Original subtitles

Come on, Ted.

Absolutely not.

Let's try it. Looks like fun.

Strapping sticks to your feet and sliding down a mountain is not fun.

It's cold, it's wet, and if God had intended for us to ski, he would have

created us at a 45 degree angle.

Hey, come on, let's hit it.

Well,

there they are.

Right where they're not supposed to be.

It's all about it.

Not only you would go off a cornice like this before a competition.

See, that's your problem, dude. You think too much. Yeah, I think a lot

staying alive.

Well, you might live longer, my man.

You definitely won't live better.

So the boy that skis, he's my assignment, huh? Not necessarily.

Come on, I'll race you down the hill.

See, that's what I hate about snow. It makes people act crazy.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the training run of the U .S. World Cup

qualifiers. On the run right now is number 44, Jet Rudin, who is currently

top qualifier.

Time for Jet Rudin, one minute, six for zero -two seconds.

Now on the run is Will Heller, number 71.

One minute, 6 .99 seconds.

So that other one there is my assignment, the slower one.

Now, you see, that's the problem.

Everybody thinks of Jed as fast.

And Will is just always eating a little behind him.

Everyone thinks so? Well, everyone that matters to him.

Like his father.

Hey, bud. Hey, Howard. Howard, Jet is flying as usual.

Yeah, Will's right behind him. As usual.

Jet. Jet, son.

You ski like that tomorrow, you're the man to beat. No problem, coach. Will.

Will. Buddy.

Buddy, stay over that outside skier. The course is going to get the best of you

every time. You just got to concentrate, son. Hey, Howard, we went timber

bashing this morning, and you should have seen him cutting through that

Yeah, hang on. Hello.

It's Colson. Glad you called.

It's the guy. It's the sponsor.

Oh, yeah. Looks like your old man's going to come through. Yeah, I guess he

Yeah, yeah. Well, how about you guys pose for your cereal boxes later? Right

now, get your gear over to the wax techs. Get everything checked out for

tomorrow. All right. All right.

Now, there's your fan club right on time.

Oh, when will it all end?

The way before you wanted to.

Listen, man, don't be an adoring public image.

Try not to humiliate yourself.

All right. Give me two minutes to dabble and I'll meet you at the lift. We can

still get a run before lunch. All right.

No, no, I agree with you completely.

Well, of course, you know, I think that we'll have to talk... So, it's Will

then? Yes, he's your assignment.

A boy who always comes in second.

But what we do, Tess, is never about winning.

No, but it is about doing your very best, and Will hasn't come close to

his very best yet. And there's a reason for that.

He doesn't want to win, but he never had so much to lose before.

When you walk down the road,

heavy burden, heavy load, I

will rise and I will walk with you.

I'll walk with you till the dawn don't even shine.

Walk with you every time.

I tell you, I'll walk with you.

Believe me, I'll walk with you.

It's 28 degrees and sunny here in Utah. The winds have finally calmed. The

course is ready for the start of the U .S. World Cup qualifier. And with me now

is America's best hope for future Olympic gold.

Jet Rudin, the buzz is that you're the one to watch in the giant slalom. Oh,

yeah?

you couch potatoes out there. Get your lazy butts off the couch and come on

here. We got some serious skiing going on.

That's it.

Well, he skis fast and he talks fast.

I guess that's why they call him Jet.

Back to you, Dan.

Hello, Jet. My name is Monica. Do you mind if you answer a few questions?

Yeah, here's my quote. Love to ski, hate to talk.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

But I'm a sucker for older women.

So, uh, what's your angle?

Best shot at Olympic gold?

Daredevil on skis?

I thought I'd do a human interest story.

Like how it was to grow up with and then compete against your best friend.

Will's more than a friend. He's like my brother.

And we don't compete. We ski together.

So, you hit the slopes much?

No, I have a hard enough time wearing shoes, let alone ski boots.

So how'd you land this assignment?

Well, this is an assignment more about friendship than skiing.

Yours and Will's.

That's cool.

Hey, Will!

You got an interview here.

Hello, Will. I'm Monica.

Hi. Somebody told her we were friends, so, you know, set her straight.

Uh, well, you're a reporter?

Yes, mostly freelance.

I'm hoping to do a profile on your friendship with Jet, so if you don't

I'll follow you around the rest of the week.

Uh, well...

Just make sure you follow me.

So, Will, what do you think your chances of getting on the team are?

I guess I'm what you'd call the underdog.

Yeah, right. Good. He's the underdog.

People love reading about the underdog.

But where there's a will, there's a way, huh?

Yeah, sure.

All right, all right. That's enough.

