophomore year. So, with that catch, Lester McClain broke through the varsity football color line in the SEC and moved the chains.
It was an amazing game.
Later in the drive and facing another fourth down, Bubba moved the Vols to the line quickly and fired a touchdown pass to Gary Kreis as the clock rolled up all zeros, and I knocked over a pitcher and fell off the couch. Bubba then hit Ken DeLong for the two-point conversion, and Tennessee tied Georgia as Chris Schenkel and I — and those loyal, hopeful fans still in the stadium — all went insane. I charged to the front porch, blanket flapping and heaves forgotten, and screamed at the throngs headed to their cars, completely unaware of the final result and staring unbelievably at the leaping, ragged frat boy specter before them bearing the improbable news in boxers and blanket.
It was a miraculous game.
From the east upper deck, student seats in my day, the world looks promising. On one side, sheer cliffs rise from a river dotted with boats in a moored parade, and distant blue-green mountains form the backdrop. On the other, the buildings that house the means to be any and everything stand watch over dreams on a hill. Below, a contest unfolds that is no more serious than a game but every bit as serious as things that have gone before and are yet to come.
For more people than any other sport, I think, the beginning of football season is about hope and renewal, a slate wiped clean for whatever’s next, shared in mass mutual anticipation on a huge stage or by just one sick kid on a couch.
1968 was the symbolic year of the tragedy of Martin Luther King in the spring, of Bobby Kennedy in the summer, and of the hope symbolized in one young man catching a ball in the fall.
When Lester McClain caught that fourth-down pass, he wasn’t black or white. He was orange. And he was red, white and blue.
– – –
Dan Conaway graduated from UT Knoxville in 1971 with a B.S. in communications, a major in advertising, a strong like of Smoky Mountain Market cheese dogs and a strong dislike of threedraw plays and a punt. He lives in Memphis and is a communication strategy consultant and freelance writer. Visit him atwww.wakesomebodyup.com.
__
Archie who
I went to see Tennessee play Ole Miss in Jackson in 1968 and all my Mississippi relatives were coming up to me and saying “Archie Who!!” I didn’t know what they were talking about until the game started. Below is the rest of the story from Sports Illustrated.
All week Tennessee fans taunted Ole Miss with cries of ‘Who’s Archie?’ On Saturday Archie Manning showed them
You’d have thought those folks from Tennessee would have known better, being neighbors and all. Shoot, any 10-year-old kid who ever got his button nose past the cover of a history book can tell you it doesn’t take all that much to rile Mississippians. Remember when old Abe got up and started off his inaugural speech by saying cotton underwear itched? Bam: a civil war. And you know how easily upset the traffic cops there get when they see a rich Yankee tourist driving 38 miles an hour in a 45-mile-an-hour speed zone.
So what does Steve Kiner do? Steve Kiner, he’s one of Tennessee‘s All-America linebackers, and one day he’s sitting around jawing with some of the boys about the horses they got playing football at Ole Miss. “Hee-haw,” says Kiner, “them’s not horses, them’s mules.” You can guess how gracefully that was received in Oxford and Biloxi and Vicks-burg, where they hang pictures of Archie Manning, the Ole Miss junior quarterback, on the living room wall, right next to the ones of Robert E. Lee and, lately, of Spiro T. Agnew. “Mules, huh?” was the word. “Well, old Archie will show them who’s mules.” In Tennessee, where everybody was feeling good about being unbeaten in seven games and being ranked No. 3 in the nation, they laughed and started handing out ARCHIE WHO? buttons. And, baby, that really tore it.
All this, of course, was greeted with secret delight by Johnny Vaught, the Ole Miss coach and a man who would welcome a Greek bearing gifts, just as long as they could be used as psychological weapons. And should the gifts be less than needed, Vaught, it is suggested, is not opposed to fattening them a bit. Last Wednesday, three days before he would send his troops out to destroy Tennessee 38-0 at Jackson, Miss., the gnarly old oak of a coach never so much as glanced up as a small plane came roaring over his practice field spewing enemy leaflets. But the pilot turned out to be a strange breed of propagandist. On his third pass—after dropping such pleasantries as “Archie who? Archie Mud” and “Wreck the mules, the Vols are No. 1,” and all supposedly signed either by Kiner or Doug Dickey‘s Vols—the pilot cut his motor and yelled, “Go get them. Rebels! To hell with Tennessee!”
While the fires were raging in Mississippi, Vaught was making certain that no fuel was getting back to Tennessee. He closed off all players, most especially Manning, from interviews. Practices are always closed. Vaught once ran the president of the alumni association off the practice field. Another time, when a small plane circled the field, Vaught suspended the drill, called the FAA and had the plane grounded. When it turned out to be a member of the faculty showing off the campus to friends, Vaught told him to go fly someplace else. He did. “Once, just as a joke. I asked him if I could watch one of his redshirts take a shower,” said a veteran Mississippi reporter. “He figured I must be up to something, glared at me and said no I couldn’t, that the shower room was off limits.”
But then, Vaught has always been a suspicious man. When he arrived in 1947, his first move was to call in the state highway department and have them bulldoze a new practice field—eight feet deep. Deciding then that this wasn’t secluded enough, he called the bulldozers back and had them dig a second field, this one even deeper, and he had it surrounded by thick bushes and burly campus cops armed with walkie-talkies. One player suggested that if Vaught thought God was looking down on a practice, he’d put a roof over the field.
In the midst of all this tight seclusion was Archie Manning, big (6’3″ and 205 pounds) and redheaded and wondering why in hell he isn’t able to grow sideburns like everybody else. “But then,” he says, “I guess it’s because I only shave twice a week, sometimes.” He makes up for his lack of sideburns in other ways. Like throwing passes. In Ole Miss‘ first eight games—before walloping Tennessee—he completed 128 of 222 for 1,394 yards and six touchdowns. And like running: 100 carries for 363 yards and 11 touchdowns. Which makes it hard to understand how Mississippi managed to lose to Kentucky, Alabama and Houston, the first two by one point each. And after that they beat Georgia when the Bulldogs were 3-0 and ranked sixth, and after that they beat LSU when the Tigers were 6-0 and also ranked sixth.
