Resurrecting The Champ Page #9

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Not to mention the fact that you're a boxing

beat reporter on a major American daily...

and until a few weeks ago,

you didn't know who Bob Satterfield was.

Look, Erik. You have a chance

to forgive this old man.

Take it.

Okay, I'll take it.

You owe me. Remember that.

I'll remember.

Nice suit.

Yeah, the Salvation Army gives them

to the police department.

But I think they're knockoffs,

'cause this say "Omani. "

Armani starts with a "A," right?

You have anywhere in particular

you want to go?

This, uh-This don't belong to me.

It belongs to Bob Satterfield.

Satterfield's dead.

Well, do what you want to with it.

Might as well keep it.

- I ain't Satterfield now.

- I know.

All right. As long as you know.

That fella in, uh, Sioux City-

He come to me

and say I look like him.

- Hey, Tommy.

- And if I fought as him I could make some money.

The boys tell me you used to box

before you came here.

- 'Cause he had a name.

- From Chicago, Illinois...

Battling Bob Satterfield!

So I did it.

Don't nobody know no better.

And-And I was a winner

for the first time in my life.

I wasn't me no more.

I was- I was Satterfield, see?

I was somebody better.

Better than my own self.

Whoo!

I became Champ.

When I got done fighting,

I moved down here and, uh...

met Betty, had a son by her.

But you never see where

that next punch is comin' from.

What do you mean?

Well, my son, he found out.

Found an old Ring magazine.

"You ain't Satterfield!"

That's what he said.

He didn't want nothin'

to do with me after that.

Joined a gang, got hisself killed.

I couldn't go back to Betty behind that.

Well, Tommy, I wish you would've

told all this to me before.

Yeah.

I give you the man you wanted.

You-You said you wanted your shot.

That's what you said to me,

remember?

My father left me when I was a little kid.

Did I ever tell you that?

- Not that I recall, no.

- Yeah, well, he did.

He left me and my mom.

They were never really right

for each other.

He was a lot older than she was,

and-

He left.

The only thing I really remember is...

it made my mom cry.

He never called. He never wrote.

And I hate him for it.

And I didn't run wild like your boy.

I just...

thought I would try and be

a better father to my son.

Try and be a hero to him.

'Cause every kid wants to think

his father's the best, right?

Yeah, that's right.

So, what you gonna do now?

Uh-

In about an hour I gotta go over

to my kid's school and-

Career Day.

Career Day? What's that?

Well, I'm gonna tell a bunch of six-year-olds

what it means to be a journalist.

- Oh, irony!

- Yeah. Exactly.

You, uh, think

she'll take me back, let me in?

I don't know, Champ,

but I think you gotta try.

I gotta think on what to say.

I don't think you have to

say anything. Just go in.

Just for the record,

that thing about Marciano-

That's the truth.

I was his sparring partner.

Busted his nose.

- Not the big bone, but the little one.

- Yeah.

My dad's name is Erik Kernan Jr.

He writes for newspapers.

And he's also on Showtime.

My dad's been up for the Pu-

the "Publitzer. "

- Pulitzer.

- The Pulitzer.

Meaning that he's one

of the best writers in America.

My dad writes about boxing

'cause he can't write about football...

'cause he's, like,

best friends with John Elway...

and, uh, Coach Shanahan.

He even plays golf with Muhammad Ali.

And he turned down, like,

being a guy on Monday Night Football.

- And also- - Teddy, why don't

we ask your dad to come up?

Okay. Dad?

- Hi, kids.

- Hi.

Um, I g-

I suppose we should just, uh...

ask you if you have any questions.

- Okay. Yeah?

- Who's better at golf, you or Muhammad Ali?

Um-

Uh, well, why don't we, uh-

Maybe we'd be better served

if we just talked about...

what it means to be a journalist.

How about that?

Go ahead. Yeah.

- Are you gonna change your last name?

- Change my name?

My dad said you should change your

last name because you don't deserve it.

He says your dad was really great

and stuff, and you're a faker.

On the TV, they said you made up

a story about a boxer.

Uh, kids...

maybe Mr. Kernan can explain to us...

how fast he has to turn in a story

after the sporting event has ended.

That's a very good question.

Usually I'll turn in a story about two

hours after I see the event, because, um-

I wish I were dead.

He's six. He'll bounce back.

Look, this boy, he loves you.

He knows that you're not a liar.

He- He believes in you.

He'll be home in an hour.

Why don't you come by and talk to him?

I can't.

I gotta go

to that settlement conference.

Round out a perfect day.

But I'll be fine.

I'll be fantastic.

They really broke the mold with me, huh?

Bob Satterfield

was not simply a great boxer.

He was an icon-

truly an American icon.

And to have his name

brought into disrepute-

Okay, but that's not the issue.

I mean, you can't libel the dead.

Riley, we're embarrassed by what happened.

We'll print a retraction.

Nobody reads retractions.

You know that.

They read the lie, the lie sticks.

Look. Mr. Kernan is here

to offer his profound apologies...

to you and your family,

Mr. Satterfield.

Erik.

I'm responsible, Mr. Satterfield.

I was careless.

And worse than that...

after the story ran,

I had reason to believe...

that it was wrong,

and I didn't speak up.

I know that I can't undo the damage...

but I'd like to try.

Try in what way?

The only way that I know how.

I'd write about it.

And say what?

I'd say that I made a mistake.

I'd say why.

That-

I'd talk about your father.

I'd talk about who he really was.

Let's talk about damages,

Miss Perlmutter.

Bob Satterfield was a great figure

in American sports.

Nah, he wasn't none of that.

He a pretty good boxer

with a glass jaw.

But he was a very good man.

And a good father, and I'd-

I'd like for people to know that.

Would you put that in your story?

I would. I would.

When you called me, I hung up on you.

You said you was Erik Kernan.

You didn't say that you was a "Junior. "

Your old man hit my dad

with some pretty big shots in his time.

I'd like to read your story.

I think it'd go a long way

in making me satisfied.

Jesus Christ, I get it already!

Hey. I've been trying to reach you.

I know. I, uh-

Did you hear about the deal?

I'm gonna write this-

Yeah, I-I heard.

Is Teddy awake?

He says he's not feeling well...

and, uh, he doesn't want

to go to school tomorrow.

Can I speak with him? Could I come in?

I really need to talk to him.

Yeah.

Hey, buddy. Hey, man.

Daddy?

Hey.

Are the kids in your class

giving you a hard time?

Yeah.

Everybody says

you made it up about Champ.

I made some mistakes, Teddy.

I made a lot of mistakes.

But did you make it up?

The truth is...

I wrote what Champ told me.

I believed him.

But I shouldn't have. L-

I was more interested in writing

what I wanted the story to be...

than what it actually was.

You know? The truth.

I burned you, buddy. I'm sorry.

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