So, Monica, what are you doing there? I'm working, but I'll find you.

Crash and burn.

You can't ski fast enough to catch up to her.

Thank you.

You see your old man?

He's got to be by the fireplace.

The man is eternally cold. Why does he keep coming to these things? See you

when? Hey, sweet run today, man. Hey, thank you.

I'll rip it up tomorrow, man. Yeah, you too.

Hey,

Dad. Hey. You looking pretty cold, Howard.

It's all going to be worth it.

So what's the big news?

You guys remember the guy on the phone today?

Well, I made the deal, and they're coming by in a few minutes to talk

No way.

Yeah. Jet, you win this thing, they want you for a whole series of commercials.

That's killer, man.

You know what kind of money that is?

Yeah, all right.

So what about Will?

Well, I thought we'd start with you first. You know, it's easier to sell

when they're not related to you.

At least in the beginning.

They just want Jed? Yeah, for now.

Hey, hey, just wait.

You know, once I've got a good relationship with these people, I can

that I also have a hot shot son.

Well, son, you've got to look at this from a business standpoint. Jed is just

playing faster than you right now, and that makes him more commercial.

You pick up speed, you pick up interest.

You win tomorrow.

Those sponsors are going to be all over you, too.

Yeah, man, nobody knows who's going to win this thing.

Yeah, well, we already know who it won't be, right?

If you could just shave a few tenths off your time.

I can do that.

Will. No, you know what? Don't worry about it. I'm not going to ruin your

meeting.

Well, are you all right?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Do you mind if I check a few facts?

Is it true that you and Jet literally grew up together in the same house?

Yeah, we adopted him when we were ten.

Is that strange for you?

Suddenly have to share everything with somebody else.

No, it never bothered me much.

Who taught you to ski?

Um, my dad.

And Jet?

He taught Jet how to ski, too.

You know, he's really a great guy. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for him.

You know, you're a marvelous skier, and you've beaten lots of people.

But you haven't beaten Jet, at least not Jet.

Doesn't that seem a little strange to you?

Well, um, I mean, Jet's a better skier than I am.

He deserves to win.

So you don't mind losing to him?

I guess it depends on what you lose.

But you know what?

It's time for a change.

Keep your eye on me tomorrow, Monica.

It's gonna be a new top dog and it might just surprise you.

Yeah. Might just surprise everyone else, too.

are continuing with the giant slalom event here at the u .s world cup

championships please take your places in the viewing gallery remember this event

the winner is the fastest aggregate time for two runs down the course yo just

wait dude we make it through these today we could be back here in 2002 me

getting gold you getting silver who says you get gold it's kind of like

tradition me first you second unless you really want to shock your dad

Good luck.

Hey, if you win today, it wouldn't hurt my feelings.

Of course, I'd hate to lose this.

Down the run, number 84, Joe Melody, Mount Rainier, Washington.

What does he mean?

What? Why would he use his bandana?

Well, it used to be mine. Last time I wore it, I was 10. It's the last time I

ever beat him at anything.

Returning today as the current U .S. ski champion is number 44, Jeffery.

Personal best, Jack!

Personal best!

Yes!

Hey,

hey, hey, you did great, huh? You did good. I thought you guys would.

Here goes the underdog.

Hey, Will.

Take it easy, dude, all right? There's a choppy rut on the second gate after the

final knoll. Take it wide.

No guts, no glory, right?

Don't be stupid, all right? You just have to make the team.

Then we can make some history.

I don't know. I feel like making history today.

Our next giant swallow competitor is number 71, Will...

It's one minute, 7 .80 seconds.

You think you can even beat that time?

Congratulations. You made number one in the B team.

Yeah, first place loser.

Well, hey, you did your best. Another tenth of a second, you'd have made the A

team. It's okay, really.

Hey, it's great.

Did you ever think you'd make it this far?

No, you didn't.

Come on, let's go see Jet.

What happened up there?

I broke the rules.

I tried to win. I don't know what I was thinking.

I thought athletes needed their sleep.

Yeah, winning athletes.

Losers stay up all night staring at the fireplace.

What time is it anyway?

5 .30.

Good.

Sun will be up soon.

I'm sorry that things didn't go as you'd hoped yesterday.

Why should that race have been any different than usual?

Because you actually wanted to win.

You've lost a lot of races to Jet.

This is the first one you didn't want to lose, isn't it?

Don't worry.

I don't think anyone else knows.

What makes you think you do?

I know a kind and generous spirit when I meet one.

Yeah, that's me, Miss Congeniality.

Why, Will?

Why do you compete when you don't want to win?

I want to win.

