MovieChat Forums > Jerry Maguire (1996) Discussion > Question about Tidwell's touchdown...

Question about Tidwell's touchdown...

posted 8 years ago by daughterofolaf
6 replies | jump to latest

I watch football but I don't get this aspect of the film and wonder if someone can enlighten me. I don't quite understand the ending with Tidwell. He scores a touchdown, gets knocked out for a minute then suddenly he is a hot commodity and gets a contract for $11+ million...?

Is this like in grade school when Sarah was just a regular not-very-popular girl, then faints during P.E. and suddenly everyone gives her all kinds of weird attention for no reason other than she passed out? Something like that happens in the movie Clueless, too.

Why would Tidwell passing out for one minute cause him to get a giant contract and suddenly be "the s h ! t," so to speak? Was the fact that he held onto the ball supposed to be the indicator to us that he is now doing what Jerry told him he needed to do by "playing with heart"? It just seemed like a weird event to trigger fame and success. Has anything like this happened in real life before? Am I missing something?

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[–] RoadSideAssistance 8 years ago

It was to gain crowd support, which puts pressure on the front office to resign you.

He made what appeared to be the game winning TD catch (which I THINK caused them to make the playoffs?) and sacrificed his body for the team to make that play. Then he stayed down on the field and either a) faked being unconscious or b) really was and just came to and was fine, to get the fans going "OMG OMG I hope he's okay!" and then sprung up and celebrated to get the fans totally into it.

He sacrificed his body for the team and fans to make a great play and was elated about the win. That got a TON of fans excited and on his side. When you get fans on your side and you're loved by the fanbase, it puts an enormous pressure on the front office to retain you, for fear of upsetting fans or potentially hurting sales or creating criticism on the front office.

By him also going up like that and showing vulnerability and that he was willing to sacrifice himself, it also got teammates on his side... that's another HUGE factor. If teammates like you and feel like you're playing for the good of the team/coaches, it makes it REALLY hard for a FO to cut you (if you're still playing well) for fear of losing or angering other players.

[–] strntz 8 years ago

He scores a touchdown, gets knocked out for a minute then suddenly he is a hot commodity and gets a contract for $11+ million...? .....Why would Tidwell passing out for one minute cause him to get a giant contract and suddenly be "the s h ! t," so to speak?

Watch again; Rod had a GREAT season in his walk year. You know that other teams would have had Rod on their radar for an off season free agent signing, and his play down the stretch would be closely monitored. That touchdown in such a big game was eye opening and was icing on the cake.

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[–] nutsberryfarm 8 years ago

probably the organization was using tidwell to smuggle a large amount of cocaine...only thing that makes sense. he wasn't worth that much coin.

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[–] wowjonesgg 7 years ago

Clearly you missed it. Tidwell was a great reciever who had bad relations with the fans and media. In a big game, he makes a great catch to win the game. When he is coming to and realizes the the fans show him concern and love, for the first time he shows a side of his personality they had never seen before. Instant marketable hot commodity. Happens in real life

[–] lmdave 7 years ago

One great play/moment can make your career. Take Odell Beckham Jr. for example, sure he's a good receiver, but do you think for a minute he would be the hot commodity he is if he didn't have his groundbreaking one-handed TD catch live on MNF? That was his Rod Tidwell moment, and on the same stage also.

[–] frswinnipeg 7 years ago

It wasn't just the touchdown, it was the full season.. REMEMBER WHEN JERRY SAYS, IF U GET HURT THEN YOU GET NOTHING!

The touchdown he scored at the end brought them to the playoffs and was a cherry on top of his best year, and thus he got the contract!