30th anniversary of ‘Hoosiers’ celebrated with viewing in Terre Haute

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) – This year marks the 30th anniversary of the movie “Hoosiers.”

To celebrate, there was a special viewing of the film at the Indiana Theater Friday night.

The movie is based on the true story of a basketball team.

Part of the crew from the movie held a Q & A session before showtime. There was also memorabilia from the movie on display.

Brad Long who stars as “Buddy” says he was just out of college when he got the role.

As as basketball player, he says he never really felt like they were actually filming a movie.

“Most sports movies, I think look for uh, actors they hope can play basketball. This movie, they went for basketball players and hoped they could act, so they took a big chance on us,” said Long.

Long also said the movie is timeless. That’s in part because the love for basketball runs deep in Indiana.

“It’s about second chances. It’s about redemption. All throughout the film you see players get a second chance. The town drunk cleaning up his act. The coach getting a second chance, and I think people gravitate towards that, because when you see someone overcome odds and do well, it makes you feel good about yourself,” said Long.

Long was excited to get to see the historic Indiana Theater in person.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Terre Haute Rotary Foundation and Rotary International.