36 Fun Facts About Remember the Titans

Who directed Remember the Titans?

Boaz Yakin: he took on the film while trying to rebound from the failure of his previous movie, A Price Above Rubies.

In Remember the Titans, what is Coach Boone told will happen if the Titans lose once?

He will be fired: the board wants Coach Yoast back in charge, but the Titans go through the whole season unbeaten.

Which actor plays assistant coach Bill Yoast in Remember the Titans?

Will Patton: the real Bill Yoast had been the favourite for the head coaching job before officials chose Boone instead.

Which blockbuster producer made Remember the Titans?

Jerry Bruckheimer: he made it through Technical Black, a company he set up for gentler films than his usual action hits.

Who wrote the screenplay for Remember the Titans?

Gregory Allen Howard: he only discovered the story after moving from Los Angeles to Virginia.

Remember the Titans' team formed after what?

Three schools merged: juniors and seniors from three high schools were all sent to T. C. Williams, making one giant school.

In Remember the Titans, what does Coach Yoast lose by threatening to expose a rigged game?

A Hall of Fame place: in real life there was no Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 1971, so that storyline is invented.

Where do the Titans go for their preseason training camp in the film?

The real team did tour Gettysburg, though former players say it was much less dramatic than the movie's version.

Which school do the Titans face in the state championship game in Remember the Titans?

George C. Marshall High School: the real Titans did beat Marshall in their closest game, but it was the fifth game of the regular season.

In real life, most of the unbeaten 1971 Titans' wins came in what kind of game?

Shutouts: nine of the 13 wins were shutouts, and the real state final was a 27-0 rout, not the film's last-play thriller.

In Remember the Titans, when is Gerry Bertier paralysed in a car accident?

The night the semifinal is won: in real life his crash came only after the Titans had already won the state title.

Which sport wins Gerry a Paralympic gold medal at the end of Remember the Titans?

Shot put: the real Bertier did take up wheelchair track and field after his injury.

In Remember the Titans, which song does the team sing at Gerry's funeral?

Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye: it was recorded as a throwaway B-side, but the label released it as a single and it hit number one.

What happened to the real Herman Boone in 1979?

Removed as coach: several of his assistant coaches had publicly turned against him before he lost the job.

Which character does Ryan Gosling play?

Gosling, then 19, had just been dropped by his agent because of the stigma of children's TV; this small role preceded his breakthrough in The Believer.

Which character does Hayden Panettiere play in Remember the Titans?

Sheryl Yoast: the film shows her as the coach's only child, but the real Sheryl had three sisters.

In Remember the Titans, what nickname does quarterback Ronnie Bass go by?

Sunshine: the real Ronnie Bass says the film's locker-room scene where he kisses Gerry never happened.

Which Titan does Scrubs star Donald Faison play in Remember the Titans?

Petey Jones: the film sends him in to replace a struggling teammate mid-game, but that did not happen during a game in real life.

In Remember the Titans, Wood Harris plays which of the team's captains?

Julius Campbell: the real Julius and Gerry were friends, but players say their bond was not the pivotal integration story the film makes it.

Which actor plays Gerry Bertier in Remember the Titans?

Ryan Hurst: unlike the film's clean-cut captain, the real Bertier had long hair in 1971, like most of his teammates.

Which actress plays Gerry Bertier's girlfriend in Remember the Titans?

Kate Bosworth: the girlfriend she plays was invented to show the bad attitudes of the time, not based on Gerry's real girlfriend.

Which Titans player in Remember the Titans was invented and did not exist on the real team?

Ray Budds: real Titans said a player like him would have been cut in camp, and Gerry never had to throw a teammate off the team.

Who composed the film's score?

Rabin composed twelve cues, but only one, "Titans Spirit", made it onto the soundtrack album.

The composer of the Remember the Titans score earlier played guitar in which progressive rock band?

Yes: before turning to film music, he wrote Owner of a Lonely Heart, which became the band's only US number one.

From 2002, NBC used 'Titans Spirit', from Remember the Titans, over its closing credits for which event?

The Olympic Games: the same film theme later played as Barack Obama left the stage after his 2008 election victory speech.

Which position does team captain Gerry Bertier play in Remember the Titans?

Linebacker: after a car crash left him paralysed, the real Bertier travelled the country speaking up for disabled people's rights.

In Remember the Titans, Herman Boone arrives in Alexandria from which state?

North Carolina: the real Boone left in 1969 after being told the town of Williamston was not ready for a black head coach.

Which studio released Remember the Titans in 2000?

Walt Disney Pictures: the screenwriters kept most of the real Coach Boone's swearing out of the PG-rated film.

Which comedy knocked Remember the Titans off the top of the US box office in its second weekend?

Meet the Parents: its famous lie-detector scene wasn't in the script until Robert De Niro raised the idea.

The film's screenwriter had already drafted which boxing biopic before he discovered the Titans story?

Studio delays meant that film reached theaters after Remember the Titans, even though he wrote it first.

Which actor plays Coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans?

Denzel Washington: in the film a brick smashes Boone's window, but the real Boone said it was actually a toilet.

Which US president said the integrated Titans "saved the city of Alexandria"?

The White House was across the Potomac, and the team was drawing national attention by December 1971.

Gerry Bertier's real crash came on his way home from what?

A team banquet: the crash was later found to have been caused by a mechanical failure in the car's engine mount.

Why did teammates give the real Ronnie Bass his nickname?

Bass had moved from Huntington Beach, California, and had already been practising with rival quarterback "Rev" before camp began.

T. C. Williams was renamed in 2021 to what?

Alexandria City High School: the board dropped the old name because its namesake, superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams, had opposed desegregation.

In Remember the Titans, which job does Bill Yoast take on Coach Boone's staff?

Defensive coordinator: the real Yoast took that job too, and persuaded players from his all-white old team to join the integrated squad.