In The Underdoggs on Prime Video, Snoop Dogg stars as the fictional Jaycen Jennings, a once great NFL player who’s thrown everything away to become a selfish and self-centered man, resulting in everyone hating him. After Jennings is caught speeding, he’s sentenced to community service, picking up dog poo but also as the new coach for working-class kids at his old home who struggle to have their shot in life. The surprisingly heartfelt ending of the film uses the context of competition to unpack how Snoop’s character has made a difference in the lives of these kids, teaching them that they don’t have to be defined by their backgrounds and that a loss isn’t necessarily the end of the journey.
The last section of the film sees The Underdoggs reach the championship of the tournament they’re playing, with each success gaining them more and more fame. Their final game brings them to face The Colonels again, the team led by Chip Collins, the host of the opinion show Hot Takes. This is a personal game for The Underdoggs, as they were humiliated by The Colonels the first time.
Why does Jennings leave the team?
With their match on the following Sunday, Jennings and his team get to training. But during that training, Jennings gets the phone call he’s been waiting for. All the positive buzz he’s garnered for both him and the team has convinced his PR agent to call him back and give him a shot again, now that Jennings is much more marketable. And he’s booked Jennings his weekly show on Fox Sports starting in the Fall. Even more than that, Fox wants him to join their sports hosts on Sunday to announce the new show, a clear conflict with the championship final.
Jennings does attempt to get out but is told in no uncertain terms that this is his one shot at coming back. It’s a hard decision for him, and one he agonizes over. It upsets the team he’s contemplating this move, scared they’ll be left by yet another coach. Jennings attempts to return to his former coach for advice (or, as he calls it, to have another Jedi Mind trick put on him, forgetting that Jedi Mind tricks only work on the weak-minded) but his coach has more pressing family matters and has to leave. Jenning has to figure this out on his own. He ultimately makes the selfish decision to leave, reverting back to his old glory-seeking ways.
Do The Underdoggs win the Championship?
Sunday rolls around, and The Underdoggs are upset that Jennings has left them to pursue his own interests. They have another new coach, who isn’t nearly as cool as Jennings. But, just when they’re ready to resign themselves, Jennings shows up, having left the Fox Sports panel to support his team. It raises their spirits, ready to start. Yet this doesn’t give them the energy to steamroll the opposing team. In fact, the referee, the same as the first game against Collin’s team, has clearly been bought out because at every turn he blows his whistle and says The Underdoggs have breached the rules, but this harshness isn’t applied to The Colonels. At half-time, The Underdoggs are losing zero points to 24.
In the locker room, the kids are pretty downbeat about the situation. Jennings attempts to give a rousing speech but is cut off by two players complaining about the unfairness of the game. It’s only when Tre gives a speech that everyone listens, ready to give it their all. To cap it off, the team put on their old green tops, another act of inspiration. They also bring the two Underdogg dog mascots out, and do some cringe dancing and singing on the pitch. When the game resumes, the referee is noticeably fairer, likely to do with the fact that The Underdoggs’ mascots took a chunk out of his backside.
The Underdoggs begin to close the mammoth gap, bringing the game to 21-24. When T*****s gets near the line to make the winning touchdown, he fumbles the ball, and makes an unthinkable mistake, dropping it too early. To go back to the metaphor set up earlier in the film, he dropped the breast he was meant to be clinging onto. And unfortunately, this was The Underdoggs’ last chance to win not just the game but the championship, as the match ends with that devastating failure.
How does The Underdoggs end?
Despite a close loss, Jennings’ closing monologue makes it clear he isn’t disappointed in his team. He says that a loss simply means that an underdog is even hungrier for victory, ensuring the film doesn’t close out on a sad note. It’s clear he’s learned winning isn’t everything, and making a difference in these kids’ lives is more important.
What did you think of the ending of The Underdoggs? Comment below.
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