Shorty (2003)

The film is set on the campus of Hampden-Sydney College during the 2002 Tiger football season. Walter Simms has lived on the campus of H-SC for 28 years and has been an integral part of the community, the college and their football team. He is an icon at the prestigious, all-male Virginia school, where he has touched the lives of generations of young men and inspired an entire community. This season in particular is very special to Shorty. His beloved Tiger football squad is poised to make the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, he is being inducted into the Hampden-Sydney College Athletic Hall-of-Fame and he is celebrating his birthday on the day of the final game of the regular season against the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets - a 107-year rivalry known simply as "The Game". What makes this year particularly memorable is that the life expectancy for someone with Down syndrome is 55. Walter Simms will be 56. The film's climax takes place on November 16th, 2002 at "The Game". The 108th meeting between the oldest archrivals in the South: Hampden-Sydney vs. Randolph-Macon. After weeks of rain the field is in barely playable muddy conditions. After three hard fought quarters, the game is knotted at a zero-zero tie going into the game's final fifteen minutes. Will the Tigers beat the Yellow Jackets to make Shorty's birthday wish come true?