We were watching one of our favorite sports movies of all-time last night - Hoosiers . You cannot watch that movie without getting goosebumps about 15 different times. But we realized something last night that had not struck us before… how much the music adds to the drama of the movie.

There’s a point early on when Coach Norman Dale is trying to make a point about discipline to the team. He requires the team make four passes before taking a shot. After falling behind and making some bad turnovers, Raid decides to take matters into his own hands. He starts firing the ball up before making all the passes.

Of course, he is nailing every shot and getting Hickory back in the game. But Coach Dale takes Rade out at the next chance for not following the four-pass rule. Dale puts in Ollie, the only player on his bench. When another player fouls out, Rade gets up to go into the game. Dale tells him to sit down.

When the ref tells Dale he only has four players on the court, Dale responds, “My team’s on the floor.” The fans start hollering and hissing, but the viewing audience applauds this move. Why? Because as Dale makes his comment, the Hooisers theme music starts to play int he background. And your like, “Wow, that Norman Dale is a helluva coach, a helluva coach!”

However, if the coach of your favorite team ever did this, you would be furious. High school teams usually play only about 20-25 games. Dale essentially cost his team what could have been a key game just to prove a point about his four-pass rule.

And so, after that long intro, we bring to you…

The Top 10 Awful Coaching Decisions That Would Have Seemed Better If The Hoosiers Theme Music Was Playing In The Background

(10) Marty Mornhinweg’s decision to kick-off in overtime - With high winds at Soldier Field, Lion’s coach Marty Mornhinweg decided to kick-off in sudden death overtime against the Bears in 2002. Of course, the Bears got the ball, drove the field, and kicked a game winning field goal. But, imagine the Hooisers theme music playing as Mornhinweg looks to his players and says, “When we win the toss, and we will win this toss, I want you to tell the ref we’re kicking off.”

(9) Joe Gibbs’ decision to call back-to-back timeouts versus the Bills - Just this past weekend, with the Bills lining up for a 51-yard field goal to win the game, Gibbs called two timeouts to ice the kicker. Only, you cannot do that in the NFL. The second timeout call resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Skins. Buffalo then easily made the 36-yard game-winner. But, what if after calling that second timeout, you see Gibbs look defiantly at the crowd as the Hoosiers theme music played.

(8) Les Miles’ decision to run the ball on 4th-and-2 against Kentucky - In the third overtime, with his team trailing by 6, LSU coach Les Miles decided to run the ball up the middle with Jacob Hester on 4th down and a long two to go. Of course, Hester did not come close to getting the first down and the Tigers lost their first game of the season. But what if Miles, with his silly white hat, made that same call while the Hoosiers theme music played int he background? The outcome would have been irrelevant.

(7) Lou Pinella’s decision to pull Carlos Zambrano in Game 1 of the 2007 division series - In a tie game, Pinella pulled Zambrano in order to be able to pitch him again in game 4. The reliever entered, gave up 2 runs, and the Cubs were swept 3-0. Zambrano, while not tired, did not get to pitch in that Game 4 for which he was being saved. But, what if that Hoosiers theme music played as Pinella walked to the mound? We think it would seem like a pretty damn good decision to yank Zambrano.

(6) Kevin Steele’s decision to run a play instead of running out the clock versus UNLV - With his Baylor Bears up 24-21 with 20 seconds in a 1999 game against UNLV, Steele decided to run a play inside the 10 to try to score once more instead of kneeling the ball. As the Baylor runner approached the goal line, he fumbled and UNLV ran it back 99 yards for the improbable win. We can only imagine, though, with the Hooisers theme music playing in the background, Steele during that final timeout saying, “No, we’re not taking the classy way out on this - we will score one more time on these guys and boost our margin of victory!”
(5) Joe Torre’s decision not to trying bunting one time in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS - With Schilling on the mound with an ankle hurt so bad that it bled through his sock, Joe Torre did not once think to try a bunt With a pitcher on the mound he could barely walk, Torre never tried to test his gimpy ankle. However, imagine Derek Jeter suggestion a bunt, then Torre replaying, “We’re the Yankees, we don’t bunt,” all while the Hoosiers theme music played in the background. Awesome.

(4) Dirk Koetter’s decision to punt to USC down by 7 - With this Arizona State squad trailing by 7 points late in the game, Koetter chose to punt the ball to USC instead of going for a 4th-and-long. The problem was that the Sun Devils did not have enough time-outs to get the ball back. USC took a knee 3 times and the clock ran out. Think of the Hoosiers theme music, now imagine Koetter telling his team, “Yep, boys, we’re gonna punt this one away to them,” then looking defiantly at his irate quarterback.
(3) Charlie Weis’ decision to not try the field goal against Navy - Just this season, with the game tied, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis chose to go for it on 4th-and-8 from the 24 instead of trying a 41-yard game-winning field goal. The quarterback got sacked and Navy went on to win in overtime, beating Notre Dame for the first time in about 300 years. It seemed like a bad decision at the time, but what if when Weis made that call to not try the kick, the Hoosiers theme music played in the background while Weis looked defiantly toward his place kicker?

(2) Rick Pitino’s decision to not guard Grant Hill throwing the ball in - In the 1992 elite eight of the NCAA tournament, Duke was down 1 to Kentucky with 2.1 seconds left in the game. Pitino does not have the Cats guard Grant hill, who is throwing the ball in from under the opposing basket. Hill easily makes a perfect pass to Christian Laettner, who drains the game winner as time expires. But imagine Pitino in the huddle during the final timeout, with the Hooisers theme music in the background, saying, “No, we will not guard the player throwing the ball in.”

(1) Grady Little’s decision to leave in Pedro in the 2003 ALCS - With the Red Sox leading Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS 5-3 over the Yankees, Little went to the mound in the 8th after pitcher Pedro Martinez had given up 3 straight hits. Little chose to leave the tiring Martinez in, and he gave up a game-tying single to the next batter. The Sox lost the game in 11 innings and Little was fired. But imagine that visit by Little to the mound with the Hoosiers music playing the background. Yeah, it would have definitely seemed like the right call.