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Actors Lew Temple, Greg Kinnear, Patrick Renna and Luke Wilson, pose on the red carpet for the premiere of “You Gotta Believe” at the AMC Palace 9, 220 E. 3rd St., Fort Worth on Aug. 29, 2024. (Marcheta Fornoff | Fort Worth Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YGB1-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C206&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/YGB1-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C535&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>“You Gotta Believe” hits silver screens Aug. 30, but the idea that his family’s story is at the center of a feature film is still sinking in for Fort Worth native Robert Ratliff. Ratliff was 12 years old when his baseball team, the Westside All-Stars, turned their season around and made it to the 2002 Little League World Series after dedicating the season to his father, Bobby, who was battling cancer.“He’s up in heaven going nuts. I think he’d argue that he’s better looking than Luke Wilson,” Ratliff joked, “but that’s a pretty good person to get played by.”The journey of Ratliff and his teammates captured the hearts of Fort Worthians and gained a national audience on ESPN. Years later, the story also caught the attention of Wilson, a Dallas native. The actor said it was a treat to come back to Fort Worth for the premiere after dedicating his career to telling Texas stories.“I got to do this movie a few years ago called ‘12 Mighty Orphans,’ which we did in Fort Worth, and it couldn’t have been more fun,” Wilson said. “It’s really fun to be back. I mean, whenever I write anything, I always set it in Texas, so I like the idea of coming back here to work.” Robert Ratlifff holds his son Wyatt as he answers questions on the red carpet at the premiere of “You Gotta Believe,” Aug. 29, 2024, at the AMC Palace 9, 220 E. 3rd St., Fort Worth. (Marcheta Fornoff | Fort Worth Report)Wilson’s co-star Greg Kinnear, who plays the team’s head coach, enjoyed being able to meet some of the real-life figures that inspired the film. “It was really great,” he said. “I was just showing up to act, but they were very appreciative of the producers who were making this movie and telling the story. It’s hard to get a movie made these days (and) so telling the story was something that they were excited about.” The excitement from Ratliff was palpable on the red carpet as he hugged former teammates and carried his eldest son, who was decked out with a jersey, cap and baseball pants. “It was emotional,” Ratliff said of his first time seeing the film. “I’ll probably be 900 times more emotional here in a second when I’m in there with my family and teammates.” Marcheta Fornoff covers arts and culture for the Fort Worth Report. Reach her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.