Steven Spielberg knew exactly what he was doing when he put together the concept of a movie based on a very sensitive, unforgettable event from over forty years ago.

The interest is there. Americans are always interested in Hollywood-enhanced recreations of events (See Patriot, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, etc.) because the best directors know how to tell stories, while entertaining the masses.

The movie then focuses on Israel’s reaction to the attacks, and the war room of the Israeli Prime Minister and her generals plotting revenge on the Palestinians. They devise the plan to assemble a secret team to hunt down and kill 11 Palestinians believed to be involved in the attacks.

If you don’t know about the events of the 1972 Munich Olympics, here’s a quick sum (taken from www.infoplease.com):

“On the morning of September 5, with six days left in the Games, the worst tragedy in Olympic history hit. Eight Arab terrorists stormed into the Olympic village and raided the apartment building that housed the Israeli contingent. Two Israeli athletes were killed and nine more were seized as hostages. They demanded the release of over 200 Palestinians serving time in Israeli jails, along with two renowned German terrorists.

After a day of unsuccessful negotiations, the terrorists collected the hostages and headed for the military airport in Munich for a flight back to the Middle East. At the airport, German sharpshooters opened fire, killing three of the Palestinians. A horrifying gun battle ensued, claiming the lives of all nine of the hostages, along with one policeman and two terrorists.”

“Munich” shows clips of the original aired footage, including Peter Jennings radio reports from inside the Olympic compound and the infamous quote from ABC commentator Jim McKay, after learning that all of the hostages were killed, “They’re all gone.”

The team of five, led by Avner (Bana), begin by finding a source in Greece to locate a few of the names from the list. Once the victim is found, a plan is thoroughly devised. Once the first few targets are eliminated, the killing becomes easier.

Questions arise as to the proof they have that their targets have actually been linked to the attacks, but since they are just given an objective and names, explanations are few and far between. The group goes through its struggles, and has to face questionable sources, loyalty issues, and live with the fact that the hunters soon become the hunted.

I give the movie an B+ based on its ability to keep each scene more interesting than the last one. There are very few slow parts in the movie where you check your watch and wish the curtains would miraculously rise and end your misery. That’s usually a good thing.

The actors worked exceptionally well together, even with only one fairly recognizable name in the bunch, Eric Bana (Hector from Troy, and Bruce Banner from Hulk). They kept the intensity high in the necessary scenes, and never went too far over the top.

Watch this movie if you want to follow a sort-of “what if” scenario as to how the Israelis may and could have reacted to the Munich attacks. The movie is purely fictional, based on theories if anything, and as advertised, inspired by real events.

The movie brought a few big topics to mind – when is retaliation killing justified? When is it unjustified? Think war between nations. Think about war between governments and rebels who oppose them. Think families versus families. Then think – what would I do if a large part of my own family were massacred? Too real to even begin to ponder, right?

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Movie Details
MPAA Rating – R
Director – Steven Spielburg
Cast – Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler
Screenwriter(s) – Tony Kushner, Eric Roth
Genre – Drama/Thriller
Running Time – 164 min.
Plotline – Folling the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, a secret squad is assembled to assassinate 11 Palestinians believed to be responsible for planning the killings. Avner (Bana) is charged with leading the specialists brought together to execute the operation.
Official Munich Website

The saying goes, “You have to beat the best to be the best.” If that’s the case, Vince Young and the mighty, mighty Texas Longhorns are simply the best. Better than all the rest, even.

The hype for the game was out of this world – Reggie Bush, the 2005 Heisman winner, in the backfield with Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman winner, facing the most versatile QB in the nation since Mike Vick, Vince Young (who, by the way was shellacked in the Heisman voting being a tremendously distant 2nd to Bush).

After putting on one of the most impressively stunning performances in Rose Bowl history last week, and single-handedly leading the Texas Longhorns over the two-time defending champ University of Southern California Trojans, the Longhorns’ star quarterback Vince Young had only two questions in his mind: (1) Who will be my agent? and (2) What kind of designer suit should I wear to the NFL 2006 Draft green room?

I would suggest as answers: (1) Anybody other than the most annoying suit in Miami (and Mr. “Next question” himself) – Drew Rosenhaus, and (2) Anything prominently sporting burnt orange to remind all of his excellence in the Rose Bowl, and to force Houston’s hand a wee bit (more about that in a bit).

It came as no surprise that after two consecutive years of Rose Bowl dominance that Young, a junior, had to forego his senior season and declare himself eligible for the 2006 NFL draft. He had slain the NCAA’s “dragon” of the two years prior and rescued a championship the Longhorns hadn’t seen in over 30 years.

