Picture this: the most adorable little 10-year-old Tony Vitello in his Little League uniform walks into the lobby of his hometown movie theater. He’s wide eyed and awestruck, his eyes drawn to the candy cases full of treats. His dad tells him to pick whatever he wants while he orders two tickets, a soda, and a buttered popcorn to share.
The year is 1989 and they are about to embark on a journey into the movie world that will forever change the trajectory of college baseball and UT athletics. The movie is Field of Dreams. In thirty-five years, Greg Vitello will stand on a baseball field in Nebraska watching his son celebrate a victory at the College World Series and he will give interviews to multiple news outlets and sports reporters (We saw it on @ThePencilTalk on Instagram) referencing this iconic movie.
Well. That last part is true. The first part my friend, Courtney, and I made up after I received this Valentine greeting.
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Courtney and I were about to sit down to a movie in my living room, a tray of leftovers from the party we threw the night before spread out in front of us. I mentioned the Field of Dreams reference Mr. Vitello had made. At that point, I was missing two key pieces of information: the year Field of Dreams came out and Tony Vitello’s age. Courtney did the math on coach while I looked for a movie release date. It. Lined. Up.
Things were different then. We obviously can’t be sure that they watched the movie together on a father son date that became a core memory and if you ask Tony Vitello he will tear up thinking about that little box of M&Ms he shared with his dad. (Rest stop: Now we want to know what the most popular movie candy was back then. Come to think of it the M&Ms would have been a different color then, too. It really was a different time. And do you think Tony would share his candy? Sorry. Ruining the fantasy here, let’s continue.)
What we do know: you couldn’t turn on the tv and watch whatever you wanted on demand. Sure, they could have waited months…or longer… until the movie came out on VHS, drove to Blockbuster, and played the movie at home, but the odds are in favor of a movie theater visit.
We’ve talked about the magic of the movie going experience before, but we haven’t talked about the importance of movie watching. The movie Courtney and I planned to watch was an Anne Hathway Amazon Original that might have had a small theatrical run back when it was released. Amazon was just testing the waters on theatrical runs at that point. It didn’t come to the Palace so our only option was to do the living room watch.
I would be lying if I said we treated it like a theater, lights down, surround sound on, movie theater popcorn, and hushed attentive watching. Lights were on so we could see what we were eating and not get chocolate fondue on my white couch. We paused the movie to chat about the 🫣 parts. We did have movie theater popcorn, though. After it was over, we were both exhausted. I looked around, replaying my day. It hadn’t been any busier than normal. Wait. Had we just…. Relaxed? Did relaxing make you tired? As a busy single mom with a full-time job and active kids, Courtney doesn’t do a lot of relaxing either. That had to be what this was. This movie, while not as meaningful as Field of Dreams (so I’ve heard. I’ve never watched it.), forced us to slow down and stop thinking and more importantly stop doing.
We. Took. A. break.
Life is busy. It can be nearly impossible to find time to sit down to watch a movie, in a theater or otherwise. While some movies are simply for entertainment, others give you hope or expose you to a magical world. Some movies inspire you to be better humans or give you a goal. At this point, having never watched Field of Dreams, I cannot continue with how or why this particular movie could have influenced Tony Vitello to become a coach. I do know that I have quoted the movie without any knowledge of it, so it is possible they didn’t watch the movie at all.
It is, however, entirely possible that the movie you watch today could come to your mind in one of the most important moments of your life. Movies aren’t just another piece of content we can consume on a phone in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. They are meant to be watched, experienced, and remembered. If you know what Greg Vitello is referencing in his interview (watch a clip here!) you are able to relate to him in that moment. You have a shared experience even if you were watching with your own dad 2500 miles away.
As Athens Movie Palace turns 10, we realize that we are tasked with an important responsibility. We are helping you create these moments. We see the kids in sports uniforms coming in to watch a movie with their team or parents. We have 10-year-olds who have never seen a movie anywhere but here. We have kids who will never remember a time when Athens didn’t have a movie theater. And soon. Kids who had their first movie experience at the Palace will be bringing their kids for their first movie.
We also provide you a place to rest. You may be introducing your kid to a career option, but you could also be giving yourself a moment to regroup. Movie watching is important. We give you an opportunity to experience something that a person in Seattle is experiencing. We will leave you with another picture: a grown-up Tony Vitello taking his dad to a special screening of Field of Dreams post World Series win. Your movie experience can also give you a soft space to fall to capture those feelings you had when you first watched it. Next time you dismiss the idea of watching a movie maybe give it another thought. Find your reason and give yourself that time.