American Underdog (2021) Best Movie Quotes

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Starring: Zachary Levi, Anna Paquin, ennis Quaid, Cindy Hogan, Ser’Darius Blain, Adam Baldwin, Bruce McGill, Danny Vinson, Chance Kelly, Hayden Zaller, Cora Kate Wilkerson, Nic Harris

OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆

Story:

Sports bio-drama directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin. American Underdog (2021) centers on the true story of Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi), who went from a stockboy at a grocery store to a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback. It follows Warner and his years of challenges and setbacks that could have derailed his dreams of becoming an NFL player, but just when it seemed all but out of reach, with the support of his wife, Brenda (Anna Paquin) and the encouragement of his family, coaches, and teammates, Warner perseveres and finds the strength to show the world the champion that he already is.

Our Favorite Quotes:

'Sometimes you got to do what you got to do, until you can do what you want to do.' - Kurt Warner (American Underdog) Click To Tweet

Best Quotes

Kurt Warner: Now this might seem like a failure. A mistake. But of all the characteristics needed to be an all-pro quarterback, this one is rarely talked about. The ability to stay in the pocket. To stay calm and collected as a wall of humanity collapses around you. The courage to stand your ground and take the hit. And then have the will to get back up, and do it all over again. Drop back, settle, deliver the perfect throw.

Kurt Warner: Ever since I saw Joe Montana become the MVP of that Super Bowl, and break his
all-time pass record, I knew I wanted to be that guy. Over a million athletes play high school football every year in America. Each with a dream of their own. Only about five percent of them make it to college ball. And only one percent of those get drafted to the NFL. Most don’t stay in the league for more than three years. Most are not quarterbacks. Only a select few will ever play in the Super Bowl. And each year, there is only one MVP of that game. So, by all accounts, my dream, my story is impossible. That’s just the kind of story this is.

Mike Hudnutt: How you going to make a highlight reel with no highlights, huh? You only started two games. Just saying.
Kurt Warner: I have highlights.
Mike Hudnutt: And who you going to send that to?
Kurt Warner: Scouts. Agents.
Mike Hudnutt: You really are delusional, huh? Look, the NFL’s not going to draft some dude who’s been sitting on the bench for four years at a one double AA school in Iowa. It’s madness.

Kurt Warner: I need you to teach me how to dance.
Mike Hudnutt: What, like dance, like line dance?
Kurt Warner: Like line dancing, and barn dancing, and all the dancing.
Mike Hudnutt: Oh, man, this is going to be great. This about that girl, ain’t it?
Kurt Warner: That’s none of your business.

Kurt Warner: You move real good on that dance floor.
Brenda Meoni: Well, that makes one of us.

Kurt Warner: [to Brenda] As long as I have a ball in my hands, then I feel like everything’s going to be alright.

Kurt Warner: You know, I normally hate country music, but I kind of like this song.
Brenda Meoni: Well, I hate sports, so guess it’ll never work between us.

Kurt Warner: Why wouldn’t I want your number?
Brenda Meoni: Look, there’s a few things you need to know about me. I’m divorced, and I got two kids. So, if I never see you again, I totally understand.

Brenda Meoni: [after she gives Kurt her number] Where’s your car?
Kurt Warner: I walked.
Brenda Meoni: From UNI? That’s like three miles.
Kurt Warner: Oh, yeah. Totally worth it.

Kurt Warner: What is your problem with me, Coach?
Coach Allen: You want me to sum it up for you, why you are such a tragedy? You don’t stay in the pocket.
Kurt Warner: What?
Coach Allen: You got the talent, loads of it. But when things get hard, you bail. You run from adversity. You don’t trust your team, or my playbook. You don’t deserve to play in the game.

Kurt Warner: Coach, ten more games, and my dream is gone. I’ve been working my whole life for this. Please.
Coach Allen: You need to start thinking about life after football, son.
Kurt Warner: Respectfully, you are wrong, Coach. I’m not going to quit, because that’s not what leaders do. I just need to know how to get on that field.

