-♪ What would you do
if I sang out of tune? ♪
♪ Would you stand up
and walk out on me? ♪
♪ Lend me your ears,
and I'll sing you a song ♪
♪ I will try not to
sing out of key, yeah ♪
♪ Oh, baby, I get by ♪
- ♪ by with a little help
from my friends ♪
-♪ All I need is my buddies ♪
-♪ High with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ I'm sayin' I'm gonna get higher ♪ - ♪
try with a little help from my friends ♪
-♪ Whoa-oa-oa-oa ♪
-♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪
-♪ Somebody who
knows quite sure ♪
♪ Baby ♪
-♪ By with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ Said I'm gonna make
it with my friends ♪
-♪ Try with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ Oh, I'm gonna
keep on trying ♪
-♪ High with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ I'm gonna keep on
trying now, baby ♪
-♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪
-High school. It's
a complicated time.
Full of passion, excitement.
The crazy joy of being young.
At my school one spring,
All that craziness came
together in one word...
Basketball.
- Defense! Defense! Defense!
- Defense! Defense! Defense!
-For us, it was more
than just a game.
It was ritual.
For the first time in years,
mckinley high had a winner.
And we owed it all to one guy.
- Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!
- Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!
-Number 11. Bobby riddle.
-Great!
-Forget cousy. Forget maravich.
Bobby was magic.
A genuine high school hero.
Well, to me, anyway.
And I should know.
After all, bobby had
the locker next to mine...
-Hey, bobby.
How you doing?
- Hey.
- You really k*lled 'em, huh?
- Yeah.
Well, they weren't much.
-Tell me about it.
- Which put me right
smack in the eye
Of the basketball hurricane.
-Hi, bobby.
Great game!
- Thank you.
- He's so cute!
- I know!
-A pretty good place to
be, all things considered.
-So how do you think we're
gonna do this friday, bobby?
-About the same.
-Going this way?
-Sure.
-Not that our relationship
was all one-sided.
I mean, he respected
my opinion...
-Yeah, I hear claremont's
got this center,
He's hitting 60% of his sh*ts.
- And I respected his.
-The guy's a cherry picker.
He doesn't even
get back on defense.
-Yeah, you can
probably shut them down
With a floating zone...
-Hey, bobby.
You hear coach is calling
a special practice today?
-Oh, man, what's his
problem? It's only claremont.
-Yeah, really.
-Whoa! Did you see
peggy this morning?
Yeah. She was hot.
-Okay, so we weren't
exactly butch and sundance.
So what?
-See you later, kev.
-I was on first-name
basis with a superstar,
A guy who had the
world at his fingertips.
As opposed to, say, my dad.
-Here, honey.
Maybe this'll help.
The only things
at his fingertips
Were dull pencils
and alka-seltzer.
-I hate these damn reports.
-Well, do you have to
do them all tonight?
-If I don't do it,
nobody else will.
-Well, I just hope they
appreciate all the work you do.
Yeah.
-There it was. Portrait
of the worker ant.
His nose to the grindstone
And the weight of the
world on his shoulders.
Not that we didn't
appreciate him.
-Give me the sports section.
- No, I'm reading it.
- Give it!
-We just had more important
things on our minds.
-Hey. Hey.
Hey!
I thought you were
supposed to be studying.
-Well, I am.
I'm just taking a little break
And reading about
the team this week.
You know, dad, you really
ought to check out a game.
-I don't have time.
Somebody's got to put
the food on the table.
-Thanks, dad.
-But, dad, we're
having a great season.
We got this point
guard, bobby riddle.
He can't miss.
I mean, he's leading the
league in... In almost everything.
He's unbelievable.
-Don't you have
a test coming up?
-Well, yeah, but i...
-I don't think basketball
stats are gonna be on it.
-All in all,
Made you wonder if the man
ever went to high school...
Because out there, in
the world of the young,
Things were hopping.
And we were all caught up in it,
To a man.
-Well, got to hit the books.
-What?
-We got a test
tomorrow, remember?
-Paul, we just
slaughtered claremont.
We're supposed
to be celebrating!
-Okay. I celebrated.
Now I have to study.
You should too.
-Of course, the guy was right.
Still...
-Look, there's bobby riddle.
You know him, don't you?
-Hmm, let's see
here. I had a choice.
I could go home and cram
Or...
Hang around and be a big
sh*t at the burger place.
-Hey, bobby. Great game.
-Oh, hey. What's up?
-Not much.
Oh, this is winnie and...
-Oh, we've already met.
-Oh, what's up, pat?
-Hey, when you're
hot, you're hot.
And when you're
not, you're... Pat.
-I really thought the
team was great tonight.
-Yeah, well, we were lucky.
-Yeah, this was great.
Hanging out. Hobnobbing
with the stars.
-Okay, it was nice
seeing you, bobby.
