The Express Page #6

Go home, blackie.

First down for the Orangemen.

Ball at the West

Virginia 42-yard line.

Sarette with the fake.

Ernie Davis across the

left side breaks...

the tackle and gets

into the open field.

Good run. Good run.

Brokaw, come here.

- Yeah, Coach.

Strong right, fullback

wedge eight. Go.

Ernie, Ernie.

Brokaw, get in there.

Right full house, 40 broom.

On one, on one. Ready.

Break.

- Break.

Davis,

get off the field.

Now, you got a

white man telling...

you what you can

and can't do...

...one hundred years

away from here...

Ref, time out. Time out.

You don't have any more.

We are still not yet...

You're just his

educated n*gger.

They gonna be

looking up to you.

I think you owe them more

than just running a ball.

What the hell do you

think you're doing?

What did I tell you

about the rules down here?

What are you...

We just scored.

Bullshit.

You scored. We're a team.

I'm the coach.

You're a goddamn running back.

You're my goddamn

running back,

and you will do what I tell

you, when I tell you to do it.

Now, you plant your ass

down on that bench.

Am I invisible?

What?

- Am I invisible to you?

Am I an X, an O in

your goddamn playbook,

or do you see a

person standing here?

Am I Avatus Stone?

Am I Jim Brown?

Just a running back?

That's bullshit.

You're about

this close, Davis.

Come on, let's go.

You know, maybe,

just maybe, Coach,

the rules down here

are your rules, too.

That's enough.

Come on.

What?

You all right?

Yeah.

Good game.

Good game, Ben.

- Mike?

I tried not to

run up the score.

I know. You just had

our number tonight.

Say, Ben, how many coloreds

you got playing for you?

Three, why?

You just be careful, Ben.

They got no discipline.

Too many of them and they'll

take the team away from you.

Now, you give my

best to Reggie.

Coon-lover.

Can I sit down?

I'm sorry I lost my temper.

But I'm not sorry

I stayed in the...

game, and I'm not

sorry I scored.

Now, what kind of

an apology is this?

I've never walked off

the field for anybody.

These people down

here, they're dug in.

They're set in their

ways. We got...

Coach, that...

You're just hiding

behind those words.

I have a responsibility

to my team, Davis.

That's not how it has to be.

Yes. Jack, Art and me,

we're all a part of your team.

But we can't run across that...

goal line down

here without you.

It doesn't mean a damn

thing unless you're with us.

Is that it?

And in college...

football, the

Syracuse Orangemen...

continue their

dominance of the

Eastern Conference

with a 29-0...

Fans, I wish

all of you could be here...

to see what these eyes

have just witnessed.

...brilliant displays

of athletic...

talent I've seen

on any gridiron.

Come on, guys.

Sustain your block.

...led by Ernie Davis,

from Elmira, New York.

Another jaw-dropping...

performance here at

Navy Memorial Stadium.

I tell you one...

thing, he's

electrified this crowd.

The unbeaten

Syracuse Orangemen...

Davis,

who has been...

nothing short of brilliant

today, reserves the victory...

for coach Ben Schwartzwalder

and the Syracuse Orangemen.

...nothing but a hound dog

You know it.

Crying all the time

Well, you ain't never

caught a rabbit

And you ain't no

friend of mine

Settle down.

Listen up, boys.

All right, listen up.

Listen up.

Coach.

Gentlemen,

congratulations.

Undefeated with a number one...

ranking is something

to be proud of.

Yeah.

But...

But...

Mr. Andreas has informed me...

that we have been offered

two different bowl games,

the Orange Bowl in Miami...

and the Cotton

Bowl in Dallas.

Now, in Miami, we would play

Georgia, ranked

ninth in the polls.

And in Dallas, we

would play Texas,

ranked second,

right behind us.

If we win either game, we...

will be the

national champions.

Texas is the tougher

opponent, the tougher team.

But to be the best, I believe

you have to beat the best.

So, I guess you

know how I would...

vote, but this is your vote.

This is your team.

Your decision.

Texas.

Texas.

Texas.

Texas.

Texas.

- Texas.

Texas.

- Texas.

Texas.

Texas.

Texas.

Texas.

Looking forward to it.

- Texas.

Texas.

- Texas.

Texas.

- Texas.

Texas.

A lot of people think

the Texas Longhorns...

are the best team

in the nation.

One big reason is Clay Taylor.

All-American, best Division

One tackle in the nation...

three years in a row.

Now, some folks even

think that the...

only reason that we

are undefeated...

is because we have not met

Clay Taylor and his teammates.

I want everyone to

take a good long...

look at what we're

up against here...

because in Texas,

football is a religion.

You think we been south?

We ain't been south

till we go to Texas.

Schwedes,

give me a goose-step.

We are now faced

with a far different problem.

The forcible

integration of the...

public schools of

Little Rock...

against the overwhelming

sentiment...

of the people of the area.

Two, four, six, eight.

We don't want to integrate.

Two, four, six, eight.

We don't want to integrate.

We still have

the attitude of love,

we still have the method

of passive resistance...

and we are still

insisting emphatically,

that violence is

self-defeating.

That he who lives by the...

sword will perish

by the sword.

This is quite a ruckus.

Hey, Ernie,

Roger Page, Channel Nine.

They're calling this game

the North against the South.

In light of what's

going on in this country,

do you feel added pressure

to represent change?

We don't concern

ourselves with politics.

We're just here to

play a great football game...

and take home

the championship.

To be honest, Mr. Page,

when I'm out on that field.

I only think about

winning the game.

But that doesn't mean I don't

know the color of my own skin.

Let's check in.

We've got a problem, Ben.

What?

The Aristocrat Hotel does not

allow coloreds to stay here.

I need my team together, Lew.

Now, you do whatever it takes

to make that happen.

What's the problem?

What's the problem here?

Right this way, gentlemen.

Fellas, looks like we once

again found the Negro wing.

State seven.

State seven.

Set.

- Double tight. Double tight.

Wing left,

watch it.

Stop.

Do you think it is

the New York City Ballet...

that's going to be running

up your ass on New Year's day?

These are the goddamn

Texas Longhorns.

If you cannot fight off

blocks better than that,

let's just get on

the bus and go home.

Run the play again.

Sh*t.

My hamstring.

This may be

a blessing in disguise.

Look at these.

Where did you get these?

Where did I get them?

They were sent to the

hotel to your boys.

Scare tactics.

Doesn't have a goddamn

thing to do with football.

We shouldn't play him.

Maybe not even Art or Jack

but especially Ernie.

The NCAA is on my back.

Even the Mayor of Dallas is

nervous, afraid of race riots.

Lew, you hired me to win.

Well, I'm here at

the goddamn Cotton Bowl,

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