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A father can make all the difference in his son's life.

His presence, love, and dedication

can mean all the difference

when it comes to a child succeeding or failing.

If my dad had been there supporting my football dreams,

there's no telling where I'd be today.

I think the Rams have a real good chance

to win the title this year.

That's your problem right there, Chip.

First, the Rams' defensive line isn't gonna last all season,

and second, they ain't got no ground game!

- Ground game? - ‭Yes, ground game!

You're worried about their ground game?!

- Huh? I can't hear you! - They held the Patriots to 13 points!

- I can't hear you, Chip! - Since when...

So it was important for me to do everything I could

to make sure Jack reached his full potential.

Again!

Come on, man.

Hey, guys, we're gonna be a while.

Find another way out of poverty.

Oh, man, come on.

Seriously?

Touch the line, son.

Faster!

Finish strong! Finish strong!

All right!

Good hustle, son! Good hustle.

Why are you thirsty? You've barely moved.

My throat's dry from all the yelling.

Looks like you still got some energy to burn.

Come on. More suicides. Go!

Come on. That's it.

With all of our hard work, my coaching,

and Jack's natural talent, nothing was going to stop us.

Oh, there he is.

Ha-ha!

From Sherman Oaks, at Point Guard, Jack Johnson!

I got cut.

What?

- Oh. - Oh, damn.

- Oh. - What?

- Well, damn. - What?

Jack got cut?

Yeah. Big-time.

Just like sports to teach these young people...

life is not fair.

Man, is that true.

You guys remember when I got cut

from the field hockey team junior year?

Really? No one?

Mom, you took me on a mother-son trip to Napa

to make me feel better?

- Oh. Oh, is that what that trip was for? - Yeah.

I thought that trip was for

when you accidentally wore Zoey's top to school.

- Mm. That was Ojai. - Oh.

I needed a lot of cheering up during high school.

Yeah, you did.

We saw a lot of California together, me and you.

- So much. - Okay, so what happened at tryouts?

It was terrible... for Jack.

Personally, I found it delightful.

- Here. - What?

Everything started out great...

but then it all fell apart.

Ooh.

Gotta watch out there, little buddy.

- Oh! - Ooh!

Come on, guys, we can't act all that surprised that he got cut.

I mean, Valley Glen Prep has a monster basketball program,

and let's face it, Jack is, uh...

you know, he's... he's small for his age.

Jack is not small. I was his size when I was 9.

Um... Jack is 13.

Damn, he's doomed.

But don't feel bad.

Being taller than your son is a blessing.

- It's the natural order of things. - Yep!

I lost a lot of respect for you

when Junior got taller than you.

He's not taller than me.

- Aw, buddy. - What?

Diane, you got any more video of Jack getting freight-trained?

I do not, but I do have one of a chase down block

that was magnifique.

- Well, let's check it out. - I'll just show you.

All right, okay, look, Jack may be undersized for his team now,

but he is due a growth spurt.

Maybe we're not giving him enough milk.

This doesn't have anything to do with milk.

The hell it doesn't.

He'd be dunking if all of your milk

wasn't made from... nuts.

- You're insane. - What?

Our son is hurting, and do you know what he needs right now?

His mother.

What he needs is a spot on the team.

The wrong kid got the height.

W-What was that?

Sorry, couldn't really hear you from all the way up here.

I'm really sorry you didn't make the team.

Do you want to talk about it?

No, I'm good.

Okay.

We don't need to talk about it.

I can just sit here.

Y-You know...

Yes, sweetie?

I think I just want to be alone.

Of course.

Yeah.

And even if I'm not here, I'm here.

Thanks, Mom.

Okay, sweetie.

I'm so much better at this than Dre.

I felt like my son got a raw deal

with the basketball team,

so I called notorious basketball dad LaVar Ball.

It's all he cares about.

All right, ever since he was a toddler,

he's had a basketball in his hand.

He wants it that bad.

You know what it's like when your son loses, right?

Oh, I don't! Big Baller never lost.

We started our own basketball league.

We got our own signature shoe.

I don't know what you talking about.

Yeah. I guess you wouldn't.

Look, if you want my advice,

there's nothing you can do to make him grow.

Unless you want to rename him LaVar.

Then he could be 10 feet tall, could do nothing but ball.

Bye-bye.

LaVar?

This was not helpful at all.

Whatever.

Hey, Dre.

Were you talking about Jack to your... to your cousin there?

He's not my cousin.

And how did you know we were talking about Jack?

Well, we heard your cousin say you can't make him grow,

so that sort of gave it away.

Don't listen to them, Dre.

Jack's pretty tall for 6.

He's 13.

All right. Black don't crack, do it?

I know Jack is short for his age, all right?

But that's no big deal, okay?

You know, a growth spurt is coming.

Ehhhh.

Yeah. Uhh.

- What? - Nothing, nothing.

It's... It's just... how tall do you want Jack to be?

You know, 6', 6'1".

- 6'1". - That's funny.

That'll never happen, and it's a damn shame

because tall people get all the breaks.

Picked first for basketball, last for Vietnam.

Think about it, Dre.

A tall man in a suit

looks like he should be going to a board meeting,

but a short man in a suit, oh, he looks like he should be

sitting on another man's lap with a hand up his ass.

- What? - He's got a point, Dre.

You know, the only reason my cousin agreed to go to prom with me

is because I was taller than my other cousin.

- What? - What?

I'm from a small town, guys.

It can't be that small.

Look, Dre, your son won't just be behind socially.

How many short presidents and CEOs have there been?

Even this job demands height.

I am so glad to meet you. I just... Oh, wow!

The position has been filled, actually,

I'm so sorry, by, um... by that guy.

Come on in, Stretch. You're hired.

So sorry. Have you seen "Ant-Man"?

It's so good.

Not hiring short people is one of the few discriminations

that I am still legally allowed,

so it's pretty precious to me.

Hey, Dre, that's not the worst of it.

Really?

Short men are the only people who respect me.

Oh, my God. Jack is screwed.

And to think, this whole time,

you were worried how the world would treat your son

because he's Black,

but it turns out being short is gonna destroy him.

Hilarious.

I had to do something to help Jack.

Luckily, a little research

led me to a solution for all of his problems.

Son, um, can I talk to you for a second?

Not now, Dad.

I'm gonna try and eat this whole can in three bites.

The trick to pulling it off is to not care about anything.

Son, what if I told you I found something

that can get you back on the basketball team?