Were the Titans often the underdogs, as the film implies?
No. In fact, by the end of the 1971 season (including playoffs) the T.C. Williams Titans were 13-0 and ranked second in the nation. They dominated almost every game that they played, shutting out their opponents in nine of their thirteen games and outscoring them by a margin of 338-38. The championship game was a blowout as well, unlike what we see in the film. Below is the Titans 1971 schedule showing the scores of each game.
1971 Titans Schedule:
See www.chasingthefrog.com
Was Gerry Bertier really paralyzed in a car accident before the championship game?
In real life, Gerry Bertier was paralyzed in a car accident, but it happened after the season ended, after the Titans had already played the championship game. On December 11, 1971, Gerry was coming home from the T.C Williams High School football banquet, where he had been honored with the Most Valuable Defensive Player Award. After stopping at a local fast-food restaurant and dropping off some friends, Gerry continued home in his mother's new Camero. Only six blocks away from his house, the car went out of control striking both a fire hydrant and a flashing school sign, the latter of which sent the car tearing across the road into a ditch (GerryBertier.com). It was later determined that the accident had been caused by a mechanical failure in the motor mount of the Camero's engine ('71 Titans Website).
Did Gerry really tell the nurse, "He [Julius] is my brother, don't you see the family resemblance?" so that Julius could stay and visit him in intensive care?
As stated on the '71 Titans website, many of the players were stopped by the nurses at the desk on the
floor of the intensive care unit. They all replied that they were immediate family, not just Julius Campbell. (Coach Boone, Brad Smith, and Julius Campbell visit Bertier - See Photo) Credit of this picture goes to the source website.
How good of a football player was Gerry Bertier?
As a nationally ranked defensive player, Gerry Betier was Alexandria's first high school All-American football player. Following the 1971 season, he received accolades which included First Team All-Region, All-State, and All-American honors as well as being named the Alexandria Sportsman's Club Football Player of the Year. He had been approached by elite college football powerhouses, such as Notre Dame and Alabama. Many believe that the movie Remember the Titans failed to accurately depict the true significance of his talent.
How did Gerry Bertier deal with the fact that he was paralyzed?
"You achieve everything you ever wanted, then it all gets cut down in one night," Bertier said in an early 1970s' Washington Star article. "It's really hard for you or I to really believe we could be paralyzed. You say, 'Well, I've got an all-star game to play.' I thought I'd be out the next week." After his accident, Gerry confided in Coach Bill Yoast, while keeping up a strong front for his family and friends. "It took him two years to accept the fact from the time of the accident that he would be crippled for life," said Yoast, who remained a close friend of Gerry's, coaching him to a gold medal in shot-put at the Wheelchair Olympics.
Did Gerry Bertier really die 10 years after the '71 season?
Yes. This part of the movie Remember the Titans is true. On his way home from a business trip on March 20, 1981, Gerry Bertier's 1980 Oldsmobile was struck by a drunk driver who crossed over the center line. Bertier was pronounced dead two hours later at the University of Virginia Hospital. Like in the film, many of the 1971 Titan players and coaches attended Gerry's funeral. At the time of his death, Gerry had been working as a sales manager for Abbey Medical, a company that manufactured walking braces for the handicapped. He had also been attending Northern Virginia Community College where he had been working toward a degree in business. The rest of his time had been spent traveling the country speaking on behalf of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. Gerry strived to help make the world accessible to the disabled.
-Washington Star
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