The athletic history of T.C. Williams is spelled out in small
block letters on the red brick wall near the west entrance of the Alexandria
high school. There, the 17 Titans teams that have won state championships are
listed, each immortalized solely by the sport and the year the title was won.
has meshed into oblivion with the other 16 titlists. Did students who gazed at the wall know about Herman Boone? Or Bill Yoast? Or the difficult circumstances under which the team played? No, the '71 Titans were just another team with a pocketful of victories.
But now, students revere that team. Its story is told in the new movie, "Remember the Titans," and it has given the school a sudden shot of spirit and a newfound appreciation for the greatest team in T.C. Williams's history.
All of that was apparent over the past two days, as T.C. Williams celebrated its homecoming. Yesterday, the Titans lost to Hayfield, 35-0, but that hardly seemed to matter.
"Kids have a habit of forgetting even about yesterday," said Boone, head coach of the 1971 team, speaking at a pregame ceremony yesterday that honored over 40 players, coaches and cheerleaders from that magical team. "But they learned through this that history is a part of life, part of their own lives. They learned that there was a time, in this very building, that there were bathrooms only for blacks, and bathrooms that were only for whites."
The three high schools in Alexandria--T.C. Williams, George Washington and Hammond--were merged in 1971 as part of a massive plan to desegregate city schools. Boone had been an assistant at T.C. Williams, which opened in 1965. He was given the head coaching job at the newly merged school instead of Yoast, the older, more experienced coach at nearby Hammond High. Despite the tense environment, the Titans went 13-0 and won the state championship, warming the heart of a frozen community.
"Remember the Titans" has instilled pride in this year's Titans and their classmates, elevating their school to legendary status.
Watching the movie "works volumes as far as inspiration," said senior captain Jimmy Gibson, who along with all his teammates, watched the movie in an Alexandria theater Friday night. "A story like that can only do wonders for a team like us. It shows that despite hardships and anything else you put in front of someone, you can succeed."
But for a program that has had one winning season in the last eight, remembering the 1971 Titans was no small task. Until recently, many current T.C. Williams students didn't even know about today's Titans, they say--the school lacked any spirit and its multicultural student body (representing 95 nations of origin) needed some sort of unifying bond.
"Until the movie came out, they didn't know anything about what made [the 1971 team] special," Titans sophomore defensive tackle Rommell McDonald said. "They all knew it was a championship team, but they didn't know anything about what went on behind the scenes."
As the Titans have struggled in recent years, the community has lost some of its interest. But national attention has brought many former teammates together, and the Alexandria community once again seems to be standing proudly behind its team. Before the movie's premiere Sept. 27, Bobby Luckett, a lineman on the 1971 team, organized the " '71 Original Titans Foundation," a nonprofit group that intends to travel the country motivating teams, businesses or any group that asks, by telling its triumphant story.
"This has been one big high school reunion that has not ended," said Luckett, Alexandria's Chief Deputy Fire Marshal. "People are beginning to feel good about T.C. Williams and the Alexandria community as a whole."
The spirit is palpable inside the school. Friday afternoon's 30-minute pep rally drew so many of the school's 2,100 10th, 11th and 12th graders, there weren't enough seats in the gym.
"We just started pep rallies two years ago and nobody used to go," said senior Jay Blount, T.C. Williams's student body president, who led much of the rally. "There was no school spirit. Nothing. But now there is. For once, nobody thinks it's dorky to show school spirit. Now, it's the cool thing to do."
Last night's homecoming dance played off of the school's reborn passion for football. "Titans on the Big Screen" was the theme, and the school was decorated with movie reels, movie posters and a replica "Hollywood" sign.
"The fact that Denzel [Washington] is in it and playing a teacher at our school is amazing," said sophomore Entsar Hamid, who says she was part of a small group of students who used to attend games. "The school wasn't into sports. Only the athletes were. . . . Now it's overcrowded at football games."
If there is any drawback to the attention, it is that of high expectations. People expect the 2000 Titans--who are 2-4 after yesterday's loss--to play like those from 1971.
"It certainly makes T.C. Williams football a little more glamorous," Henderson said. "But this is a tough town. The expectations are so high, it can be tough to be a T.C. Williams football player when you're not winning. . . . But I think the kids feel an obligation to carry on the tradition, and that's good for them."
The players are happy to take both the weight and the energy from their program's history into every game.
"People are so excited to see the next game," junior defensive back Anthony Cooper said. "They always say that it could be like one of the games in the movie. . . . Hopefully, we can rekindle the spirit of the movie and use it.
"But football is most definitely the thing to do around here, now."
© 2000 The Washington Post Company