Where: National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame and Will Rogers Coliseum
The 411: Young professionals from all over Fort Worth banded together to sell out the sixth annual YP Night at the Rodeo, which mixes networking with good old-fashioned, foot-stomping fun. Red Shoe Society at the Ronald McDonald House, the Young Guns at the National Cowgirl Museum, and the Young Leaders Council of the Greater Real Estate Council of Fort Worth partnered to make it an unforgettable evening, whether attendees were rodeo newcomers or regulars.
A reception at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame gave everyone a chance to familiarize themselves with rodeo history, all while enjoying appetizers from Capital Grille, Raising Cane's, and Corner Bakery. CultureMap provided another party essential: a photo booth. Once the mingling was finished — and after the lucky crowd got a tour "behind the chutes" — everyone headed over to the rodeo, where it also happened to be TCU grad night.
Who:Levi and Rachel Cowsert, Andrea Puente, Staci Kirpach, Nicole Stanley, Jeka Sisco, John and Kassie Black, and Laura Stewart.
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Fort Worth rolled out the red carpet to welcome stars of the big screen and ball field to the world premiere of You Gotta Believe.
Held at the AMC Palace 9 Theatre in Sundance Square on Thursday, August 29 (one day ahead of the film's wide release), the premiere couldn't have happened in a more perfect city. After all, the story is set here.
You Gotta Believe is based on the inspiring true story of the 2002 Westside Little League team. "After dedicating the season to a teammate’s ailing father, a group of underestimated youth baseball players from Fort Worth takes its Cinderella run all the way to the 2002 Little League World Series — culminating in a record-breaking showdown that became an instant ESPN classic," says the film's official description.
The team's final game in the Little League World Series became the stuff of legend (spoiler alert ahead): Louisville was favored to beat the Fort Worth team handily, but after a marathon-11 inning game, they won by just one run, 2-1. It was the longest game ever recorded in LLWS history, the teams set a combined record for strikeouts, and it led to the introduction of pitch count rules.
In the film, Dallas native Luke Wilson stars as the team member's cancer-stricken father and assistant coach, Bobby Ratliff. Greg Kinnear portrays inspirational head coach Jon Kelly.
Wilson, Kinnear, and Kelly all attended the red-carpet premiere in Fort Worth, along with co-stars Patrick Renna(The Sandlot), Lew Temple (The Walking Dead), Michael Cash (The Music Man on Broadway), Etienne Kellici (Horizon: An American Saga), and the full Little League team cast including Gavin MacIver Wright, Josh Reich, Jacob Soley, Davide Fair, Jacob Mazeral, Scott MacKenzie, Nicholas Fry, Seth Murchison, Evan Hasler, and Zachary Morton.
While coach Ratliff died of melanoma in 2003, his sons John and Robert Ratliff walked the red carpet with their young families. Robert Ratliff played first base on the 2002 team and was surrounded by fellow teammates at the premiere.
"For my father - he got out of bed every day wanting to watch us play baseball. For us - we wanted to give my Dad joy as he was going through those cancer treatments," Robert Ratliff told WFAA in a red-carpet interview.
Also in attendance were the film's director Ty Roberts and producer Houston Hill, both of whom worked on another sports film about a Fort Worth team (which also starred Wilson), 2021's 12 Mighty Orphans.
A film release also calls for a party. Cast members and Fort Worth officials - including Mayor Mattie Parker and Fort Worth Film VP Jessica Hill - gathered at Joe T. Garcia's restaurant to celebrate.
"Westside Little League is a Fort Worth Story and we are proud to see it come to life on the big screen in @yougottabelievemovie. Stories like this help put Fort Worth on the map," Parker posted on Instagram, along with photos of Wilson and Kinnear in cowboy hats.
Click through the photos, above, to see all the red-carpet action from the Fort Worth premiere. You Gotta Believe opens in theaters on Friday, August 30.