“I guess it’s because all the games we won, we played in Mississippi in the daytime,” said Billy Gates, Ole Miss sports information director. “And the three games we lost were out of the state at night. Do you know of any bowls played in Mississippi in the daytime?” Against Kentucky, Ole Miss was looking to Alabama, which came the next week. Ole Miss‘ game plan was to run, mostly not to show off Manning’s passes to ‘Bama scouts. And so they ran, and Manning passed but 13 times for 84 yards and no touchdowns, and Kentucky won a shocker 10-9. And then against Alabama, Mississippi geared its defenses to stop a running attack—and Alabama came out throwing and won 33-32. “Those we should have won,” admits Vaught, holding up one finger. “Just one point each. But the kids knew we should have won and they didn’t get down. We have a thing here called matter-of-fact pride. We never lose it.”
Whatever it is they have at Ole Miss, they had it all against Tennessee, which came in favored anywhere from 11 to 6� points. Upstairs in the press box, Orange Bowl scouts were smiling and saying all they were afraid of was Tennessee losing in a rout—and you know that can’t happen. And downstairs the Ole Miss players were thinking that if they won, Vaught had given them the night to stay in Jackson—something he had done only once before in his career—and didn’t they already have the $5 traveling money to get back to Oxford the next day? Sure it could happen.
“Boys, what it’s going to take out there today is a great team effort, so let’s go,” said Vaught, knowing the boys were so high he didn’t have to say anything else.
And did it ever happen. After the opening kickoff, Manning took Ole Miss 82 yards in 11 plays, mostly on the running of Randy Reed and Bo Bowen, and then himself three times for the last three yards and the touchdown. Vaught had told him to open with a running game and then, when Tennessee stopped it, to go to the air. Tennessee never was to stop it.
On the second drive, after a short Tennessee punt, Ole Miss went 38 yards in eight plays, with Reed recovering Manning’s fumble in the end zone for the score.
The third drive was 16 yards in five plays after a 49-yard return of a punt by Bob Knight. Manning passed five yards to Riley Myers for that one. It was 21-0, and they were just moving into the second quarter, and Ole Miss players were saying things like “Where’s Kiner?” and “How do you like them mules?” and a few other things.
The rout was on. Upstairs one Orange Bowl scout said something about being sick and left. “They can’t do anything wrong,” another moaned. Just then, Ole Miss‘ Cloyce Hinton kicked a 42-yard field goal to make it 24-0. The kick sailed low, fluttering, swooping and, just as it was about to die, it struck the crossbar and bounced over. “Dang, I never saw such a gosh-awful lousy field goal in my life,” said Heywood Harris, Tennessee sports information director, “but, dang, I guess it counts.”
Early in the third quarter, all hope of a Tennessee recovery died when Reed went a yard for a touchdown, making it, after the kick, 31-0. That’s the same score the Vols beat Ole Miss by last year. No longer was anyone in orange clothing yelling “Archie who?” The last score, a one-yard dive by Bowen in the fourth quarter, just rubbed it in a bit.
When it was over and they added it all up, Manning had completed nine of 18 passes for 159 yards and one touchdown, and had run for another score. He and the rest of the team had earned a night on the town.
_____________________________________
This is part of a series that I call “Famous Arkansans.”
(b. 1976) – Rogers native, Joe Nichols, found his love for country music at a young age listening to his family pick on their guitars. He made his debut at age 20 with a self-titled album on the independent Intersound label. His 2002 single “The Impossible” gained him recognition and critical acclaim for his neotraditionalist country style. The single peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and was followed by his No. 1 single “Brokenheartsville” from his platinum-certified second album, “Man With a Memory.” His albums include “Revelation” (2004), which included the Top 10 hit “If Nobody Believed in You,” “A Traditional Christmas,” “III” (2005) gold-certified that produced his biggest hit to date the No. 1 single “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” “Real Things” (2007) which produced the Top 20 hits “Another Side of You” and “It Ain’t No Crime.”
A new undercover video by conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe shows a man being offered Attorney General Eric Holder’s District of Columbia ballot. The poll worker caught on film tells the cameraman that he doesn’t need to see identification.
The video, released Monday, contrasts clips from the “sting” with quotes from Holder saying that voter fraud is generally “a problem that does not exist.” Holder’s Justice Department has blocked voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas on grounds that include the supposed superfluity of those laws.
O’Keefe’s Project Veritas has targeted voter fraud in previous videos. One project, released last month, shows undercover filmmakers registering to vote in Minnesota, where the governor has attempted to block a voter ID bill, using the names of NFL quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Tom Brady.
_______
Registering Tim Tebow and Tom Brady to Vote in Minnesota
ProjectVeritas.com Investigation. Election officials advise no ID necessary to register Timothy Tebow and Thomas Brady to vote in Minnesota. Absentee ballots are discussed, voter registration forms are given out, and Election officials blow the whistle on potential fraud in their own state
_________
While that project had more local focus, the latest Veritas video strikes at the heart of DOJ’s continued opposition to voter ID laws.
Meanwhile, another undercover video highlighted by Scribe last week shows that some of the most vocal opponents of voter ID laws require that visitors to their Washington D.C. offices present ID at the door. That video looks to undercut claims that ID requirements are excessively burdensome and unwarranted.
_______
Undercover Voter ID Investigation: You Will Never Guess Which Liberal
What’s wrong with showing identification when you vote? That’s an egregious civil rights violation if you ask the Obama Administration and liberal groups like the Center for American Progress, and the Advancement Project. So what happens if you show up at the front door of these groups without ID? Find out on this PJTV undercover investigation.
______________
It is worth pointing out that the Supreme Court just recently weighed in on voter ID, and found its detractors’ arguments lacking.
