Gridiron Gang (2006)

Dwayne Johnson: Sean Porter

Photos 

Quotes 

• Malcolm Moore : Man, that kid's always smiling!

  [laughing at Bugs] 

  Sean Porter : Yeah... but I wonder if he was laughing when he stabbed that old lady for her purse?

• Sean Porter : Is it gonna be like this forever? Killing each other because you were born five blocks in the wrong direction? How about we call peace right here?

• Malcolm Moore : You know you're an idiot, right?

  Sean Porter : I'm making progress. I used to be an asshole.

• Sean Porter : Go easy on the ref, he knows he made a bad call.

• Sean Porter : [to the team]  You don't know how to spell 'Mustang'? You have GOT to be SHITTIN' me!

• [from trailer] 

  Sean Porter : Everybody listen up. The Gridiron is a football field. On the Gridiron, we do it my way, not your way. Your way got you here. Whatever gang you claim, whatever hood you're from, this is your hood now.

• Sean Porter : I didn't know you were religious.

  Malcolm Moore : I ain't religious, but we need all the help we can get for this program. Wouldn't hurt for you to pray some yourself.

• Sean Porter : Most sixteen/seventeen year old kids, they make a bad choice. Something gets broken, they screw up in class, hurt somebody's feelings, show up at the prom drunk. They get sent to the Principal office, have their car keys taken away or get grounded. Then there's kids that make a bad choice, somebody ends up shot dead in a parking lot. Those kids get sent here.

• Junior Palaita : I'll play.

  Sean Porter : I can't use you Junior.

  Junior Palaita : Why not?

  Sean Porter : Because you have no discipline. You've been trying to start fights every time I turn my back.

  Junior Palaita : You' ain't gonna give me a chance?

  Sean Porter : You've had plenty of chances.

• Sean Porter : Stop fighting amongst yourselves! Take it out on the enemy for Christ sakes.

• Roger Weathers : [Sean whacks Roger with a rolled up magazine]  Mr. Porter?

  Sean Porter : Getting beat in the middle of the night, how'd you like it Roger?

  [Hits him again] 

  Sean Porter : You like that?

  Roger Weathers : What are you hittin me for?

  Sean Porter : What you hit Kelvin Owens for?

  Roger Weathers : He dissed my hood!

  Sean Porter : And now he's up there sleeping, and you're stuck in here! So, what does that make you?

  [Hits him again] 

  Roger Weathers : Hey man, can you do that?

  Roger Weathers : Can I do what?

  Sean Porter : Be smackin me and shit!

  Roger Weathers : [Thinks for a moment, hits him once more]  I guess I can!

  Roger Weathers : Shit, man!

• Donald Madlock : Yo, Mr. Porter, can I play?

  Sean Porter : You're getting out in a week, Medlock.

  Donald Madlock : I want to stay in.

  Sean Porter : You want to stay in jail?

  Donald Madlock : Yeah, man. South Central in summertime gets hot. Gets crazy. People start shootin' each other and stuff.

  Sean Porter : I'll talk to your case worker.

• Bug Wendal : I got experience. I played for like three years.

  Sean Porter : What position did you play?

  Bug Wendal : Out to the side.

  Sean Porter : Was that out to the side on offense or defense?

  Bug Wendal : If the ball's thrown from... Man, I don't know what I'm talkin' 'bout.

  Sean Porter : Alright, Bug. How about you be water boy?

  Bug Wendal : Cool. Alright.

• Sean Porter : What are you looking at? Don't look at them. They ain't gonna help you out here, Willie. You got no homeboys, yo got no help. You damn sure ain't got no gun. And you can't run away. You got nobody but yourself. But, God damn it, that's all you need. Believe in yourself and knock me on my ass!

• Malcolm Moore : You know you're an idiot, right?

  Sean Porter : Well, I'm making progress. 'Cause I use to be an asshole.

• Sean Porter : Listen, Paul, we convince a kid to stop gang banging, all we do is create a void. And unless we fill that void with something better, we're gonna lose 'em.

  Sean Porter : According to the teaching staff, the kids here have trouble being punctual, responding to authority, being a member of a team, and accepting criticism. What one activity can improve 'em on all these areas?