We got to go.
- What?
-I told you.
We have to study.
-Geez, did this kid have
no sense of social graces?
-Come on, paul. Don't be a jerk!
We got plenty of time.
So we skip an hour of homework.
What's the worst
that could happen?
-A "d"?
How could you get a "d"?
-Rats.
-Well, I don't know,
dad. The test was hard.
-Tests are supposed
to be hard, kevin.
How'd this happen?
-I don't know.
Maybe I was just tired.
-Tired?
-Whoops.
-Maybe you were tired
Because you've been
hanging out too late
Celebrating
basketball victories.
-He had me nailed.
This called for a brilliant
tactical move on my part.
-You're absolutely right, dad.
-You got to be more sensible.
-I will. I promise.
-Good.
-Okay.
So, uh, great!
I'll see you later.
-Where the hell are you going?
-To the game.
-Fact... When you're 16,
Your sense of irony isn't
particularly well developed.
-Oh, come on, dad.
If we win this one, we go
to the state tournament!
-Did you hear a
word I just said?
-Jack, maybe we
should let him go.
He's only young once.
-And there, finally, a blow
for the cause of freedom.
I owed her my eternal gratitude,
My undying respect.
-Thanks, mom! See ya, dad!
But, then, I was in a hurry.
- Defense! Defense! Defense!
- Defense! Defense! Defense!
Defense! Defense! Defense!
Defense! Defense! Defense!
Defense! Defense!
Defense! Defense!
-The final game of
our regular season.
Win this and we moved on
to the regional playoffs.
Our future was
hanging in the balance.
-Defense! Defense!
-What's going on here?
I thought you told me these
guys were supposed to skate.
-Don't worry. We'll pull it out.
-Don't worry?
We're 3 points down
and 30 seconds left...
I'm worried!
-It was pretty clear what
we needed was a miracle.
- Defense! Defense!
- Defense! Defense!
-Still, miracles were
commonplace to bobby riddle.
- Defense! Defense! Defense!
- Defense! Defense! Defense!
-Face it... It didn't matter
If we were down by
3 points or 30 or 300.
This wasn't just
basketball. It was magic.
It was fate.
And when bobby took that ball
downcourt for the last time...
-Come on, bobby.
- Somehow we all knew...
The game...
The night... The title...
The world...
Was ours.
And all because of one guy...
Number 11... A real hero.
- Bobby! Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!
- Bobby! Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!
-Fellow students, it's
my pleasure to introduce
The 1972 conference
champion mckinley knights.
-By the day of the big game,
Basketball fever had
turned into basketball frenzy.
We were on our way
to the regional finals.
And we all knew whose
shoulders this rested on.
It was the most amazing thing
Any of us had ever been part of.
Almost any of us, anyway.
-See ya, dad.
-Wait a minute.
Where are you going?
-Rats.
-I got to go meet
the guys on the bus.
To the arena?
Dad, the big game's tonight.
-Oh.
Wait a minute.
Did you finish your homework?
-Oh, brother.
-Well... No.
But I was gonna do
it when I got home.
-But it was clear
it was going to take
An impassioned plea here
To turn the great
curmudgeon around.
-Dad, this is important, okay?
I mean, 20 years from now,
I'm not gonna
remember my homework.
But this game...
This is something I'm gonna
tell my children about.
Maybe even my grandchildren.
-There.
Worthy of the
gettysburg address.
-Fine, then.
-Great.
-I'll take you.
-What?
-This way you can
finish your homework
And still make the tip-off.
-Yeah, but, dad, the
guys are expecting me!
-Besides, you say
this team is that good,
Maybe I ought to take a look,
see what all the fuss is about.
What do you say?
-So, what could I say except...
-Sure, dad. That
sounds... Great.
-Welcome, ladies and
gentlemen, to the division iii...
-And there you had it.
Possibly the biggest night
of my high school's life
And I was arriving with...
-Big, huh?
- My own personal
truant officer.
-What'd you expect?
-Hey! Kev!
We got some seats over here.
- Oh, great.
- Uh, dad?
Let's sit over here.
No, thanks. We
got two over here.
-Which is not to say
I was embarrassed
To be seen with the guy.
Even though I was.
-Game's gonna start.
-Yep, this was great...
Just me and mr. Basketball.
Still, once the game started...
A funny thing began to happen.
-Bobby riddle, 2 points!
He's got a good sh*t.
- Told you so!
- Yeah.
-My dad began to get swept
up by bobby riddle's magic.
All right!
-And the way bobby played,
Pretty soon we were
cheering together...
-Yeah! Nice sh*t!
- Till finally dad was even
asking the same questions
We'd all been asking.
-How did he do that?
-Sure, the game was close,
but bobby was incredible.
He just couldn't miss.
Until he did.
-He'll make the next one.
-Mm.