The court ruled in 2008 that Indiana’s voter ID law, which the National Conference of State Legislatures says is one of the strictest in the nation, did not constitute an overly-burdensome restriction on voting, and was perfectly justified in the face of potential fraud.
_______
Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.
Sincerely,
Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com
Mark May, college football studio analyst for ESPN, spoke at the Little Rock Touchdown Club luncheon today and was very direct in his remarks, including the BCS National Championship game.
He said Southern Cal will play it, not because they are that good — he even said they are over-rated and don’t have enough depth, especially on defense — but because of their schedule.
He predicted they would play the winner of the SEC West for the championship and that Alabama will school them.
He said the Razorbacks have a chance to have a special team but they won’t be favored against Alabama or LSU at home, and not on the road at South Carolina.
In my opinion, going into the ninth year of the LRTC, Mark May was one of the best speakers ever.
I got to see Mark May play in 1980 against Tennessee in Knoxville and they had their way with the Vols that day 30-6.
I went with my Vol relatives uncle Blythe and Mack Hatcher. We sat in the season ticket seats that they had over 40 years. It was funny that so many people around them were so used to who sat where that many of them would come up and introduce themselves to me since they knew I was a vistor to this game. Another thing I noticed was that the fans got their earlier than any other fans I had noticed before. Many had traveled from all over the state to get there and it as an all day event.
After losing just by 1 to eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs and by 3 in a miracle comeback to top ten USC, I thought that Tennessee would come back and play well against Pitt but it did not work out that way.
Jackie Sherrill was the coach of the Pitt Panthers and Johnny Majors was Tennessee’s coach. Both Majors and Sherrill had coached together under Frank Broyles at Arkansas and Majors had taken Sherrill with him to Iowa State when he got that job and then on to Pitt where they won a national championship in 1976.
This year’s Little Rock Touchdown Club speakers are very exciting and I am really excited about the first one being Mark May. Below that are some of the posts about past speakers. Here is more about Mark May from Wikipedia: Mark Eric May (born November 2, 1959) is a former American college and professional football player who was […]
This year’s Little Rock Touchdown Club speakers are very exciting. Below is this year’s list followed by some of the posts about past speakers. Mark May – ESPN ESPN College Football Analyst teaming with Lou Holtz for the popular College Football Scoreboard. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005, May was a 1st Team […]
I enjoyed the Little Rock Touchdown Club and have posted a lot about it all fall. I have links below to earlier posts. Yesterday Wally Hall and Steve Sullivan had some good insights. Below are some of the thoughts of Jim Harris that he shared at the lunch. BUILDING THE DEFENSE: How nice it would […]
I saw the end of the Tennessee/Vandy game on tv and my brother-in-law went to the game (pictures from him below). I have written about the game earlier on this blog so I will not go into that again. I just wanted to comment on the video clip above. I think it is fine that […]
They both lost to #1, 2 and 3 ranked teams in the same year (Iowa St in 1971 and Tennessee in 2011). As an Arkansas fan I take great pride in other schools complaining about having to play us. Did you know that Iowa State’s staff included head coach Johnny Majors who had left the Arkansas […]
Uploaded by TheMemphisSlim on Sep 3, 2010 Johnny Majors from Huntland, TN tried out for the UT Football team weighing 150 pounds. His Father, Shirley Majors his HS Coach,encourage him and then 4 younger brothers all to be Vols. Johnny Majors was the runner-up in 1956 for the Heisman Trophy to Paul Horning, on a loosing Notre Dame […]
Interview with Johnny Majors after 1982 Kentucky game Below is a picture of Lane Kiffin with Johnny Majors. I enjoyed hearing Johnny Majors speak at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on 11-7-11. He talked a lot about the connection between the Arkansas and Tennessee football programs. It reminded me of what Frank Broyles had said […]
FB: The Best of Johnny Majors at Iowa St I got to hear Johnny Majors talk on 11-7-11 and he talked about the connection that Arkansas and Tennessee had with their football programs. Two years ago I got to hear Frank Broyles speak at the Little Rock Touchdown Club and he said that too. As […]
Rex Nelson mentioned this story below before former Tennessee coach Johnny Majors was introduced at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on 11-7-11. Here is the story below from Yahoo: It was 6:10 p.m. when University of Tennessee student Derrick Brodus got the call. He was lying on the couch in his frat house, waiting for […]
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles (three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open), nine Grand Slam men’s doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. McEnroe also won a record eight season ending championships, comprising five WCT Finals titles and three Masters Grand Prix titles from twelve final appearances at these two events, a record he shares with Ivan Lendl. He posted the best single season win-loss record in the Open Era in 1984 at 96.47% (82/3). In addition he won 19 Championship Series top tier events of the Grand Prix Tour that were the precursors to the current Masters 1000.
He is best remembered for his shot-making artistry and superb volleying; for his famous rivalries with Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl; for his confrontational on-court behavior which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities; and for the catchphrase “You cannot be serious!” directed toward an umpire during a match at Wimbledon in 1981. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999, and is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.[2]
McEnroe is the older brother of Patrick McEnroe, who is also a former professional tennis player and the former Captain of the United States Davis Cup team, a position in which John served previously. They also both are now often commentators for Grand Slam tennis television coverage in the United States, and John McEnroe is also a commentator on Wimbledon for the BBC.
McEnroe was born in Wiesbaden, West Germany, to Kay (née Tresham) and John Patrick McEnroe, Sr.[3] His father, who is of Irish descent, was at the time stationed with the United States Air Force.[3] In 1960, the family moved to the New York City area, where McEnroe’s father worked daytime as an advertising agent while attending Fordham Law School[4] by night. He has two younger brothers: Mark (born 1964), and former professional tennis player Patrick (born 1966).
McEnroe grew up in Douglaston, Queens. He started playing tennis when he was eight years old at the nearby Douglaston Club with his brothers. When he was nine, his parents enrolled him in the Eastern Lawn Tennis Association, and he soon started playing regional tournaments. He then began competing in national juniors tournaments, and at twelve—when he was ranked seven in his age group—he joined the Port Washington Tennis Academy, Long Island, New York.[5] McEnroe attended Trinity School and graduated in 1977.
