Greatest Film of All Time and the Iron Bowl

“Some say he is dead….some say he never will be.”

This is the tag line from my favorite movie of all time.

I took my son and his friend to see a movie tonight. Not my favorite movie, though. They saw “Twilight”, which is supposed to be a pretty good flick, or so they say. I didn’t go with them but rather went to Barnes and Noble, looked at the “books for sale” in the History section, and drank an overpriced cup of Starbucks Coffee. While perusing such sultry and seductive books as “The Federalist Papers” and “Lee’s Gettysburg” (as I’ve written before, I’m just a history-teacher-geek wannabe), I received a phone picture from our friend Gina.

Gina and her family are in Lexington, Kentucky, visiting our friend Bobby, who is in the hospital due to emergency surgery. In fact, my wife Julie and our daughter Marissa are there as well. They are also spending some time with Bobby’s wife and two daughters. Bobby is a first year seminary student at Asbury Theological Seminary just outside Lexington.

When Bobby went there, I told him that a guy I used to be good friends with was in the Ph.D. program at Asbury, and he should look him up. For whatever reason, that never happened.

Well, today, as Julie and Gina were driving to Phoebe’s house, they saw this friend, Dan Dunn, and his wife Nancy, walking along a street. Julie made Gina stop the car, and she then did what she does best. She began to talk to Dan and Nancy.

The picture I received was of Dan, Nancy and Julie.

Julie said, “This must be God. What else could it be?”

And you know, I think she’s right. What else could it be? After all, some may say that Jesus is dead, but we say He never will be.

Which brings me to the tagline of my favorite movie.

It was on television tonight. Filmed in Utah, so that there would be a majestic backdrop of scenery, the movie is about one man’s struggles with mountains, surroundings, natives and himself. Lead actor Robert Redford only had 30 lines in the movie, yet 36 years after it’s release it is still one of the most watched films when on television. “Jeremiah Johnson” just does something to me when I watch it. Maybe it’s Will Geer asking Redford if he’d ever skinned a “Griz”. Maybe it’s like watching the struggle of humanity. Or maybe it just reminds me of this year’s version of the Auburn Tigers.

Tomorrow is the Iron Bowl. Watching Jeremiah Johnson fight and struggle with every “sitzen liben” (that’s “life situation” for those who never took a church history class under Dr. Bill Mallory) he is faced with is the persona of the 2008 Auburn Tiger Football Team. Speaking to the 1989 Auburn Tiger team after the Alabama game, Head Coach Pat Dye said, “Men, I’ve watched you wrestle with them angels all year.” And maybe that’s what this year’s team has been doing….wrestling with them angels.

Auburn has a huge mountain to climb. They are facing the #1 team in the nation. Some say Tommy Tuberville is gone after this game. Some say he is dead. And some say he never will be.

If Auburn can find a way to wrestle them angels….to conquer the mountain before them…. they might just be able to look back on this season and hear the words of Bear Claw Chris Lapp (Will Geer). Bear Claw asked Jeremiah Johnson at the end of the movie, “You’ve come far, Pilgrim. Were it worth the trouble?” To which Johnson replied, “Ah, what trouble”.

The final scene is an encounter with Paints His Shirt Red, Johnson's avowed enemy since mid-film and the presumptive force behind many attacks made on Johnson. Several hundred yards apart, Johnson reaches for his rifle for what he thinks will be a final duel. Paints His Shirt Red raises his arm, open-palmed, in a gesture of peace. Johnson returns the gesture….raising one hand with his five fingers outstretched….and the other with three fingers around his gun, and two fingers outstretched. This closes the film.

Seven fingers held high. Like Tuberville tomorrow?

"Some say he’s dead. Some say he never will be."

War Eagle

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