7%A Hurricanes Story
The lowest championship odds in TFL history, a dad who knocks at 5:15 every morning, and the team that won anyway.
Watch the filmThis one was the most fun I've had making a TFL film. I got to go behind the scenes with the Hurricanes, and even more with Grant Norman's life off the field. The question I kept coming back to was simple: what is it like to be Grant, with a dad who wants him to be the best ever?
Starting at the bottom
We open on the Hurricanes getting knocked out early by the Amish, the first kneel-down to end a game in TFL history. Grant talks about how long that night felt and how he'd never been out that early in his life. Then he decides to stay and watch the championship, because he's one of the faces of the league. While he watches, everything slows down. He keeps looking at one player, Angel, and compares it to being in sixth grade and seeing the girl in class who makes everything go in slow motion. That's the start of the Hurricanes' next chapter: Grant decides Angel is going to be his guy.
The year nobody believed in them
At the podium, Grant says it wasn't just the critics, it was his own fans and his own city. Merchandise was down and nobody was watching. In the draft, the Hurricanes take Angel Difederico first overall, a two-way player, and Kaden Marker last in the second round, which hurts Kaden because people didn't believe in him. Grant's answer is that role players make championships, and Kaden is the glue guy who holds the team together.
“I was hurt that people didn't believe in me.”FROM THE FILM
Growing pains
Practices were chippy. Angel is intense, and Grant tells the story of driving home to his wife unsure how the offense was going to work. The first two games show it. There's a scary injury in the Jared game, and a blowout loss to the Amish where Angel nearly crashes out and puts Israel on the ground. I kept it in because it's honest. The team looked like it stunk, and Grant's calm response, that this is normal and the playoffs are different, is a big part of who he is.
Seven percent
This is where the title comes from. Israel's analytics company, Schuman Analytics, ran championship projections, and the Hurricanes got the lowest score in TFL history: a 7% chance. I treated Israel's segment as a comedy bit, with him as the founder, CEO and president of a very serious firm, saying the numbers don't have feelings. It lets the team be underdogs in a way that's funny and gives the film its rallying cry.
Grant and his dad
This is the heart of the film. Every morning at 5:15, Grant's dad knocks on his door with a list of exactly what he wants him to do to be the best ever. Catching drills where he counts to 100, notes about dragging the second foot, and a lap around the neighborhood that should take 22 minutes and took 25. His dad says the whole reason they moved to New Jersey is that he believes Grant can be the best player in TFL history, and that he can't pamper him because he wants the Norman legacy to stay in the family. He's also all over social media defending Grant against what he calls stolen MVPs. I didn't want to make him a villain, and Grant didn't want that either. Grant says it's been a rocky relationship, and that if he doesn't win, he feels like he's failing his dad as a son. But he handles it mostly with humor, patience and love. He shows up at 5:15, takes the lap, and doesn't make it a fight.
“At the end of the day, he's my dad, and I'm going to love him.”FROM THE FILM
The playoff run
The games build in layers. Against Tim Jordan, a three-time champion and a friend Grant has played with since high school, it goes back and forth, tied at 21, with Grant cramping up and a joke about the banana. The Hurricanes win in overtime when Grant gets the sack on fourth down. A low-scoring defensive game against the Criminoles comes down to a trick play, and the camera falls out. Then the championship, where everything finally clicks.
The finish
Kaden catches his first career touchdown, wide open in the end zone, and Angel runs a pick-six on fourth down to end it. The team starts yelling “how about that 7%.” By Israel's own metrics, it was the greatest season in league history. Kaden says he was the glue guy, Grant was the heart, and Grant says he was just playing for them, because it's not about the individual. The last scene ties it together. Angel and Kaden got heated with each other, and Grant, the guy with the dad who pushes him, sits them down, makes them apologize, hugs it out, and takes them to dinner. He leads with care, not pressure.
“How about that 7%?”FROM THE FILM
Stills
That being the best doesn't have to cost you who you are, and that sometimes the 7% team is the one that wins.
Watch 7 Percent