Semi-Pro

About Semi-Pro

Jackie Moon, played by Will Ferrell, is a musician who decides to buy the Flint Tropics of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In doing so he becomes the team's owner, head coach, star power forward and pre-game announcer. Shortly after acquiring the team the ABA annouces its merger with the National Basketball Association (NBA). However, only the top four teams of the ABA will join the NBA, while the rest are at risk of dissolving. With the Tropics being the worst team in the ABA Jackie must make a solid game plan to save his franchise.

In an effort to build his team Jackie trades the team's washing machine to the Kentucky Colonels in exchange for NBA caliber point guard, Ed Monix. It is at that point the commissioner of the NBA announces that in addition to being top four in the ABA, the team must have a minimum attendance of 2,000 in order to make the jump to the NBA. This leads Jackie to come up with some creative ways to boost attendance, which even includes him wrestling a bear.

With the team getting better and the support from the fans the Tropics make the leap from last to fifth in the league. In a turn of events the commissioner pays a visit to Jackie only to admit the team would not advance to the NBA even if they win their final home game against the Spurs, due to Flint being too small of a market. In spite of the adversity, the Flint Tropics would go on to beat the Spurs and reach the top four. 

Semi-Pro's Relation To Sport Business

Semi-Pro relates to sports business in a number of different ways. For starters with the ABA and NBA merging to become one league the operations departments of both leagues must come together to plan how to successfully combine the leagues. The commissioner then announces only the top four established teams of the ABA will be absorbed into the NBA, with the rest of the teams dissolving at the end of the season.  This upsets Jackie when he finds out this is because of how much revenue teams can potentially bring in, but not their record. Jackie argues that it should be the top four teams with a winning record and gets the commissioner and other owner's of the ABA to agree. This leaves Jackie in a pinch to improve his team and build his fan base with only a few games left in the season. 

In an attempt to lure more fans to Flint Tropic home games Jackie comes up with numerous ways to market to the team. His most intense idea was to wrestle a bear named Dewie. In a hilarious turn of events, Dewie escapes the cage and begins to wander around the pack arena. Jackie's outlandish idea, although is great for the movies, would be disastrous in real life. However, it is Jackie's creativity that gets him noticed by the NBA commissioner and lands him a job as a marketing director after his league folds. 

Why watch Semi-Pro?

From the many sports movies out there, Semi-Pro is one that should absolutely be on your list. A classic Will Ferrell film, Ferrell plays the role of Jackie Moon marvesoully and includes his typical raunchy jokes and quirky moments. That being said, this movie is rated PG so it may not be the most suitable for children. On the other hand, for adult viewers it is a good laugh intertwined with many great sport moments. 

Another reason to watch this movie besides the humor would be the behind the scenes look into the sport industry. Although the sport moments are over-exaggerated for the film's sake, it still provides a hilarious view into the world of a team owner. For example, Jackie Moon must find a creative way to boost attendance which leads him down a number of different ridiculous paths, including fighting a bear. Even though a club would never actually do something that crazy it's interesting to see the actual problems a team would face depicted in a Will Ferrell movie. 

Trailer & Extras