The Mighty Macs

Movie: The Mighty Macs

Genre: sports-drama

Synopsis: This is based on the real-life Cathy Rush.  Portrayed by Carla Gugino, in 1971 Cathy is hired to coach the women’s basketball team at the tiny Catholic all-girls Immaculata College. She is paid $450 for a year, there is no gymnasium, no uniforms and one single moldy basketball – but Cathy is happy. Coaching is her dream.  She strives to make her girls not only better players, but better people – and succeeds on both counts.  Her team makes it to the national championship in her first season.

My two cents: I loved this movie. It seems that Cathy rush is quite a legend.  She coached at Immaculate for six seasons – during which they made the final four all six seasons – and won the national championship three consecutive years.  The movie was an eye-opener into the obstacles in the path of female athletes forty years ago. It was inspiring to watch this team go from a rag-tag team that practiced in a storage room to national champions – while reminding myself that it is a true story.

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