Granny's Got Game
Granny’s Got Game is a truly inspirational documentary film that challenges the critical stereotypes of the elderly. It follows the story of the Fabulous 70s, a team of seven elderly women basketball players who have learned to compete together not just as a team but as a family. It is a story the shows what seven women can do with just enough determination and passion.
The film is directed by Angela Gorsica Alford, who was once a basketball player herself. She competed for Vanderbilt and USA Basketball in the 1990s, and won a gold medal in 1994 and a bronze medal in 1995. Alford put off her basketball career to become a software engineer for Motorola and Sony-Ericsson.
Several years later, Alford thought her basketball career was finished. That was until she met
the Fabulous 70s at a local YMCA.
"Suddenly, my outlook on things changed," she wrote. "The women helped me to remember how much I loved to play and how much I enjoyed being part of a team."
Alford spent over a year filming, and even followed the team to the 2011 National Senior Games in Houston.
“I thought I would find genetic wonders,” Alford said. “But what I found were people who were dealing with cancer and heart disease just like everyone else. The difference was that these women were fighting it together, encouraging each other. Basketball was keeping them active, independent and believing they could do anything they wanted to do.”
The film not only challenges the negative stereotypes of the elderly, but also inspires others, regardless of gender and age, to remain active. It provides a reminder for the new generation of athletes about how it was like to be a female athlete in the 1950s--before the passage of Title IX. It highlights the obstacles that many female athletes had to face. But they were able to overcome those barriers out of sheer perseverance and dedication.
The Fabulous 70s not only challenged the perception of the elderly, but also stands as a testament to the underlying fact that females are interested in sports and they can thrive in athletics.
To learn more about Granny's Got Game, visit here.