The Good Fight

Thematic This Sporting Life Curated by Steve James

With 382 career wins, Bobby Bowden is one of the winningest coaches in college football. Since 1976, when he became coach at Florida State, hundreds of his players have gone on to play professional football. With unprecedented access to a major college football program, filmmaker George Butler of Pumping Iron fame follows the Seminoles’s 2006 season, one of the toughest they’ve ever faced, from beginning to end, documenting the enormous amount of physical and mental preparation it takes to compete at this level. The Good Fight explores the intersection of family and football (one son is on the FSU coaching staff while another is head coach at Clemson) as well as the ways Bowden’s intense devotion to his Baptist faith informs his coaching. Across the spectrum of players, coaches, and family, hits off the field prove to be as relentless as tackles on the gridiron; together they offer a distinctly modern portrait of college football.  ST

Director

George Butler

Producers

George Butler, Henry Simonds, Elisabeth Haviland James, Revere La Noue

Editor

Nancy Baker

Cinematographer

Sandi Sissel

Release Year

2009

Festival Year

2009

Country

United States

Run Time

98 minutes