-After all, we hadn't come
this far to blow it now.
We had destiny on our side.
Yeah! All right!
-And we went into
halftime all tied up.
-So, what do you
want on your hot dog?
-Uh, the works.
- Hey, kev.
- Hey.
-Man, this is close.
-I'm not that worried.
-Did you see that layup bobby
made from behind the basket?
-The guy's amazing.
-Okay, we were all in agreement,
To a man.
-So, mr. Arnold,
what do you think?
-I don't know.
I just hope southwestern
doesn't have bobby's number.
-What are you talking about?
The guy's got like 19 points.
-Yeah, but that was before
they double-teamed him.
Looks like they'll
keep two men on bobby
And use a three-man zone to
defend the rest of the team.
-And in the face of this sage
piece of basketball wisdom
There was only one response.
-I think we'd better
get back to the seats.
-Yeah. See ya.
Geez. What's his problem?
-I couldn't believe it.
-You say the works?
-Here I'd been nice enough
to bring this guy along,
Practically dragged
him to the game,
And he had the nerve
To stand around
and pop my balloon?
- Nice going, dad!
- Huh?
-You have to spoil everything.
-I was just talking
about strategy.
-You have to put
everything down!
I mean, you just can't stand
it if I'm having a good time!
Can you?
-Okay, so maybe I'd
flown off the handle.
A little.
I wasn't sorry.
I was just waiting for my team
to show this stick-in-the-mud
How wrong he was.
-Here we go with
the second half.
-And I knew bobby
wouldn't let me down.
Only somehow...
Things went wrong.
It was as if the other team
Followed my father's
strategy to the "t."
-Blocked sh*t! Number
55, southwestern!
-And the more my
team fell behind,
The more I resented my dad.
I guess magic
doesn't last forever
No matter how much
you wish it would.
Destiny can turn on a dime...
And cut like a Kn*fe.
-Southwestern with the rebound!
-That night, a high-school
dream of victory came true.
But not for us.
-2 Points, southwestern!
-And as they pumped
in point after point,
Bobby riddle's season
of glory ended...
In defeat.
-Final score...
Southwestern bengals
76, mckinley knights 65.
Thank you.
-We sat there for a long time.
I just wasn't ready to leave.
Somehow I just couldn't
quite believe it was over.
Besides, I figured, we'd
stuck together in victory,
We'd stick together in defeat.
-Bobby?
You played a good game, man.
It wasn't your fault.
They had their
whole team on you.
Besides, we wouldn't
have even gotten this far
If it wasn't for you.
-It was a homage to a
guy I really admired.
A real hero.
-We?
Hey, get off my
back, will you, kid?
-I'll never forget how
I felt at that moment.
I wanted to crawl
under the floorboards.
And I was sure that everyone
in that arena had heard.
And everyone had.
Things were pretty
quiet heading home.
There wasn't much to say.
I'd made an idiot
of myself. I knew it.
And worse, I knew
he knew it too.
-Tell you what...
There's a diner a
few miles up here.
Mind if we stop
for a cup of coffee?
-Sure, dad.
-Why not?
I'd always heard coffee
went well with crow.
The thing is, I wasn't sure
which he was gonna do first...
Bust me for being a
snotty-nosed wiseguy
Or gloat about the game.
-You know, kev...
-My guess was gloat.
-They really
didn't play that bad.
- What?
- Your team.
They gave it a pretty
good sh*t, right?
-Dad, they got creamed.
-And that bobby kid, he
did okay. Don't you think?
I mean, good ball handler,
tough from the corner.
And that little loopy jump sh*t.
-And that's when I realized...
He wasn't just gonna gloat,
He was gonna take bobby
riddle and rub him into me till i...
-Look, dad.
In the first place,
bobby stunk, okay?
In the second place,
he's not that good.
He was never that good, okay?
So I'm sorry you had to
waste your time coming down.
I'm sorry about
the test. I'm sorry...
I'm sorry we can't
all be like you.
-Something funny?
-Nah, it's just...
You're a hard man to
please, you know that?
-And then that man...
Mr. Pencil stubs
and alka-seltzer,
Mr. Pay the bills
and go to work...
Said something
I'll never forget.
-Let me tell you something, kev.
It's not easy being a hero.
-And I knew he wasn't
talking about bobby riddle.
He was talking about himself.
-No.
I guess it isn't.
-You know how I knew they
were gonna double-team him,
Use that three-man zone?
When I was in high school...
-Some heroes pass through
your life and disappear in a flash.
You get over it.
But the good ones...
The real ones, the
ones who count...
Stay with you for the long haul.
The thing is, after
all these years,
I couldn't tell you
the score of that game.
What I remember is
sitting in that diner,
Up late, being young,
Drinking coffee with the
only real hero I ever knew.
My dad... Jack arnold.
Number one.