Coach Allen: [to Kurt] You could throw. But you cannot leave the pocket. You want your shot? You take the pain.

Kurt Warner: How many more times we going to do this, Coach?
Coach Allen: As many times as I say. Who else wants to kill Kurt?
Mike Hudnutt: I do!

'Life is not about what you can achieve, it's about what you can become. It's a journey. It's not an event.' - Larry (American Underdog) Click To Tweet

Brenda Meoni: When I was maybe twelve, after church, this woman comes up to me, and says, “There’s something special about you, Brenda. God is going to do something great with you.” And I had the audacity to believe her. So, I had this dream of being a Marine, and marrying a Marine, and having little Marine children, and God, country, and Corps all the way.

Brenda Meoni: [referring to Zach] I remember praying, and praying, and begging God to just save my baby boy. So, the doctor told me he’d never walk, and yet… That he’d never talk, and now, I can’t get him to stop.
Kurt Warner: That he’d never be a black truck driver.
Brenda Meoni: He keeps finding a way to prove everyone wrong. He’s my miracle.

Kurt Warner: And that lady who came up and talked to you at church all those years ago, you still believe her?
Brenda Meoni: I’m trying. I’m a work in progress.

Brenda Meoni: Okay, I’m trying to imagine a scenario where any of this works.
Kurt Warner: What, exactly?
Brenda Meoni: You know, us.
Kurt Warner: Oh, we’re an “us” now. That’s good news.
Brenda Meoni: This is crazy. This isn’t going to work.
Kurt Warner: You keep saying that.

Kurt Warner: How does it feel to make out with a future professional athlete?
Brenda Meoni: It was better before you said that.

Sue Warner: You sure that’s a good idea?
Kurt Warner: What?
Sue Warner: [referring to Brenda] Single mom, two kids. That’s no joke. I would know. Is that really the life you want?

Kurt Warner: I’m just wondering why God would give me a dream that’s probably never going to come true. Because I just feel like that’s cruel, you know?

Kurt Warner: I just want my shot. I just, I want one chance, so I can prove…
Brenda Meoni: Prove what?
Kurt Warner: Prove that I’m good enough, that’s what.
Brenda Meoni: I don’t think a football game is ever going to do that. It doesn’t have to define you. If this is your dream, you have to go fight for it.

Kurt Warner: You ever feel like your whole life was just leading up to one moment?
Brenda Meoni: Then go make the most of it.

Kurt Warner: [as he’s been let go] Coach, please. I have been working for this my entire life.
Steve ‘Mooch’ Mariucci: Stop it. Come on. Don’t do that. If it were true, you would’ve been ready to go on the field. You’re not.

'Destiny. It belongs to the underdogs.' - Dick Vermeil (American Underdog) Click To Tweet

Kurt Warner: I just don’t know what to do, Brenda. I’ve called every team in the NFL, and no one’s interested. I want to go on, I do. But, I mean, look at me. I’m unemployed. I’m homeless.

Zack: [as they’re watching the game on TV] Football.
Kurt Warner: That’s right, Z-Man. You like it?
Zack: You play.
Kurt Warner: Yeah, I’d really like to, bud, but they didn’t pick me.
Zack: I pick you.
Kurt Warner: I pick you too, bud.

Kurt Warner: You know what they say. “Sometimes you got to do what you got to do, until you can do what you want to do,” you know?
Brenda Meoni: Don’t give up.

Marshall: [as Kurt stares at the picture of a football player on the cereal box] Think you’d be that guy?
Kurt Warner: Yeah, I do.
Marshall: What are you doing here? Get it done.
Kurt Warner: Yeah, because it’s that easy.

Jim Foster: Look, elephant in the room, I am sorry about the draft, and the Packers. But you got it all, kid. The whole package. The world just needs more time to see it.
Kurt Warner: Well, thank you. See, this guy gets it.
Jim Foster: Yes, I get it. And what if I told you, starting tomorrow, you have a job playing the game you love?

