As the sun was setting on another Sunday, I decided to see “A Minecraft Movie” to see what the buzz was about. The combination of social media being flooded with memes from this movie for a good month now and a lust for some childhood nostalgia beckoned me to my local AMC. In between laughing at many of the movies cliché one-liners, I couldn’t help but think of similarities I saw between Group of 5 teams and characters from the movie. I guess you could say the idea for this blog hit me like an enchanted diamond sword!
Steve – Charlotte
Jack Black plays “Steve” – who is named after the default player name in Minecraft. In the movie we’re introduced to a young Steve who “yearned for the mines” but was discouraged from entering by a grumpy old miner. Steve grows up to live a comfortable, but boring lifestyle. One day after growing tired of his day to day, he decides to pursue his childhood dream by returning to the mines where he encounters the same grumpy old man, and manages to avoid him to enter the mines. He goes on to save the overworld by defeating the ruler of the Netherworld, Malgosha.
Charlotte is the perfect embodiment of Steve. The program was started in the late 1940’s but existed for only three seasons before the team folded. With the help of the Charlotte 49er Football Initiative (CFI), the program was restored after more than sixty years in 2013. Just like Steve, Charlotte lost their dreams for so many years, only to find the fire and pursue them once more. Their mascot – Norm the Niner, also knows a thing or two about mining – you will never catch him without his pick-axe!
Garrett – Wyoming
Garrett, played by Jason Momoa, is a tough guy has-been who is clad in a pink Western fringe jacket, and is the brawn of the protagonist group. He constantly mentions his ‘89 World Video Game Championship, even though nowadays he is a bit down on his luck; early in the movie he receives a foreclosure notice for his arcade.
Wyoming University’s football team has not won a conference championship since 1993, and before that they won in 1989, which was the same year that Garrett won his championship. Upon seeing the Minecraft overworld for the first time, Garrett responds to Henry’s line of “We’re not in Idaho anymore” with“I think this is Wyoming.” We can deduce that his association of the immense beauty of the Minecraft world with that of Wyoming’s makes the comparison to the State’s only FBS football program, along with the fact that both of them had some success decades ago which they are still hung up on, this was an easy conclusion to come to.
Henry – Boise State
Henry’s story is one of redemption and fulfillment, just like Boise State’s. In the beginning of the movie, he is the new kid at school who, in an attempt to impress his classmates, builds a jetpack which ends up crashing into the towns most well known building. When he ventures into the mysterious dimension of Minecraft, he puts his smarts to use by building a fort that saves his sister and Dawn. He also crafts a unique weapon that is quite effective at warding off Pig Zombies when they invade. At the end of the movie, we see Henry fix his jetpack and fly it around school to the amazement of his peers.
Just like Henry, Boise State was doubted, and time and time again the Broncos have proved critics wrong. Prior to their 2007 Fiesta Bowl upset against Oklahoma, they were 8-pointunderdogs despite finishing the regular season undefeated. Boise State also boasts a 12-5 record against power conference teams since 2000. The Broncos and Henry were both the new kids on the block at one point, but they earned their stripes, and proved to the world that they are among the best.
Group of five til' I die 