MovieChat Forums > The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) Discussion > How did the Bears become the California ...

How did the Bears become the California champs??

posted 20 years ago by vyperman7
16 replies | jump to latest

Personally, I loved this movie. I liked it even more than the original film. However, there was always one thing that bugged me about this movie. How in the hell did The Bears become the California champs? They came in second place in their league. Even if they would have won first place, that still doesn't mean a thing. There was never any mention about what they did to become the California champs. Not to mention the fact, that when your in little league, you try and make it to the Little League World Series.

The only thing that could have made this movie better than it was, would have been Walter Mathau and Tatum O Neil.

[–] JAG2005 19 years ago

I don't know the answer to your question. Do you know why Matthau and O'Neil declined playing in the sequel?

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[–] hockey11250 19 years ago

i watched the movie on dvd the other day i think this was supposed to be a year later....and where was reggie tower the kid who played 3rd base in the 1st movie...did you notice also englebert was a different person but the look almost alike

[–] hereminton 18 years ago

I saw this movie on TV for the first time in the early 1980s, then later in the 1980s, and I taped it on our VCR one time late in the decade, and watched it fairly often from then into the 1990s. I also liked it alot, and better than the original. But I also liked the original (both movies are on my contenders for 100 favorite movies of all time list), and I did realize and wonder about this very thing. I know it was just one year later (summer, 1977-the original had been in summer, 1976), and they had lost their league championship game to the Yankees in June, 1976. So they were not the league, and certainly not California champions. The Yankees should have been, and gone to Houston to play the Toros (who were obviously the Texas state champions). I do know Little League teams try to make it to the Little League World Series, though I think this game was simply an exhibition for the state champions of Texas and California to play, and had nothing to do with the LL World Series, and was in no way connected to it. But I am not sure how they did get to play in it, maybe the real CA champions did want to concentrate on the Little League World Series (which is played in August in Williamsport, PA), and the Bears were just chosen to replace them. But it was still a good movie I liked alot, and I hope to see it, and the original, on DVD soon again.

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[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] joflo11 17 years ago

They had to get a new kid to play Engelbert because the original one lost a bunch of weight.

[–] ccr1633 17 years ago

The replacement Engleberg was terrible, one of the many reasons why this sequel was so inferior (which is not to say altogether bad).

[–] timgdx 17 years ago

I read the novelized version. It opens with Councilman Whitewood (Toby's father) watching the Championship game last year, musing that the Bears should have one that game...if Amanda's arm had held out, if Buttermaker had been a better coach, not insisting that everyone played. It turns out that the opportunity to play in Houston HAD been offered to the Yankees, but they had unable to get their team together, and Whitewood, shrewed politician that he is, convinced the Houston people that the Bears had lost only by a fluke and should be given the chance.

[–] DTigersFan 16 years ago

My guess it's a year latter and they won there leauge. If any one recalls seeing Kelly. His hair is longer, and I belive he's taller. That's just my guess.

[–] nutsberryfarm 7 years ago

by the decree of the calif. governor is my guess.

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[–] PaladinNJ (20309) 6 years ago

It was right at the beginning of the movie. The team that beat them in the first movie all came down with the measles so the Bears had to take their place.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I just watched this and there's nothing about the Yankees (or anyone else) having the measles. This is also listed as a plot hole goof in IMDB:

"The Bears play the Toros because they are the California Champs. They had lost to the Yankees in the previous movie, which would have made the Yankees the California champs, not the Bears. The reason the Yankees could not compete is never explained."

[–] PaladinNJ (20309) 6 years ago

In that case something has been cut. It's been a few years but I remember a coach who looked kind of like Don Davis (it wasn't him) telling the bears about the Yankees.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Not sure who Don Davis is and I'm honestly not trying to be a wiseass here but I really think you're misremembering this. I've seen this movie at least a dozen times and even as a kid I wondered why they were considered the California champs even though they had lost the championship game in the previous movie. This movie opens with the beers all meeting up at the ball field where they just go word on who their new coach is. The new coach played by Dolph Sweet storms across the field and emphasizes that they'll be playing in Houston and if they win they'll get to go to Japan. Based on the way this scene unfolds I don't see where anything would've been cut from.

It's streaming on either Stars or Cinemax right now (that's where I watched it before posting last week). Check it out if you can and let me know what you think.

[–] PaladinNJ (20309) 6 years ago

No offense taken. I admit it is possible I'm misremembering it, but the memory is so vivid. I'll have to check it out.
PS: Don Davis was the General in Stargate SG 1. His career hadn't started yet.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Haha I know that feeling all too well! There are a couple movie moments I'd have sworn to that turned out never happened.

One in particular is in Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. I'd have sworn Natalie Portman says "So this is how democracy dies....to thunderous applause." The line apparently is "So this is how liberty dies..". This one still bothers me because hearing her say it in the theater seemed so vivid to me.

[–] Tongue (445) 7 months ago

Plus the game between the Yankees and the bad news bears was only for the league title - it was simply to designate who won their areas league .. then they would go on to play other teams from across the state that win their league with the best team advancing .so yes plot hole indeed

Come to think of it - the little league World Series is made up of all star teams so the bad news bears wouldn’t have qualified either way.