I want to beat everybody.

Everybody except Jet.

Off the record.

Off the record?

I've never told anyone this before.

I don't think I've even actually ever said it out loud.

It's not that I don't want to win.

It's that I can't stand to see him lose.

Yeah.

Okay, you know that bandana that he wears?

Well, I got that for Christmas when I was 10.

And it came with like a cowboy hat or something.

Anyway, Jed wanted it.

I mean, he wanted it bad, you know?

And I could have given it to him. I mean, it really didn't mean that much to

But it just felt so good to have something that he didn't.

I mean, you know how kids are.

So I said to him, we can steal your dad's cigarettes.

And if you can smoke more cigarettes than me, then you can have the bandana.

But if I'm one, I got his yo -yo.

Yo -yo?

Yeah, you know, like a yo -yo.

No, they don't have many of those where I come from.

Go on.

So we go into Jed's basement.

And we're lighting cigarettes, coughing like crazy.

And his dad comes home.

We race out the back door down the street to my house before he can find

And Jed spent the night at my house that night.

The next morning, when we woke up, there was a

policeman at the door.

Jed's house had burned down overnight.

And, uh... Jed's parents died.

Dave thought Jed had died, too.

Until they found him at our house.

And do you think the cigarette started the fire?

They could never tell for sure, but that's what me and Jet figured, you

So you gave him the bandana?

Yeah.

I actually smoked more cigarettes than he did.

But the look on his face when I told him that he'd won...

He wore that bandana all the time. Never took it off.

Told me I'd have to win it back from him.

He'd already lost the worst thing that you could lose.

And I... I decided that I never wanted him to lose anything.

It was up to me, you know?

And that's when he came to live with you?

You know, my dad taught us how to ski.

And I was actually better than Jed at first.

But when we'd race, I'd let him win.

Oh, man.

That's the biggest crock I've ever heard.

What are you doing here?

Man, I can't believe you.

You don't win because you're not fast enough.

Because you don't concentrate. You don't take advice.

And you blew it yesterday because you didn't listen.

You're always looking for some excuse, Will, for why you come in second or

or fourth.

Man, I've heard them all until now.

This is the worst.

Don't ever use me as your excuse again.

The truth is, you're just not good enough.

Oh, I'm good enough. I just knew you couldn't handle it. Listen to me. Every

race I ever won, I earned.

Nobody gave it to me. You want to bet?

I don't have to bet, Will.

All right, everybody knows it.

Team knows it.

Fans know it.

Dad knows it. You shut up. You shut up about my dad. Look how jealous. Shut up.

You want to bet?

Anytime, anywhere.

Right here, right now.

Come on, Monica. We're back on the record.

Ready? Three, two, one.

And there he goes, Jet Rudin. Yesterday, America's best hope for Olympic gold.

Today, that hope has dimmed.

Doctors in Salt Lake City are still performing emergency surgery on the

ski champion.

While here on the slopes, fans are flocking to the site where earlier

Rudin plunged off an expert run known as the Widowmaker.

They're leaving notes... Oh, for God's sake.

...in honor of... Take it easy, Howard.

Will they make it sound like he's dead or something?

You, um...

You want some more coffee?

No.

Listen, guys, we've got to get back.

Will, do me a favor, son.

Please tell Jet we were here.

And why don't you just skip training today? We'll see you tomorrow at two.

Training.

You were next in line, son.

Looks like you're a member of the World Cup team.

Thought it was an accident. Yes, I know it was an accident. Will, what kind of

an accident?

We were racing.

You were racing?

Jet -rooted in the middle of the trials, Will? Are you crazy?

You have never beaten me. Jed Rudin, at anything in your life, why in the world

would you start now?

What were you thinking?

How is he?

Well, he's out of surgery, but he's still groggy.

Can we see him?

Yes, but before you do...

I've got some rather bad news.

Hey, Jed.

Hey, compadres.

How you doing, buddy?

Howard, this guy tell you what happened?

Yeah.

Well, then you can tell me, because I can't remember a thing.

How do you feel?

Hey, no problemo, bro.

These drugs are a real trip.

I can't even feel my legs.

Howard, you're gonna have to do some fancy dancing with those sponsors.

I don't think I'll be skiing for a couple weeks.

I hate this coach now.

Yeah. We came by with some of the guys to say hi.

Lucky break, huh?

Looks like you get another chance on the team.

Just keep my spot warm for me, all right?

Hey, where's my bandana?

Oh, no, man, don't tell me I finally lost it.

Jed, listen to me.

What?

When you fell.

Yeah? It was a really bad accident.

What are you trying to tell me?

