Gipper Was No Myth

In “Goofy vs. the Gipper” (Nov. 28), Michael X. Ferraro refers to George Gipp as “the mythical Notre Dame player portrayed by Ronald Reagan in ‘Knute Rockne, All American.’ ” Gipp was hardly mythical. He was a real-life, flesh-and-blood human being, one of the greatest athletes in the storied history of Notre Dame football.

It is to Hollywood’s discredit that it has failed to make a full-blown feature film about Gipp, whose true-life exploits run the gamut from action, drama, humor and intrigue to romance and pathos. Maybe that’s just too much good story material to fit in with the current Hollywood mentality.

FRANK J. STEVENS

North Hollywood

Ferraro’s commentary on modern sports films was not only shortsighted but ignored one of the most successful and critically acclaimed sports films in recent history, “Jerry Maguire.” Not only is the film centered on what he calls the “unbridled egos, greed and bad sportsmanship” that he feels keeps Americans from watching real Cinderella sports stories any longer, it is about the “good” in sports and sportsmanship triumphing over this trend in the real world.

DEIRDRE IMERSHEIN

West Hollywood