Yes, getting your education is great, and most of the time I’d argue that students should stay and get their degree, but in this case, with this one decision, Vince Young had the ability to George Jefferson and help his family get that de-luxe apartment in the sky. Why pass up millions, when college is meant to teach you the smarts in order to become better off in the business world? The NFL is a business and Vince is capitalizing on being one of the best clients for one of many job openings the have.

Let’s face it: the league needs Vince. Vince needs the league.

Vince Young, barring any freak accidents in the next few months, will become a millionaire. He will have the finances to help support his mom, grandmother, and sisters who raised him in downtown Dallas, Texas. Football and family support steered the Longhorn clear of life-altering trouble he could have gotten into on the streets, which allowed him to cause a different type of trouble on the football field.

The money – only the first reason he should take his game to the next level.

The second reason is that Young will get a much more coaching dedication then he ever would if he stayed playing for the Longhorns. Yes, there are questions surrounding his unorthodox throwing motion, but for someone with a bizarre motion, he put up quite a few passing yards throughout his career – especially in the big games. Ask Michigan. Ask USC. With a dedicated quarterback coach who has taught some of the greats, he could be molded into the greatest all-around quarterback threat in the game – ever.

I know what you’re thinking and yes, I am jumping to large conclusions. Every time an athletic QB arises from the mist, the media gets antsy. It’s not unlike when Ben Franklin first saw a spark of electricity during a lighting storm. He saw the flash for a moment, but couldn’t figure out how to contain and use it to its maximum potential. Eventually, he figured it out and great things followed. Same goes for Vince. He has all of the flash, but he needs the right mind to help him shine.

The league needs another mobile quarterback with raw talent and potential for days to fill seats and catapult TV ratings (see record-breaking 2006 Rose Bowl numbers) and Young has that potential.

Not to knock Michael Vick, as he is still one of the most gifted athletes to ever take a snap, but he has yet to prove any large improvement in his throwing accuracy since his rookie year. Vince Young, at 6’5, 230lbs, has the prototypical build to be molded into the total package everyone wanted (and still want) Vick to become. The difference between the two is that Young is 5 inches taller. Those inches are critical at the quarterback position. That’s 5 more inches to look over the charging D-lineman. That means longer legs in the drop-back. That means even though Young won’t run a 4.2 in the 40, with his long legs, his speed will be underestimated. You would have noticed all of this if you watched either Rose Bowl in the last two years where Vince Young was at his best, on the biggest two stages of his career.

Next item to consider is Young’s order in the 2006 NFL Draft.

He should go number 1 to the Houston Texans.

Hear me out, first.

Everyone is saying that Houston would be crazy to skip over USC’s Reggie Bush, one of the most amazing players I’ve ever seen ever grace the NCAA football playing fields. Bush has the breakaway speed similar to LaDainian Tomlinson, complimented by excellent hands and game-breaking ability. He’s amazing, that’s for sure. A one of a kind back. But let’s look at the obvious Houston Texans needs.

The Texans have a great back in Domanick Davis. The problem is, the line can’t hold up against much of any type of rush. It’s amazing that David Carr has survived his first four years in the league. The Texans line has given up 208 sacks through Carr’s career, including the record-breaking 76 sacks during his rookie year. He was sacked 68 times this year alone.

Davis fell down to an injury, and was unable to stick around for the full season, gaining almost 1,000 yards (976 to be exact) in just 11 games. I’d hate to point blame, but… 208 sacks in 4 years is… suspect.

Houston will pick up Carr’s $8 million option and their first pick will decide his fate. That’s quite a bit of money to invest in a quarterback who has yet to fully prove his effectiveness behind what has proven to be a very consistently bad offensive line.

What better a way to get around having the worst line in the league than a team with a quarterback as quick and elusive as the Texas legend himself, Mr. Vince Young?

David Carr isn’t the slowest man of the bunch, because he’s still a great athlete. He just simply isn’t Vince Young. With weapons Andre Johnson, Domanick Davis, Jabar Gaffney, and stud return man Jerome Mathis, imagine the fast paced offense that team could put together with Young. Toss in Mike Martz a little bit o’ turf and they could be the greatest show in the mid-west!

The media could come up with clever names like “the Young Guns,” “Houston Hotness,” and “Martz and the Mighty, Mighty Texans.”

If they plan on passing on their most valuable pick in Young, the Texans’ second-best draft day decision would be to trade down a few picks and pick up D’Brickashaw Ferguson, the offensive tackle from UVA as well as another pick from whatever team is looking to grab one of the top three studs.

But who am I to point out that a team with incredible potential simply needs to buy the quarterback a few extra seconds (enter the Longhorn Legend himself) and they’d be in the playoffs as soon as next year?

Both players are still guaranteed to attract the masses when they suit up.

No matter who takes him, Vince Young will still be standing at 6 foot 5 inches tall, 235 pounds, the ultimate prototypical athlete, ready to face-off against a real challenge for a change.