You injured your spinal cord.

Are you telling me I can't ski?

Jed, they don't think you can walk.

We're just getting warmed up for some practice runs.

Will, listen to me, son.

Listen, I know it's... Son, listen to me.

I know it's tough, but you've got to get Jed out of your mind right now. While

you're up here, you cannot think about him. You've got to think about the

course.

The course.

That's right.

That's right. You've got to keep your mind on the mountain, son.

And you blew it yesterday because you didn't listen.

I was looking for some excuse, Will, for why you come in second or third or

fourth.

Don't ever use me as your excuse again.

Because the truth is you're just not good enough.

Not good enough.

Not good enough.

What do you want?

Well... Well, never mind. You know what? I know what you want. Well, forget it.

I never should have talked to a reporter.

No one needed to hear my story. No one did except for Jed. Now look what

happened. Are you blaming me, Will? No more questions. End of story.

It's not your fault, you know.

It all started a long time ago.

I know.

Two little boys playing with figureheads.

Ever since the fire, Jet has settled everything by going too high and too far

and too fast.

It was just a matter of time before he and I would meet.

If I push this button, what does it do?

Oh, that's the button to call the nerd.

Me.

What button do I push to make you go away?

Better yet, what button do I push to make me go away?

Now, that's enough of that kind of talk.

Well, you call me if you need some help

I

don't need it

anymore. It's all yours No way

I remember what happened now.

The fight, everything.

You said you were holding back all these years.

I was.

So maybe I beat you all those times, maybe I didn't.

No, you beat me.

Well, now we'll never know.

And I always figured I'd live forever or crash and burn, but... I never

imagined.

I need a friend, Will.

I'm right here.

How can I help? Just tell me.

I want to push the button, Will, but I can't do it alone.

Do what?

Kill myself.

You gotta help me die.

No way. I can't do this. This is totally insane. I'm not going to help you kill

yourself.

Look at me.

This is totally insane. I can't live like this.

Isn't the way it's supposed to be.

Nothing is how it's supposed to be.

Look, I can't. I can't. You have to.

Why? Because if there's a hell, then this is it.

I can't, Will.

I can't be this.

I have to think.

Will.

I'll miss you when I'm gone.

But I swear to God I'll hate you if I'm here.

I'll miss you too.

Will?

What the hell are you doing here?

I told you I don't want to talk to you anymore. I'm through with reporters.

I'm not a reporter, Will.

Monica, what do you think I'm stupid?

You're looking for the end of your story.

This story isn't close to being over.

And I don't think you're stupid at all.

But I do think you have a misguided idea about what friendship is.

What did your research show you that?

God showed me that.

What is this?

I'm an angel.

No.

No, no, I don't think so.

That would be... That would be a gift from God.

Well, if God's really paying attention right now, then he knows that Jet needs

help, not me.

So if you're really an angel, tell God to heal Jet.

You don't tell God to do anything. You ask him.

You pray to God for help, for healing.

I don't think God would help Jet the way he wants help right now.

Because God knows the difference between what Jet wants and what Jet needs.

And so do you.

Give me the pills.

Busted by an angel.

Can't do anything right.

You've always tried to take away Jad's pain, but you can't take it away that

time well.

Yes, I can. I can end it.

You spent your whole life protecting him, and now you want to help him die?

That's what it takes.

No, that's not what it takes.

You both feel responsible for the fire that killed Jad's parents.

God isn't looking for someone to blame, neither should you.

I don't know what else to look for.

Look for the truth.

And the truth is that you've been hiding yourself and your life behind Jets ever

since.

He needed something, Monica. He needed something positive to hold on to.

He had something.

He had you and your father.

Yeah, he had my father, all right.

Your father loves you so much, Will.

And so does Jet. They don't deserve your sarcasm.

All they ever did was believe that you were the person you appeared to be.

Loser. Somehow, you expected them to understand the sacrifice you were

Even though I never let them know I was doing it.

Can you say to me, can you say to God, that in your heart you were losing on

purpose?

It started out that way, but now I don't know.

And now you'll never know, and that's the shame.

You gave up so much to protect Jed, and all he really needed was your love and

support.

I'm screwed a bit now.

That's usually when you're ready to listen to an angel.

Okay.

Shoot.

Don't hold back, Will.

Live your life in truth, and then you'll know what real winning is.

For it's not about being better or being faster.

It's about loving.

And God loves you. He really does.

He gets such pleasure from the joy you take in flying down a mountain. He gave

you the gift, and he wants you to use it.

But the greatest gift that God has blessed you with is your friendship with

Let God help you to keep it alive.