Switchfoot is a Christian Band with a great message (Part 4)
One of my favorite bands is Switchfoot. Tim Foreman is the front man and this band has always been very vocal about their Christian faith. I am really enjoying this series on their band.
LONDON – Switchfoot has come a long way. After their album The Beautiful Letdown went double-platinum in 2004, Switchfoot’s ensuing projects have been getting better and better. The group recently released their latest project Oh! Gravity..
Despite being critically acclaimed on a worldwide scale, the five-piece Californian rock band remains as humble as ever, long having claimed to be “Christian by faith, not by genre.” Switchfoot frontman Jonathan Foreman likes to emphasize that who you are offstage is what really matters, and that life should be your testimony as a Christian.
The following is an exclusive interview with three of the five Switchfoot members – Jonathan Foreman (lead singer), Jerome Fontamillas (background vocals, keys, guitar), and Drew Shirley (guitar) – offstage at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire during their European tour.
How is the European tour going so far?
Jerome: It’s amazing.
Drew: Great.
Jonathan: It’s something to be thankful for. You can come half-way around the world and you have people singing along. That’s an honor.
Any memorable experiences?
Jonathan: [In Germany], we went to the club next door, and there was a jazz session.
Jerome: In Hamburg.
Jonathan: Yeah. There was a club next door that was…
Drew: … a bit open-minded.
Jonathan: A little bit of mic-nite. So there were all these guys with trumpets.
Jerome: Flute players!
Jonathan: It was a club where we found out that the Beatles used to play in. So [I nudged the guys] and said ‘We gotta play there!’ So we went over there, and it was great. We had the flute player join in on ‘Let Your Love Be Strong’…
Jerome: ‘Faust, Midas, and Myself.’ (Both tracks from Oh! Gravity.)
Jonathan: Yeah, ‘Faust’… It’s stuff like that that keeps it fresh, you know?
It’s great that your music is spreading all around the world. I was in Korea two years ago and your music was playing in a restaurant there.
Jonathan: Cool. I’ve got a lot of Korean friends. Our first record The Legend of Chin was named after a friend who is Korean.
So what’s the next step for lowercase people (the online magazine founded by Switchfoot) ?
Jonathan: It’s kind of one of those dreams that you start off with a lot of passion, and not really have any idea or experience of what you’re getting into. We partnered with Geneva Global and that’s been great because they have a lot of experience. I think it’s a lot more of opening our eyes and looking around and hopefully diving in where people need us and our help. There are a lot of incredible organizations that are helping people around the world, and we don’t want to be stepping on somebody’s toes. That requires a lot of thought. So we’re kind of figuring out what the next place to hit is. You only get so many punches, and you want to make each one count.
Let’s talk about your new album. What’s the main message you want to get across through Oh! Gravity.?
Jonathan: I think it’s not as simplistic as having just one message. I think every song has something to say – maybe in different layers. It’s kind of like a relationship. If I was gonna sum up my relationship with Drew, there probably will be a lot of different aspects and facets that we have. In the same way when we’re working on a record, you’re dealing with so many different layers. So for this, if I were to sum it up, I think it’ll be the idea around gravity, like the title – the idea that everything keeps falling apart when it’s supposed to be together. It seems like we daily defy the law of physics, the law of gravity.
(Holding up the album cover) What’s the concept of this drawing? Is that … blood on Jerome’s head?
Jerome: Could be!
Drew: Jerome had a head-bleed that day. (laughter)
Jonathan: We put a lot of the songs in artwork. When you open it up (opens album cover) there are all these hidden stories that we put in there. Different symbols and things that we think are important to the song.
What do these symbols mean (points to a drawing)?
Jonathan: Well, all of them are very subjective and can be interpreted in different ways. All the songs you can see down here: ‘Circles,’ ‘American Dream,’ ‘Yesterdays,’ ‘Dirty Second Hands’ … this is a clock … a boat … and we liked the idea of the bird – but birds have been done so much. There’s a surfboard and a whale there.
Back in the days, you had all these different records you can look at. You have it up, you know, it was a very discernable element of music where you can look at the record as you listen to it. We wanted something that was as large as a record to be able to look at the whole time you’re looking at it. It was fun to make.
Well, it does look fun.
Jonathan: Every one of these were drawn separately …
Drew: … and put together like a collage.
Jerome: Yeah. Like this was a certain section, and that was a section, etc.
Is that an octopus there?
Jonathan: It can be whatever you want it to be. I thought it was a snail.
Drew: I thought it was a fruit necklace.
(Laughter)
So, have you guys heard about the U2charist? It’s an adapted Holy Communion service that uses U2’s songs in place of hymns.
Drew: Yeah, I read about it.
What are your thoughts on that?
Jonathan: When Handel’s ‘Messiah’ was performed in opera houses, people were outraged. ‘Why is this music being sung outside the church? You shouldn’t do it.’ With Johnny Cash, he wanted to play gospel but certain records wouldn’t let him come out with that. I think it’s a struggle we’ll have to continue to deal with. It’s a timeless struggle. You have faith, commerce, and art colliding at the same point. As musicians, we believe in God, we like music, and we also try to pay rent. This is something you wrestle with every time you pick up your guitar. But I think it’s cool; it sounds exciting. It’s like everything; you have different challenges you face with that kind of approach.
Would you like your songs to be sung in churches?
Jonathan: Part of me would be honored, you know, but part of me thinks it might be taking it out of context almost. There are just so many anthems to God from celebrity rock clubs… My idea of worship is more like straight Old Testament songs. I’m a little bit more traditional (smiles) … a bit conservative.
You like them being distinguished?
Jonathan: Yea, like oil and water. But I like modern music. I like U2!
So how do you live out your Christian faith when you’re offstage?
