Brian Mann '02 never thought he would be taking hits from five-time super bowl champion and ultimate basher Bill Romanowski. However, in the summer of 2004 Dartmouth's former starting QB finally realized his dream of sharing the field with NFL stars -- well, sort of. Mann was cast as Adam Sandler's stunt-double in the remake of the 1974 classic "The Longest Yard."
Fate seemingly deserves the credit for giving Mann his "summer job," as a series of lucky breaks placed the role of Sandler's stand-in squarely in the Dartmouth grad's proverbial lap. Mann is currently employed as the backup QB for the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. College players would have lost their NCAA eligibility by participating in the movie, and the Avengers are the only professional football team in Los Angeles, forcing producers to look towards the Avengers' quarterbacks. L.A.'s starting QB John Kaleo is a lefty (Adam Sandler is not), which made Mann, whose body type resembled Sandler's, a lock for the job.
The perks of working with movie stars for a summer had its sacrifices as well -- at least as far as Mann was concerned. "I had to do three things I thought I'd never do. I dyed my hair, shaved my legs and got a fake tan," said Mann, referring to his compromised dignity.
Mann spent most of last summer at an abandoned prison near Santa Fe, New Mexico on location with the film's cast of venerable actors, celebrity entertainers and former athletes. The Dartmouth alumnus regularly had an opportunity to mingle with the likes of Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds (the star of the original movie), James Cromwell, Nelly, Romanowski, Michael Irvin, Brian Bosworth, and even Bill Goldberg, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Kevin Nash of WWE fame.
To make the film's visuals more realistic, Mann actually threw more than half of the passes in the movie. Nevertheless, it was not only fun and games for Mann. The stand-in's other responsibility was to dutifully bear gruesome hits from Romanowski and Bosworth. Sandler, a New Hampshire native, was tutored on set by former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Sean Salisbury while renowned sports coordinator Mark Ellis, whose previous credits include "Friday Night Lights" and "Any Given Sunday," worked with both Mann and Sandler to create even more realistic football scenes.
"The Longest Yard" is the story of ultimate revenge for frustrated prisoners. Fictional ex-NFL pro and current inmate Paul Crewe, played by Sandler, is put in charge of converting a motley crew of convicts into a football team that will challenge the prison guards. The end result is a comedic brouhaha of "anything-goes" football.
Mann was a four-year letterman for the Big Green, starting at quarterback throughout most of his notable career. As a senior in 2002, Mann established Dartmouth's single-season completion record with 253 and broke Jay Fiedler '94's short-lived single-season mark for yards gained with 2,913. Mann was 254 of 423 with 19 TDs during that prolific season, which landed him first-team All-Ivy and team-MVP honors. Mann will also be remembered as the first freshman in school history to throw a touchdown pass.
Mann, who resides in Foxboro, Mass., during the AFL offseason, is currently playing in his third season with the Avengers. After a rookie year as the third-string QB (he was the only third-stringer to play in a game in 2003), Mann moved into the backup position last season. He has seen his playing time increase in 2005 and has three passing touchdowns thus far for the 10-6 Avengers.