Save your friendship, Will.

And let God save your friend.

You had a race in two hours, you know?

Yeah.

You gonna be all right?

Dad, I have to apologize to you.

For what?

For not being honest.

For...

for not being the son that you taught me to be. Don't be ridiculous. No, Dad,

listen to me.

I know this is going to sound pretty strange.

I let Jet win all those races.

All my life, I never tried to beat him.

You let Jet win them all?

I don't know what I was doing, Dad.

All I know is I never minded losing anything to a friend that had lost

everything.

Until I thought I was losing you.

Oh, Will.

Will, you could never lose me.

You're my son.

There's not a person or a truth. in the world that could make me love you any

less.

I'm your dad.

I'm very proud of you.

Well,

I got a race in two hours.

There's something else I got to do first.

It's about time.

What are we doing, making funeral arrangements?

You're gonna think I've gone nuts.

You don't need an insanity defense, Will. Nobody's gonna know about this.

Monica's an angel.

Yeah, she's okay. She's all yours.

No, really. I mean, Monica's an angel, like, from God.

I don't think I like where this is going.

God doesn't want you to die, Judd.

Neither do I.

Really?

So you and God had a little chat, huh?

Decided I'd be better off spending the next 40 years propped up in a corner

messing on myself? Is that what you're trying to tell me? We don't know what

has in mind. Even the angels don't know God's plan.

Well, I know my plan.

And I don't need you or God or angels to see it through.

Jet, come on. Get out of here.

Jet. I said get the hell out.

You know what?

You were right.

I let you win at first.

But then I got scared.

And it was easier to let you win than to find out I couldn't beat you.

That's nice.

What are you going to do now that you don't have me as an excuse anymore?

I'm going to love you.

Like I always have.

Jet, I have watched you ski.

And I've watched you drive.

And I've watched you jump.

I've watched you climb.

I've watched you dive.

You have what we refer to in my business as a death wish.

How are you?

What are you doing here?

I'm an angel.

I'm the angel of death to be.

More precise.

Why don't you take me then?

You know, Jack, you're really not thinking this thing through. You don't

want to die.

What? When your parents died.

What happened?

I wanted to die too.

I should have died.

No. You shouldn't have.

But you took that event and you translated it.

into trying to find a way to get yourself killed.

Were you there when my parents died?

Yes.

Then you know what happened.

Wasn't it ignorant?

Does it matter?

It seems to me what matters now is a friendship that has seen you through

many... Difficult times.

It is a friendship that means a lot to both of you.

You've always looked out for each other. You've always been there for each

other. So why, Jet?

Why would you want to throw all that away now?

When you need it most.

Will you do me a favor?

Yes.

Do you know an angel named Monica?

Do you want to listen to me, Monica?

It's over. It's over for him. It's over for me. I can't do this.

Someone thinks you can.

He says the winner always wears the red bandana.

Is he going to be okay?

He has the best friend in the world looking out for him.

He said he'd be watching on TV.

He expects the personal best.

18 years old from nearby Heber, Utah. Just two days ago, first alternate to

U .S. ski team.

Now, with a shot at winning the World Cup.

He'll ski with a heavy heart after the tragic accident that left childhood best

friend Jet Rudin, odds -on favorite to win the race, paralyzed in a Salt Lake

City hospital.

Heller will have to beat the record time of 1 .04 .75 set by Jet Rudin in the

qualifying race to win.

He's out of the start.

That's a terrific start.

Fastest time out of the gate we've seen so far today. You've got to watch it

going into those first two gates.

Through the first quarter of the run, Heller is second fastest, only three

-tenths off the lead.

Now, this is where you have trouble in the qualifier. You'll have to watch it

through this icy, rutted section of the course.

Perfectly done. What a run.

Heller's picked up two -tenths. Now he's got a great shot at winning the race.

Go, dude. You got it.

Lost a little time there. He might have caught an edge going through that last

gate. It's going to be close.

And he does.

Will Heller has won the World Cup giant slalom.

A dream come true for Heller. Unbelievable. And somewhere in a Salt

hospital 30 miles away, Jet Gruden is celebrating.

Heller with a hug for his dad.

And a signal to Jet Gruden.

Taught the kid everything he knows.

Will Heller. Two days ago, not even a member of the team.

Now he's the World Cup giant slalom champion.

It looks like everybody scored a personal best this time, and not a

soon. My toes are frozen to my shoe.

Well, we can't leave yet. Will has promised to teach me how to ski.

I know something we can do for our weighting test.

It's called the luge.

Luge? I don't like the sound of that.

Coco.

Coco. I like the sound of that. That's the one.