Jonathan: I think the term ‘Christian’ is something that has to be said about you, from a third party, rather than boastfully saying it yourself. It’s easier for me to say, ‘I can fly,’ ‘I can jump off of a building and live,’ ‘I could do all these ridiculous things’ – but the harder thing is for us to actually do it. As far as what we do offstage, we certainly don’t have any book, where it goes ‘do this, this, this,’ and everything goes perfectly. That’s the whole point of the song ‘Amateur Lovers’ (Oh! Gravity.) – the idea that I’ve got a lot to learn. I think all of us [are] still learning – screwing up daily.
Drew: Practicing faith – screwing up daily.
Jonathan: Yeah, so we’re all learning from it and hopefully moving forward. I think to call yourself anything more than a sinner is a lie.
Drew: Seriously.
Jonathan: Thinking that you’re better than somebody else. I think that’s another thing that keeps us at where we are at. Singing songs at clubs, pubs, and bars – even churches…. There is no safe place. There is no industry that is not tainted with greed, pride, lust, fear – all these negative things – including the Christian music industry. So to think that you’re going to be applying a record or a product or a book that’s outside of that is almost untrue.
For us, it’s about living everyday to the fullest. We’re trying to practice daily the Kingdom of Heaven for the Audience of One.
Nutt makes the top 10 for one of the few times in his SEC Coaching Career
10 Most Hated Men in the SEC
There is no doubt that the college football conference with the most emotion is the SEC. One of those emotions is hate and this is the list of the 10 most hated people in the SEC.
10. Houston Nutt Head Coach Ole Miss– It’s hard to believe that the longest continuous coach in the SEC is Houston Nutt. Nutt has been in the SEC as head coach of Arkansas and Ole Miss since 1998. While he’s great for a sound bite and even better for a humorous photo, Nutt is thought of by most to be the sleaziest coach in the SEC.
This is a man that has a rule unofficially named after him due to his practice of oversigning recruits(he signed 37 recruits 3 years ago). Nutt also is the man who gave Jeremiah Masoli a chance to be the QB at Ole Miss last year when few other major schools would touch the troubled QB. Nutt might be the most hated man in Arkansas Football History. Nutt left the football team in the late 70s as a player, lied to OC Gus Malzahn, led an attack against Mitch Mustain, and left the Hogs to coach a rival team. Houston also hasn’t helped himself inside the SEC with his crazy post game celebrations that have included such classy moments like destroying the hedges in Auburn’s endzone so he could sing the Arkansas Fight Song.
9. Bobby Lowder Auburn University trustee– Lowder has been a member of the Auburn Board of Trustees since 1983. During his tenure he has become one of the most powerful men behind the scenes in the SEC.
Many credit Lowder to be responsible for every Auburn coaching hire since Pat Dye was hired nearly 25 years ago. In 2003 when Auburn AD David Housel and University President William Walker Jr. privately met with Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, it was Lowder’s jet that was used for transportation. On May 16, 2011 Lower asked Governor Robert Bentley to remove his name for reappointment on the Auburn Board of Trustees.
8. Lane Kiffin head coach Southern California– 2 years ago Kiffin might be number one on this list, but as time has passed so has the hate of Kiffin. Still, fans don’t forget.
Tennessee fans won’t forget the way he left the team in the middle of the night, causing small riots around the UT campus. Kiffin left Tennessee with a NCAA investigation that is still on going today. Kiffin also angered fans at South Carolina telling recruits that if they go to South Carolina they will just be “gas pumpers”. Kiffin also got into a bickering match with Gamecock coach Steve Spurrier over his NCAA recruiting test he had to take to become UT head coach. Kiffin even angered Gator fans by accusing head coach Urban Meyer of committing a recruiting violation, when in reality it wasn’t a violation.
The daddy’s boy who ran his mouth too much, ran out of the SEC before he truly got what was coming to him.
7. LSU Fans– Personally, I have always had a good time in Baton Rouge. I love being offered Cajun Food at a tailgate. Unfortunately most in the SEC don’t see the Tiger fans this way.
LSU has the reputation of being the rowdiest and most rude fans in the SEC. Accounts of bottles of urine being thrown at opposing fans aren’t uncommon. The fans certainly do know how to have a good time. A night at Tiger Stadium is basically Mardi Gras in a football stadium, anything goes.
A LSU fan once summed it up best for a friend of mine by saying in a thick accent “Before and after the game you and I are friends, during the game “F” you”.
6. Steve Spurrier Head Coach South Carolina- Since taking the job at South Carolina, Steve Spurrier has admitted that coaching in the NFL humbled him a bit. He’s no longer the cocky college football coach that poked fun at teams he whipped in the 90s.
When his Florida teams were on the top of the college football world Spurrier found ways to not only beat up opponents on the field, but also off. It could’ve been a jab at Ray Goff or making fun of Auburn’s Library being full of coloring books, but Spurrier always found a way to rub SEC fans the wrong way. Most fans still haven’t forgotten the younger Spurrier, and while the media loves him for sound bites, he’s still one of the most hated men in the SEC.
5. Jim Delany Commissioner of the Big 10 Conference– The SEC and Big 10 have had a conference rivalry going on for many years now. The leader of the Big 10 is Jim Delany.
Delany seems to find every excuse in the book as to why his conference can’t compete with the SEC in football. He blames it on SEC schools oversigning, he believes the academics of the SEC are lower tier, and he thinks of the SEC as a corrupt conference. Delany chooses to ignore the changing demographics in the United States and ignores how the game of College Football has started to showcase Southern Speed over Big 10 brute. He also seems so worried about the SEC’s ethics that Ohio State’s scandal slipped right under his nose.
4. Charles Robinson Yahoo Sports Writer– If Charles Robinson is talking about your school then you might as well prepare for a bowl ban and a loss of scholarships. Robinson has become the leading investigative reporter in the NCAA over the last few years. You have to respect the man’s ability to find a story, but fans hate it when he publishes a story about their school.
