A really nice feel good movie that only asks you to relax and enjoy it and witness a proud moment in our history. If you have ever rowed or are close to someone who has, it is a must see. If you are a rower, bring a box of Kleenex, theaters have high pollen counts right about now.
When I was 22 or 23 and was coaching rowing after college, I said my retirement would be restoring Porsches and coaching crew. So I'm half retired now. Would love to get back into it this summer, all depends on hiring more techs.
There is no other sport that even comes close to rowing. Or maybe running hurdles while weight-lifting while dancing Swan Lake and a chorus line while running a marathon will become a thing. That would be close. Five hundred meters into a race, your brain is telling you over and over and over that you shouldn't be doing this, the pain is too great, pure agony for the longest minutes of your life but the bond you've built with your mates is stronger and you put more into every stroke for them, **** your brain.
One of the things I loved about rowing is there really aren't superstars. The boat either rows as one in perfect unison, oars in and out of the water, bodies up and down the tracks all at the same time, while working your whole body as hard as you can, or they aren't. A boat is only as good as its worst member. And that builds teamwork like nothing else.
When boats are set, whether a 4 or an 8, good boats, great boats create a bond that is unique. If you ever achieve swing, when everyone is in such perfect time the boat lifts out of the water and feels faster than the work your bodies are putting into it, in fact it can feel effortless. The first time it happened to my lightweight 4, we took 3 or 4 strokes into swing, felt it, freaked out because it was so overwhelming and the boat came to sudden stop. Our coach loved it. It was a high that lasted the entire day and all you want to do from that day forward is catch swing by the tail again and master it.
Some of the best years of my life were from rowing and coaching crew.
Anyway, good movie.
It's this kind of movie.