See more American Underdog Quotes

Kurt Warner: You’re the guy who came up with this whole arena concept.
Jim Foster: Last year, I was commissioner of the league. This year, I came home to Iowa to start my own team, and I want to build it around you.
Brenda Meoni: So, it’s arena football?
Kurt Warner: No, it is not football, babe. It’s like a circus.
Jim Foster: Yes, that’s right. You get it. People love the circus.
Brenda Meoni: I like the circus.

Kurt Warner: [referring to Brenda] I guess I just felt like I needed to prove myself first. Show her I was capable of doing what I set out to do. Be worthy of her.
Larry: Well, hell, Kurt. Accomplishing one thing or the other is not what’s going to make you worthy of her. Life is not about what you can achieve, it’s about what you can become. It’s a journey, son. It’s not an event.

Brenda Meoni: Kurt, it’s not working. Nothing here is working.
Kurt Warner: Stop. Stop it. Listen, if this is what you really want to do, I’m not going to let you quit. Because that’s what you did for me, and that’s what we do for each other. We are not quitting. Do you understand?

Kurt Warner: [to Brenda] I promised your father that I would take care of you and the kids. So that is exactly what I’m going to do.

Jim Foster: Kurt Warner. So, did hell freeze over or are you just tired of waiting on the NFL?
Kurt Warner: Bit of both, sir.
Jim Foster: Forget everything you think you know about football. No punts, no turning back. It’s all pressure. It’s football at the speed of NASCAR. We call it “the fifty yard indoor war”. You think you can handle that, Warner?
Kurt Warner: I think it’s time I tried.

Mike Hudnutt: Well, Kurt, if we’re going to go down, we might as well go down together.

Jim Foster: That’s a touchdown bonus.
Kurt Warner: You pay me per touchdown?
Jim Foster: I also pay you to win. Did you even read your contract? Teach him to read, man.
Kurt Warner: Wait, really, hundred dollars every single touchdown?
Jim Foster: Every touchdown. Happy to pay it.
Kurt Warner: Oh, this is going to be fun.

Brenda Meoni: [to Kurt] I’m happy for you. For everything that’s going on in your life. But it’s not working for my life.

Kurt Warner: You’re the one who’s afraid.
Brenda Meoni: Yes, I’m afraid.
Kurt Warner: Yes, you’re afraid. Of what? Of me bailing on you? Of me hurting you? Me being some version of your ex?
Brenda Meoni: I’m afraid that we are going to hurt each other. That is the only way that this ends.
Kurt Warner: You don’t know that!

Kurt Warner: I get it. You’re right, Brenda. You’re always right. We should just end it now, and just be done with it, yeah. I got to get to the game, because apparently, that’s the only thing I’m any good at.

Sue Warner: Winning doesn’t always feel like winning, huh?
Kurt Warner: It never has. Why is that?
Sue Warner: I guess it doesn’t mean anything when you don’t have someone to share it with.

Sue Warner: [referring to Brenda] I just saw too much of myself in her. I didn’t want you to struggle the way that I struggled. But my story doesn’t have to be her story. You love her. You stuck with her. With those kids. You have grown up to be a good man. She makes you happy, Kurt. I’ve seen it. She makes you better.

Kurt Warner: [to Brenda] All my life, I’ve defined myself through sports. What I could accomplish, how many games I could win. And I’ve always come up empty. It’s never been enough. Like I was meant for something else. Something more. What if it’s this? What if it’s us? Together? Everything I could ever want, or need, is right here. It doesn’t matter if I play football, or if I don’t play football, or if I do play football, where I play football. None of that matters. Because winning isn’t winning if I don’t have you by my side. I’ve made my choice.

Kurt Warner: [as he’s proposing to Brenda] I love you. And I want what you have. I want your faith, I want your strength, I want it all. I need it. I need it in my life. It makes me a better man.

David Gillis: Heck of a game for you, Kurt.
Kurt Warner: Well, thank you, but it didn’t help us win. I hate to lose, sir. I hate it for the team.