3. Harvery Updyke Jr. “Al from Dadeville”- On Jan 27, 2011 a man going by the name Al called into the Paul Finebaum show claiming to have poisoned the 130 year old Oak Trees at Toomer’s Corner on the Campus of Auburn University. After the call was traced and lethal injections of Spike 80DF were found at the site of the trees, police arrested Harvey Updyke of Dadeville, Alabama. Updyke said he did this as revenge for Auburn fans rolling Toomer’s Corner after Bear Bryant’s Death in 1983 and for a Cam Newton jersey being draped on The Bear’s statue outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Updyke’s actions were condemned by both the president of Auburn and Alabama.
2. Cam Newton QB Carolina Panthers– Newton might be the most hated athlete ever to step foot on a SEC football field.
Newton originally played for the Florida Gators as Tim Tebow’s backup, but decided to transfer because he was suspended for stealing a laptop computer. It was also reported by Fox Sports that Newton was facing expulsion due to academic cheating.
After spending a year in JUCO, Newton came to the SEC and shocked everyone by winning the Heisman Trophy and leading Auburn to the National Championship. For most of the second part of the 2010 season Newton’s elgibility was under review by the media and NCAA. Newton’s father was accused by Kenny Rogers, a former Mississippi State player, of asking for $100,000-$180,000 for this son to play for the Bulldogs.
It was later proven that Cecil Newton did indeed ask MSU to pay this amount for his son. The NCAA has yet to be able to prove if Cam Newton knew about the situation and if Auburn ever gave Newton any money to play for the Tigers.
1. Paul Finebaum columnist and radio host- The leading media voice in the South is no doubt Paul Finebaum. When he speaks, everyone tends to listen even if they don’t like what he has to say.
There really isn’t a fanbase in the SEC that Finebaum hasn’t angered at one point or another. One reason Bama fans tend to hate him is because in 1993 Finebaum broke a story about Antonio Langham signing a contract with a sports agent while playing for Alabama(1 year after their 92 National Championship). Finebaum has also reported on rumors that Steve Spurrier would coach at Alabama after Shula was fired and that Urban Meyer would take the Notre Dame job. He’s said such things to anger Razorback fans, like saying Arkansas being in the SEC doesn’t benefit the SEC.
Listening to Finebaum’s syndicated radio show is like listening to Jerry Springer at times. He’s certainly found a niche that works because his show now can be heard nationwide on Sirius/XM. Paul does give fantastic interviews and has some great guests, but thanks to him callers like Tammy are now national celebs.
A vandalized Chick-fil-A store in Torrance, California (credit: Reuters)
Yesterday’s shooting at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Family Research Council (FRC) stunned the nation. FRC’s long-time security guard, Leo Johnson, was shot in the arm by a gunman carrying a box of ammunition in his backpack trying to gain access to the building. Law enforcement hailed Leo a hero for his role in tackling and disarming the shooter, and reports today suggest Leo is recovering well from surgery. (Full disclosure: I worked at FRC between 1994 and 2002, and Leo’s warm greeting has always been a highlight of return visits.)
Leaders across the political spectrum have condemned the violent act, from conservative allies of FRC to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to President Obama, the Human Rights Campaign, two dozen other LGBT organizations, and the DC Center for the LGBT Community where the shooter reportedly volunteered. The near-universal condemnation (the exceptions seem to fester in the backwaters of the Twittersphere) is a very welcome sign.
In eschewing such violence, we fortify our resolve to live peacefully with our deepest differences and to pursue consensus about societal norms through politics. Broadly speaking, politics isn’t just the electoral mechanics we typically think of. It’s how we conduct our life together as a people. It relies on debate, persuasion, negotiation…and tolerance. It demands that we communicate, especially when it comes to differences about deeply held beliefs, about the merits of our ideas.
While such resolve is fresh in the mind, this is a critical juncture for reflecting on the character of our political discourse over issues related to sexuality and marriage. We await a likely announcement this fall from the U.S. Supreme Court that it will take up cases involving marriage, following what has turned out to be a very hot summer of intolerance toward traditional views of marriage.
Since June, scorching backlash has been directed at the author of a peer-reviewed study that shows some negative outcomes for young adults whose parents had same-sex relationships. Such findings conflict with an assertion in Judge Vaughn Walker’s opinion overturning California’s marriage amendment, known as Proposition 8, that there is no difference between children of same-sex parents and their peers raised in married mother-and-father households.
Mark Regnerus’s New Family Structures Study improves on prior research through its use of a large, nationally representative sample, as three expert reviews published in the same journal acknowledge. Demographer Cynthia Osborne, for example, says that “the Regnerus study is more scientifically rigorous than most of the other studies in this area.”
Allegations from an activist blogger triggered a scientific misconduct inquiry into Regnerus’s work at the University of Texas. The editor of the sociological journal that published the study got such intensely hostile responses that he decided to resort to an internal audit to show the integrity of the publication process.
Then came the Chick-fil-A flap in July. When Dan Cathy, president and COO of the privately held company, made comments in a press interview supporting the “biblical definition of the family unit,” big city politicians from Boston to Chicago to San Francisco threatened to bar the chicken franchise from their communities. Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno announced: “Because of [Cathy’s] ignorance, I will now be denying Chick-fil-A’s permit to open a restaurant in the 1st Ward.”
That runs directly afoul of the First Amendment. A government official may not deny a business license because he doesn’t like things that the applicant has said, as my colleague John Malcolm explained in a recent post. As long as they abide by the law, writes Malcolm, “the owners of Chick-fil-A are well within their rights to say what they want and to put into effect their professed desire to operate Chick-fil-A based ‘on biblical principles.’” Based on the enormous response to Chick-fil-A appreciation day, many Americans would like the company to keep doing just that.
As my colleague Tom Messner has written, “This is not ‘live and let live.’” These and other episodes fall far short of the tolerance that should characterize public life in America where we enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association.
