Vince Papale is living the gymrat's dream. Three decades ago Papale, at the tender age of 30, tried out for and made the roster of his favorite NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Then he got to see his story told on the big screen last summer in the Mark Wahlberg flick Invincible. Not bad for a guy who once barely made ends meet as a part-time bartender.
These days Papale is ebullient, and not just because his beloved Eagles, despite the loss of their star quarterback Donovan McNabb, are in the hunt for the NFL playoffs. Invincible, which scored big with fans and critics, arrives on DVD this Friday.
The new DVD includes a documentary about the real-life Papale, featuring ample footage from his playing days with the Eagles. The Papale depicted in the footage is enthusiastic, boisterous, and constantly seen wearing the "Who's Nuts?" t-shirt (the award given to the most fearless player on the special teams squad) -- somewhat of a contrast to the more reserved, low-key character portrayed by Invincible star Mark Wahlberg.
Papale doesn't mind the artistic liberties taken by the film's producers, however. "That was something that was expressed to the producers by several people," says Papale. "The way that Mark Wahlberg is, the way that he and Ericson (Core) wanted to portray it was more in tune with the kind of demeanor of Mark. And they didn't want him to go out of character. And we were ok with that."
"My personality is a lot different than Mark's in that he's very quiet and reserved - and he shows that in his movies - whereas I'm very demonstrative and enthusiastic," adds Papale. "But I had no issues with his performance. I thought he did a phenomenal job."
A true underdog story in the vein of Philadelphia's fictional favorite son Rocky Balboa, Papale occupies a special place in the hearts of hardcore Eagles fans. The same certainly can't be said of former Eagle and current Dallas Cowboy Terrell Owens.
"I look at Terrell Owens and I see this amazingly gifted athlete," says Papale. "With what he did in Philadelphia, the way he came back from that injury he had and played in the Super Bowl, he could have owned the city...but he started trashing the quarterback and creating controversy and totally divided the team."
"I feel sorry for him," Papale continues. "Deep down inside he's probably a warm, genuine guy. He's probably very insecure. He wants everybody to like him, but he's just gone about it the wrong way. It's sad to see."
It's never a wise decision to offend Eagles fans -- a group well-known for its fervor and vitriol. Of course, Papale objects strenuously to the suggestion Philadelphia fans might be a bit meaner than those of other cities.
"They're not mean. They're just passionate. They're honest," argues Papale. "It's ok for other cities to drop beers and vilify their athletes, but in Philadelphia it just seems magnified. I'm a Philadelphia fan and I take offense to it. We see ourselves as being very knowledgeable and very passionate. We're not a white-collar town; we're a blue-collar city."
"We're not such bad people," laughs Papale. "We'll beat you up during the game and then take you out for a beer and a cheesesteak afterwards."
Invincible is available on DVD December 19th.
Check out ReelzChannel.com's Invincible page for clips from the movie and more.