  Paul Higa : You want to start a football team?

  Sean Porter : Exactly.

  Paul Higa : Sean, look at them. Our who system's designed to prevent them from making contact.

  Sean Porter : Our whole system right now is a joke.

  Ted Dexter : Malcolm, you're not buying into this, are you?

  Malcolm Moore : Seventy-five percent of our kids end up back in jail. How much worse could it be?

  Ted Dexter : Well, who are they gonna play against?

  Sean Porter : I'll find 'em high school teams to play.

  Ted Dexter : Wait a minute, you wanna take 'em out of camp? You really think you can trust these kids?

  Sean Porter : Not now, no. But if they were a football team...

  Ted Dexter : Oh, c'mon Sean. It's impossible.

  Sean Porter : Then lets try the impossible, because the possible just ain't working.

  Sean Porter : Paul, we've got to give these kids a target and we've gotta fill that void.

  Sean Porter : You played football, didn't you?

  Paul Higa : Defensive end. Second Team All League.

  Paul Higa : Alright. we'll give it a try. But your neck is way out on this.

• Sean Porter : Feel like catching the ball, Bates?

  Kenny Bates : Coach, the deep pass always goes to Perez.

  Sean Porter : Everybody knows that, including Barrington.

  Kenny Bates : Coach, I don't wanna...

  Sean Porter : Hey, it's only a game, Kenny. You just get out there and give it your best shot. Catch the ball.

• Leon Hayes : Yo, I'll play quarterback.

  Sean Porter : You got any experience, Leon?

  Leon Hayes : Man, I got so much experience I could give some away and still have more than I could use.

• Sean Porter : How 'bout you, Owens? You played defensive back, didn't you? For Washington High?

  [Kelvin gives Coach Porter the silent treatment] 

  Sean Porter : You wanna check your calendar and get back to me? Or maybe you got another liquor store to rob.

  Kelvin Owens : Yeah, I'll play.

• Miguel Perez : Is practice gonna be hard?

  Sean Porter : It's a lot harder than five homeboys beatin' up a security guard, Perez.

  Miguel Perez : Then I'm in.

• Sean Porter : You see this line, Willie? You knock me past this line, you'll have my respect.

  Willie Weathers : What if I don't wanna?

  Sean Porter : Then everybody will think you're a chicken shit.

• Sean Porter : You got a pass, Junior?

  Junior Palaita : I had a phone call.

  Sean Porter : From who?

  Sean Porter : It's my boy's birthday, man. He's two years old. He's two years old and I missed it.

  [Junior hits the blocking bag hard] 

  Junior Palaita : I wanna be a Mustang, Coach.

  Sean Porter : Why should I trust you?

  Junior Palaita : 'Cause I ain't gonna mess up.

  Junior Palaita : That's what you told the judge the last time you got out.

  Junior Palaita : No more! I'm tired out being a loser, man! Making a mess of everything. Coach, I want to show people I can play. I can do something with my life. I just want to make my son proud.

• Frank Torrance : Most of our starters have been in this program for three years. You have four weeks to prepare your team. Do you really want to go up against those kind of odds?

  Sean Porter : I'll bet you $100 we win.

  Frank Torrance : We're a Christian school, we don't gamble.

• Willie Weathers : I don't know what's happening to me, man.

  Sean Porter : I do. You're not the loser you were when you first go here, Willie. You're just not use to being a winner.

  Willie Weathers : My father said I was a waste of his time and his money.

  Sean Porter : Your father was a loser, Willie. My old man was the same way. He spent so much time telling me I was no good, telling me I was nothing. I believed him.

  Willie Weathers : That why yo so pissed off all the time?

  [Coach Porter laughs] 

  Sean Porter : Yeah, that's probably got something to do with it.

  Sean Porter : I know how you feel, Willie. You get to the point where you expect to screw up. You expect to fail. If we wanna win, we gotta let 'em go. Forgive 'em and move on.

  Willie Weathers : Forgive 'em?

  Sean Porter : Otherwise we give 'em too much power over us. And they don't deserve it.

  Willie Weathers : Well, how long it take you to forgive your dad?

  [Coach Porter thinks about it for some time] 

  Sean Porter : Until just now.

• Sean Porter : Choi, get in!