David Gillis: We’ve been trying to reach you. We want you to come and try out for us.
Kurt Warner: Try out?
Jim Foster: I’ve been putting off his calls for a while. Can you blame me?
Kurt Warner: I’m sorry, who are you?
David Gillis: I’m with the Rams.

Mike Martz: John, this guy is old. Slow as molasses. And frankly, he’s beneath the standards of this franchise.
Dick Vermeil: That’s what people said about me when I came here.

Mike Martz: There is no way this guy makes the team. No way.
Dick Vermeil: I like him.

Kurt Warner: I was just, I was curious as to why everybody here in the NFL moves so slow.
Mike Martz: Gentlemen, I believe arena boy just called every one of you slow. So, we going to end on that. And on this, which is for Warner, when he learns to throw a spiral.

Dick Vermeil: Fourteen years out of coaching. I burnt out. I’m not embarrassed to say it. Took a year off, turned out to be a decade and a half. And when I did come back, they said I was a retread, has-been, too old. Game had passed me by, all that stuff. All that same stuff that they’re going to say about you. What they didn’t know, was all that experience that I had in those years made me who I am. Made me ready for this moment. Gave me something others didn’t have. And I see that in you, Kurt. Destiny. It belongs to the underdogs. You want to prove that? Together? There’s something special about you, son. And I’m really going to enjoy finding out what that is. Welcome to the Rams.

Mike Martz: Tell me.
Kurt Warner: Tell you what?
Mike Martz: Why a team worth eight hundred million, with one of the most complex offenses ever built, by me, should put you in the driver’s seat. Because you threw some touchdowns on a little football arena? You’re too old to be a rookie. You’re too green to be a pro, you don’t belong here.
Kurt Warner: Well, with all due respect, sir, you’re wrong. And if you give me a chance, I will prove that to you.

Mike Martz: You don’t have what it takes. That’s what I believe. So, why in the world would I give you this shot?
Kurt Warner: Because this is my time, sir. Because I know who I am, and I know why I’m here. Because I’ve earned it. I’ve waited for it, I’ve bled for it. And I’m finally ready for it. I wasn’t before. God knows I wasn’t, but I am now. And I will not let you down. You put the ball in my hands, and we will win.

Dick Vermeil: People asked me last night how I felt in that press conference. It hurts. I get emotional. But that’s what this business is all about. We will rally around Kurt Warner. And we will play good football.

Brenda Meoni: I needed you to hear this before you went out on that field. I was talking with our son, and I helped him write it. “To my daddy, Kurt. You fix all my radios. You walk to the gas station in the snow. You never give up on me. You never give up. You play your football game. I drive my truck. Love, Zack.” That little boy has defied all odds. Every time. He’s proven everyone wrong. And so will you. You helped me believe again. That anything can happen. That maybe God does have something amazing in store for us. Maybe that moment’s now.

Brenda Meoni: Are you nervous?
Kurt Warner: Yeah, I’m terrified.
Brenda Meoni: Well, you go out there, and you show the world what I’ve known all along.

Mike Martz: Kurt, listen to me. You know why I was so hard on you? Why I put all that pressure on you? I had to know that you were ready. I had to be sure. And guess what? You are. I never would’ve put you on that field if I didn’t fully believe you were a champion. Now, you get back out there and you get this job done.

Kurt Warner: [after winning the game] Hey, I don’t know where we go from here, I don’t know what comes next. But this? We did this. We did this together. I love you.
Brenda Meoni: I love you too. We did it!

Interviewer: [real footage] Kurt Warner. First things first. Five years ago, you were stocking supermarket shelves in Iowa. Now, you’re a Super Bowl champion, an NFL MVP, a Super Bowl MVP. What message does it send to people?
Kurt Warner: I thank all the players, all the coaches, my family, everybody, for believing in me. And I got to give the praise and glory to my Lord and savior up above. Now we’re world champions, how about that, Rams?

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