Pistol: The Birth of a Legend

With March Madness underway I am excited. Definitely my favorite sporting event. Superbowl lasts 1 night, The madness last a month. It basketball overload. The only other event that last as long are The Olympic, but we have to wait every four years for that. Pistol Pete was my idol growing up, but only after having watched this bio pic. Maravich revolutionized the game of basketball in ways that would've eventually happened, but he did it by 1959, when he was in the eighth grade. My dad rented this movie for us in 1991 when it came out, but after seeing it one time we had to own it. Back then Best Buy did not exist and new VHS tapes were $90. Somehow he got us a copy, and we wore that thing out. I may still have it somewhere, but now it is on DVD, so I will own it once again. This movie follows that particular year of his life. He was 5 foot nothin' a hundred and nothin', and the high school coach did not like his "circus act" style of play. His Dad was coaching Clemson at the time, and he taught Pete everything he knew. How he could change the game. Press (his Father) had ideals most could not fathom. It all starts by Pete skipping class, only to go to the gym at school (Dumb) and have a shoot around. The head coach catches him, scolds him, and sends him on his way. Pistol thinks he is dead, but the coach asks him to suit up for Varsity, which is unheard of back then and even today. He does have several obstacles in front of him, but the worst is the Coach's son Buddy. This is his team and he doesn't like this punk kid getting any attention. Pete sits on the bench for all of every game until he finally gets a chance. For him, this was it. He did what he needed to, but when it came down to the end he made a pass no one had ever seen, not even the intended target. The pass broke his nose, and he was scolded and benched yet again. Eventually he gets a better shot. Walt (Buddy's BFF) punches a guy in the gut for boxing him out and he is ejected, so Maravich went in. That was one of the funniest scenes in the movie. He ended up scoring on every shot he threw up, and was quickly dubbed Pistol Pete because he shot from his hip much like a gunfighter would draw his pistol. I really like this movie, because we all know who he is and what he did in his college and pro career. It's not that big of an underdog story, but it's fun to see him at that age, and if it's accurate, he was pretty dang good. It always inspired me as a ball player. I even wore his number throughout my career. I wore #23 because of Pete, not Jordan. I actually think Jordan wore it for the same reason. Just a thought. I'm gonna post some of my pictures at the bottom for all ya'll to enjoy. Check out the hair, and the Air Jordans.



Click Pics to Enlarge

 

NBM rates Pistol: The Birth of a Legend - Phenomenal

Buy It