Given the magnitude of the policy questions at hand in our nation’s great ongoing marriage debate, we should encourage more research and dialogue in this area. To marginalize as illegitimate those whose research contributions or statements might support maintaining the institution of marriage as a union of one man and one woman is a disservice to public discourse and social harmony. (By the way, this includes a majority of voters in the 32 states where the question has been put to them.) Even before the FRC shooting, this summer’s string of uncivil responses falls far short of the tolerant discourse we’ll need to navigate the deep and widespread differences on this issue.
It’s good that we can all agree that waving a gun and yelling “I don’t like your politics” sabotages the very definition of politics. Now let’s agree that supporting traditional marriage isn’t cause for shunning from civil discourse and the public square.
Rachel Elizabeth who was attacked at Chick-fil-A Speaks out (Your World w Cavuto – Fox News) Rachel is the lady at Chick-Fil-A in Arizona that was treated horribly by Adam Smith, but she did not retreat from serving him to friendly confines, or apologize for any of the views of Chick-Fil-A’s president. Furthermore, she did […]
Washington Times article supports Chick-fil-A day of Appreciation NANCE AND DIAZ: Happy Chick-fil-A Day of Appreciation Americans fight anti-Christian bigotry By Penny Young Nance and Mario Diaz Chick-fil-A may not represent Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s perception of “Chicago values,” but it sure represents the values of “We the People.” Today, millions of Americans, including the […]
This July 19, 2012, photo shows a Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant in Atlanta. (AP)____________ A friend of mine is involved in a Russian Baptist Church in California and he told me that there are 52 Chick-Fil-As in California and none of the 30 in attendence had ever been to one or even heard of them. Since […]
I will be eating there on August 1, 2012. Yesterday I was in Memphis on a business trip and I heard Mike Huckabee’s radio show. On the show he quoted his good friend “Houston Nutt” who told his players not to stoop to antics when they score but to act like they have been there before […]
If you like Woody Allen films as much as I do then join me every Wednesday for another look the man and his movies. Below are some of the posts from the past:
Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 1 Adrian Rogers – Crossing God’s Deadline Part 2 Jason Tolbert provided this recent video from Mike Huckabee: John Brummett in his article “Huckabee speaks for bad guy below,” Arkansas News Bureau, May 5, 2011 had to say: Are we supposed to understand and accept that Mike Huckabee is […]
Woody Allen, the film writer, director, and actor, has consistently populated his scripts with characters who exchange dialogue concerning meaning and purpose. In Hannah and Her Sisters a character named Mickey says, “Do you realize what a thread were all hanging by? Can you understand how meaningless everything is? Everything. I gotta get some answers.”{7} […]
Bananas (1971) en cast ex-wife, Louise Lasser (the duo were married from 1966 to 1969), as his romantic lead in this quirky comedy. When asked why he chose to title the movie Bananas, Allen quipped, “Because there are no bananas in it.” “Midnight in Paris” is one of Woody Allen best works. Woody Allen […]
Several members of the 70′s band Kansas became committed Christians after they realized that the world had nothing but meaningless to offer. It seems through the writings of both Woody Allen and Chris Martin of Coldplay that they both are wrestling with the issue of death and what meaning does life bring. Kansas went through […]
I guess the reason I have spent so much time on Woody Allen is because in so many films he discusses the big questions in life. His movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” is a perfect example. Check out my earlier post Nihilism can be seen in Woody Allen’s latest film “Midnight in Paris” . September (1987) The director […]
Woody Allen and the Abandonment of Guilt Dr. Marc T. Newman : AgapePress Print In considering filmmaking as a pure visual art form, Woody Allen would have to be considered a master of the medium. From his humble beginnings as a comedy writer and filmmaker, he has emerged as a major influential force in Hollywood. […]
The dvd sales of “Midnight in Paris” which went on sale in December have gone through the roof (look at the bottom of this post) and this summer we learned this fact below: ‘Midnight in Paris’ becomes Woody Allen’s all-time biggest hit. How the heck did that happen? by Owen Gleiberman Categories: Annie Hall, Bridesmaids, […]
Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham on Religion This article below makes we think of the lady tied to the Railroad in the Schaeffer video. Dr. Francis schaeffer – The flow of Materialism (Modern man sees no hope for the future and has deluded himself by appealing to nonreason to stay sane. Look at the example […]
A surprisingly civil discussion between evangelical Billy Graham and agnostic comedian Woody Allen. Skip to 2:00 in the video to hear Graham discuss premarital sex, to 4:30 to hear him respond to Allen’s question about the worst sin and to 7:55 for the comparison between accepting Christ and taking LSD. ___________________ The Christian Post > […]
“Woody Wednesday” Allen acts silly in 1971 interview (Part 4) Woody Allen interview 1971 PART 4/4 Uploaded by captainvontrapp on Jul 21, 2008 Woody Allen interview from 1971, just after the worldwide release of ‘Bananas’ ________________________ David Mishkin God and Carpeting: The Theology of Woody Allen by David Mishkin March 1, 1993 This is an […]
In considering filmmaking as a pure visual art form, Woody Allen would have to be considered a master of the medium. From his humble beginnings as a comedy writer and filmmaker, he has emerged as a major influential force in Hollywood. Actors flock to his projects just to have a chance to work with him. He is funny, creative, and philosophical in his musings about love, life, and death.
Woody Allen is an Oscar award-winning director and screenwriter. His latest film, “Match Point,” has garnered another screenwriting nomination for Allen from the Academy. And while industry buzz is growing behind “Crash” screenwriters Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco to win, Allen’s nomination is not a courtesy nod to an aging dinosaur. Most critics have hailed “Match Point” as Allen’s comeback film – a movie that demonstrates that Allen is still performing at the height of his powers. “Match Point” most closely resembles another of Allen’s Oscar-nominated films – 1990’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Comparing these two critically-acclaimed films shines a light not only on Woody Allen’s dark and cynical writer’s journey, but also on a culture that consistently chooses to honor his work.
