GOD. FAMILY. FOOTBALL: EPISODE 2.3

“Playing for His Glory”

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What You Need To Know:

GOD. FAMILY. FOOTBALL is back with a second season streaming on FOX Nation. The show follows the Shreveport, Louisiana, Evangelical Christian Academy football team. They are known for having an elite program but lost a significant number of seniors last year. Now, they are underdogs with some young talent, trying to face off against elite competitors. They are off to a tough start, losing close games. With their heads hanging low, the third episode of Season Two keeps chugging along. Now they have to play against some cross-town rivals, which brings them an opportunity to glorify God.  

 Episode Three of Season Two of GOD. FAMILY. FOOTBALL. is well made, but it sometime features unnecessary moments that don’t further the story. For example, a scene where the players perform with the cheerleaders at a pep rally serves no purpose. Episode Three of Season Two of GOD. FAMILY. FOOTBALL. has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. There are numerous instances of people giving credit to the Lord, praying, and attending church services, etc. The episode features conversations about wanting the best for everyone around you. 

Content:

(CCC, BBB, Ro, L, V, M): 

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

  Very strong Christian, moral worldview with instances of people giving credit to the Lord, praying, attending a church service, etc., plus conversations about being family and wanting the best for everyone around you, football coaches teach life lessons outside of football, an instance of Romantic content when a player asks about temptations, specifically with girls in college;

Foul Language:

  Two light profanities;

Violence:

  Light violence depicted is done during the football games with youths tackling and throwing other youths to the ground while playing football, one instance of a player punching another in the face while making a tackle;

Sex:

  No sex, but a couple does flirt on a date;

Nudity:

  No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

  No alcohol use;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

  No smoking or drug use; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

  Coaches yell at each other and athletes, with discussions about  hurting and being physical during games. 

More Detail:

GOD. FAMILY. FOOTBALL. has a new season on FOX Nation. It follows the Shreveport, Louisiana, Evangelical Christian Academy football team. They are a highly prestigious program, known for winning, producing NFL-caliber players and being devout Christians. During the first season of the show, they made a deep playoff push, but sadly came up short of glory. With most of their talent gone, they have to compete as underdogs.  

The third episode of the second season of GOD. FAMILY. FOOTBALL. starts during the final moments of a football game. The team is down late, when its star quarterback takes a nasty hit. He’s down for the count. The announcer and the stadium all go quiet to pray. The player takes a moment before getting back up. They fought hard but fell short of victory. Many of the players are frustrated with themselves and their shortfalls. 

 The coaches have a meeting afterward to discuss the game’s shortcomings and the game plan for next week. However, it’s important to note that they were also talking about their personal shortfalls, not just the players. One player is specifically frustrated with his shortfalls. While spending time with Shawn Boston, he informs some other players about a post that Nate Green made about being tempted to quit. Shawn calls him and tells him to take the post down, but not before it’s seen on social media. At a practice, Coach Denny talks to Nate about his post. He convinces Nate to bear through the frustration and find his joy again. 

 Immediately afterwards, the episode visits “Day Day” on a date with his girlfriend, Ashlyn. Day Day is frustrated with his health and play time. He has asthma. It makes playing hard for him. He wants to play more, but feels as though his health is holding him back. 

 At the next game, their opponents post a photo mocking the Evangelical team. They go behind early, but make a big comeback. Late in the game, they score a two-point safety to turn things around. It’s a significant momentum shift. They take the lead late and try to hold on. However, they give up the lead in the last minute and end up losing the game. 

 The Coach gets the team together after the game and tells them that they need to be more of a family. They need to love each other and God more.  

 Cut to a church service. The entire football team attends the service. One member is a musician on the worship team. They all get together to worship and pray. 

 After the service, Coach Denny and the pastor get together. They discuss the old pastor, who played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. Together, they talk about unity, love and reconciliation. 

 Episode three of season two of GOD. FAMILY. FOOTBALL. is well made, but has some problems. It suffers from featuring unnecessary moments where the documentary style inherently captures the boring aspects of real life. For example, a scene where the football players perform with the cheerleaders at a pep rally serves no purpose. While a pep rally would be appropriate for a high school football team, the scenes don’t add gravity to the episode. 

 The episode has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. There are numerous instances of people giving credit to the Lord, praying, attending church services, etc. The episode features conversations about the importance of being a family and wanting the best for everyone around you. Also, the coaches teach life lessons outside of football. However, a player discusses how to handle temptations, specifically about him being tempted by college-aged girls. Due to the content and light football-related violence, MOVIEGUIDE ® suggests caution for younger children.