In the beginning when he is trying to find his athletic nitch, he wears the stereotypical athletic attire: tube socks, shorts, tank top, and sweat bands.
When he is older and has established his vitamin shop, his cache pants and striped polo reflect a dad dressing appropriately for his age. Unfortunately, this does not last the entire movie.
In the beginning of his coaching season, Phil wears jeans and collared shirts representing a relaxed way of approaching coaching.
After recruiting the Italians, the Tigers start winning and Phil’s clothing begins to change. He starts wearing jump suits more, reflective of what his dad (Robert Duvall) wears when he coaches. The competitiveness Buck brings to the field is also shown in Phil’s new coaching style.
Then we finally get to the matching jump suit which represents his transition into a mean, slightly crazy person/coach. He tells his kids to “play dirty”. Then he challenges Mike Ditka (Mike Ditka) and drives him away.
Then finally we come to the notorious Eye of the Tiger scene where he makes his “tiger outfit”. It is so ridiculous, it resembles a onesie you dress a baby in. He even talks about infants: “crying myself to sleep” and “wetting my bed”. He is transitioning back into a child.
When comparing Phil’s outfit choice to Mike’s, Phil slowly falls apart. But Mike’s dress pants and pressed shirts represent his confidence as a coach, even though soccer is not his sport of choice.
Phil slowly devolves from a decent person to a coach hell-bent on winning. In the beginning, the huddle says, “Let’s have fun”. But towards the end they say, “Break someone’s clavicle.” This deterioration of Phil’s personality is most physically seen in his clothing; he becomes more and more like a jerk.
So maybe when going through a stressful time in life, we should take a literal look in the mirror and see how we have changed. Then ask, “Is this change for better? Or for worse?”
Well this is a first… There is no analysis of this movie on the internet.
So if you are a parent looking to show this movie to your kids, please have a look at this review to decide if it is something you want to share with your kids.
Thanks for reading! See you next Thursday!