Hoosiers 2.0

In the 1986 film, Hoosiers, a small-town high school basketball team hires a new coach, Norman Dale (Gene Hackman), who's searching for personal redemption in his quest to lead the underdogs of no-name Hickory High School to a state championship. He needs to get his 1950's era kids to buy into his unconventional coaching style. Even the people in town are skeptical especially when he hires the town drunk to be his assistant coach. What he really needs is a star. Someone who has the grit and desire, the commitment to excellence and the nerve to be the team's leader and best player. The team barely had enough players but that’s ok because he found his leader and his star in Jimmy Chitwood who, against all odds, hit the famous game-winning shot in the state championship. 

In their own ultimate underdog story the 2026 Indiana Hoosiers football team entered the season having recorded the most losses in college football history. This was changed by the will power and determination of Coach Curt Cignetti. In his second year he transformed the Indiana football program from a dysfunctional laughingstock into an undefeated championship team. Like Norman Dale he found his version of Jimmy, his star and leader in his Catholic Cuban-American quarterback, Fernando Mendoza. 

The word ‘Hoosier’ started out as a derogatory slang word to describe the backwards, frontier people of Indiana in the 1800’s. Now, a Hoosier is the official nickname for a person from the U.S. state of Indiana calling to mind the positive traits of friendliness, hard work, and a strong community spirit. For most people over 40 the name Hoosier is associated with the undersized, no-name underdog basketball team for whom the film is named. 

Hoosier fans assembled in an overflow crowd primarily at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington to watch the pride of the state of Indiana (Hoosiers 2.0) . The place went crazy when in the final seconds Jamari Sharpe, an Indiana cornerback, intercepted Carson Beck's pass to seal the Hoosiers' 27-21 victory over Miami in the College Football Playoff National Championship. 

Just as Hickory defeated a big-city school in the state finals; the 2026 Hoosiers defeated major programs, including Ohio State in the Big Ten title game and Miami in the CFP. Just like the film, there are some very interesting back stories regarding the characters. For the coach Curt Cignetti, no one thought he could become the coach who could turn the program around. He looks a bit like a corporate boardroom nerd with his neatly combed hair and glasses. His deadpan facial expressions and eyebrow raising became fodder for a favorite meme on Tiktok. Cignetti's meticulous attention to detail and the discipline he intstilled in his players led many to begin to believe as the undeafeated season gained steam. Then there was his qb, Fernando, the golden child. His sub-plot evolved around both his home life and his roots in Miami.

Raised in a devout Catholic home by his doting mother who has a debilitating illness and his faithful father. Fernando Mendoza's backstory is a classic underdog tale. He wanted to play for Miami but they rejected him. So he went from an overlooked recruit to Heisman winner and then went on to beat Miami on the biggest stage in college sports. This inspiring story was shaped by his family's perseverance, a deep connection to his Cuban roots, and his own unwavering  catholic Faith. He has posted several pictures of his Catholic Dominican priest friends who blessed his Heisman trophy and attended the championship game to pray for Fernando and his team. Fernando needed any help he could get as it became apparrent that he was being bullied by  Miami's unsportmanlike defenders who on one play, illegally, popped him hard in the mouth. 

Just like Jimmy who made the final shot in the game that sealed the Hickory hoosiers’ fate, Fernando, bolstered by the intercession of the Dominicans, had his big play moment. Instead of settling for a field goal to extend their lead to six points, the coach called a gutsy qb draw play relying on Fernando, with his bloodied lip and bruised arms, to take control of the game and make a mini miracle happen. In his 4th-quarter touchdown run he ran over the linebacker, spun around and dove across the goal line. He demonstrated to the Miami coach who rejected him and the Miami players who targeted him with cheap shots that he was more powerful and more courageous than they expected. 

Hoosiers 1.0 is a nostalgic tale of small-town redemption but 'Hoosiers 2.0' (a film which someone needs to make) is about the "worst-to-first" turnaround in the modern, corporate world of college football, with coach Curt Cignetti and quarterback Fernando Mendoza acting as the modern-day Norman Dale and Jimmy Chitwood. It may be too soon to get your popcorn ready but his film is gauranteed to be made. It has the capacity to be another Hoosiers classic, it just needs to be told in an honest way by highlighting the source of Fernando's strength, his Catholic faith and the deep bonds in his traditional Cuban-American family.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Saint Paul implored the acient people of Corinth and us, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Fernando Mendoza often begins his postgame interviews with these same words, “I Give all the glory to God”. Perhaps that could be the title of the film.