This university’s alumni association on Friday hosted an advanced screening of the new sports movie The Senior, which tells the unlikely story of a 59-year-old man returning to his college football team three decades after he was expelled.
The screening was followed by a Q&A with the film’s producer and alum Mark Ciardi, who played baseball at this university and graduated with a degree in business before a brief MLB career as a pitcher.
Ciardi then went to Hollywood, where he specialized in producing sports movies based on true stories, including The Rookie and McFarland, USA. The Senior follows Mike Flynt — played by Michael Chiklis — as he tries out for and makes the football team while overcoming an injury and tension with teammates to fulfill his chance at redemption.
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During the Q&A, which was moderated by senior neuroscience major Leon Oblaender, Ciardi recalled watching the hockey game that inspired the movie Miracle while he was a student at this university.
“Everyone went crazy,” he said, recalling him and his peers watching the team of American college players beat the heavily favored Soviets.
Ciardi ended up producing the movie based on that game and emphasized how incredible it was to recreate that moment.
Oblaender said The Senior was inspirational and that the story of a man of nearly 60 years old playing college football was unbelievable.
Ciardi said that he came across Flynt’s story in the Los Angeles Times and was instantly intrigued — immediately working to secure the rights.
After getting in touch with a friend of Flynt’s, Ciardi flew to Texas and drove to Sul Ross State University, where Flynt played. There, he met the man who inspired the movie and some of his former teammates at the school’s homecoming.
“I’ve been blessed to tell stories that have had a big impact on me,” he said.
The story of The Senior depicts the emotional challenges Flynt faces on his journey. He works to overcome anger issues throughout his football career and in his personal life, which becomes a major undertone in the film.
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Flynt’s habit of fighting is a driving force in the plot, leading to the ultimate question of whether he’s grown enough to redeem himself as a college football player and a man. “[Mike Flynt] dealt with a lot of things,” Ciardi said. “He had over 30 fights in college. He just had anger issues.”
The film offers insight into these tendencies and depicts his violent relationship with his father in flashbacks that show a younger Flynt facing physical abuse.
Freshman computer science major Evan Quinn, who interned for this university’s baseball team, said that sports movies are a good way to tell people’s stories
Ciardi said that finishing his final season of college football allowed Flynt to free himself of his past. He said he sought to make the film feel both intense and uplifting.
“It’s not about having some incredible career,” Ciardi said. “It’s about getting on the field.”