Crimes and Misdemeanors – Sin and Struggle
“Crimes and Misdemeanors” is an odd morality tale. Judah Rosenthal is an ophthalmologist who has been carrying on an affair for over two years. When his mistress threatens to call his wife, he contracts to have her killed. Throughout the film, characters attempt to make sense of their moral universe. Judah struggles with his guilt and at one point seems so driven by his belief that he must be punished for his sin that he nearly decides to call the police to turn himself in. He is dissuaded by a veiled threat from his mob-connected brother Jack (who arranged the murder at Judah’s request). As time goes by, Judah finds that he is not punished – not by the secular authorities or by God. After a while, even the guilty feelings fade away. He decides that the idea that evil is always punished is only true in the movies. In real life, people get away with it. Judah pushes aside his guilt, returns to his privileged life and walks off, with his wife, into the sunset.
Allen comes down on the wrong side of the moral equation in “Crimes and Misdemeanors” because he is unwilling, or unable, to take into account the judgment of God in the world to come. His materialist-informed worldview discounts or denies that the reality of eternity is more significant than what happens in this life. What made the film noteworthy was its depiction of the moral struggle that people go through when they sin. What made the film chilling is the knowledge that the rationalism engaged in by Judah in the movie represents more than fiction. Psalms and Proverbs are full of pleas from weary saints who complain to God about the prosperous wicked. We cannot know the mind of God. Some sins are punished swiftly; others apparently are not punished at all in this life. But God declares that one day everything done is darkness will be revealed in the light (1 Corinthians 4-5).
Match Point – No Sin, Just Luck
Fifteen years later, Allen gives audiences “Match Point,” the story of Chris Wilton, a British social-climbing tennis pro who marries for money and prestige, but continues to lust after a poor American actress, Nola Rice, who is dating his future brother-in-law. The affair with Nola begins and ends before Chris’ marriage, but picks up again when Nola returns to England. What begins as animal attraction turns complicated as Nola begins pressuring Chris to leave his wife. Chris is torn between his feelings for Nola and the wealth, power, and privilege that he enjoys by being married to his wife, Chloe. Ultimately he determines that he must be rid of one of them. How best to do it while risking the least for himself? Kill one – but make it look like someone else did it. The audience is left guessing whether he will kill Nola, thereby covering his tracks and keeping his wife, or kill Chloe, inheriting her wealth and gaining the sympathy of her family, and then take up again with Nola. Once the deed is done, there is the crying and terror over the prospect of being found out and punished that must accompany any such act. But when word of the homicide appears in the paper, and the fictional motives that Chris hoped to plant are printed as if they are fact, Chris discovers that he has gotten away with it.
The theme of “Match Point” is hammered into the audience over and over again – the world runs on luck. From Chris’ tennis career, to his marriage to a rich and beautiful woman and into a paternalistic and helpful family, to plot twists involving incriminating evidence, everything just falls his way at crucial moments. And while some characters continue to extol the virtues of hard work and perseverance, Chris recognizes and, in the end, vocalizes that the best attribute to possess is good fortune. There is no justice; there is only the slim divide between being caught and getting away with it. No one is smart enough to cover all the bases, so in the end much of it comes down to luck. Chris has it; his victim did not.
Unlike “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” no great struggle over guilt and sin is played out on the screen. The only scene that looks remotely like remorse occurs right after the act. Beyond that, Chris merely lies to those he knows and stonewalls the police. He is like the boy who kills his parents and then begs the judge for leniency because he is an orphan
– only in this case, he gets off.
“Crimes and Misdemeanors” could be rationalized as a depiction of one side of the sin debate – that sometimes the wicked prosper. The struggle for Judah’s soul is represented by his brothers: the mafia-connected Jack and Judah’s rabbi brother Ben. In this case, Ben loses, but there is, haunting the background, the idea that it could be otherwise. No such spiritual subtext exists in “Match Point.” Audience members can only get out of the film what they bring to it – it is a case brought before us for judgment.. Those who believe in a just God will find Chris to be a calculating killer who rightly needs to be punished. For those who enter the film believing that humans are merely animals seeking to satisfy drives with no true spiritual component; who believe that guilt only exists if you get caught; who believe (whether they know the source or not) that Nietzsche was right when he said that the hallmark of human existence is the will to power – Chris is a kind of hero. He got everything he wanted, succeeded in destroying those who stood in his way, and emerged unscathed because he was favored by a series of uncalculated quirks in the universe. No objection to such assessment is placed in anyone’s way.
The Weaving of Cultural Threads
Thomas Frentz, noted rhetorical critic, argues that by comparing products of our culture over time, we can begin to discern emerging moral patterns. Cultures, Frentz claims, are always moving toward, or away from, some optimal moral end state. If Frentz is right, then looking at these two similar films from Woody Allen can tell us a little about the state of moral struggle. I do not know whether Allen’s film intends to move us, or if it is merely a reflection of the culture as he sees it. Either way, what Allen appears to be saying is that we have moved beyond morals and simply must deal with what is. In his earlier film, Allen asserts that there is no objective moral lens through which to view the world – ignore morality and it will go away. Now he is saying that if you happen to share the world with people who still hold to the “myth” of morality, “hope you are lucky and then you can get away with it.”
But there is yet a ray of hope.
Anyone watching “Match Point” will come to the conclusion that Chris “got away with it.” The concept of “getting away with something” could not exist in a truly amoral world, because the term itself presupposes punishment. If no punishment is objectively due, then there is nothing from which to “get away.” The concept of escape only exists in a world in which something is pursuing. Even conventional laws implicate an overarching moral sensibility of right and wrong. My fear is not that Allen is predicting some evolutionary leap in moral thinking where all codes are abandoned, but that he is rightly illustrating a growing trend – the searing of the western conscience. Marc T. Newman, PhD (marc@movieministry.com) is the president of MovieMinistry.com – an organization that provides sermon and teaching illustrations from popular film, and helps the Church use movies to reach out to others and connect with people.
Other posts concerning Woody Allen’s latest movie “Midnight in Paris”
First and 10, Tennessee. First ever, SEC.
Homecoming. #Rankings from 
The Daily Hatch 