“The World’s Greatest College Weekend”
Description of the video:
Panoramic shot of an empty Bill Armstrong Stadium – which has a green soccer field in the middle and oval gravel track around the outside and stands for the spectators.
Sameera: The town of Bloomington Indiana is famously known for a college bike race named the little 500 which has been dubbed the world’s greatest College weekend.
Reporter Sameera speaking to the camera.
Sameera: But what people may not know is, in 1979, a film entitled Breaking Away was produced after this race.
Interview with Mark Bruin in front of Sample Gates. He is wearing an IU hat.
Mark: My name is Mark Bruin. I was the associate vice president for Public Safety and Institutional Assurance. It’s a huge event. It happens once a year. 25,000 people come to Indiana University, which of course is a third again as many people as Bloomington’s population, and so there’s a lot of people, there’s a lot of excitement, there’s families, there’s students and just a lot of fun being had, I think.
Interview with IU senior Cooper Hudson, also wearing an IU hat.
Cooper: And it gets very competitive towards the end — I mean the crowd gets super into it. And you wouldn’t think they would, because it’s “just a bike race.” But, yeah, everybody likes watching those last five to ten laps because they do get into it.
Interview with 3 members of The Cutters, member of the 2023 winning team.
Cutter team member: Because it grows you as a person and like teaches you like how to work with teammates and just gets you involved in a community of cyclists, which is really great as well, and a really nurturing experience.
The other team members nod in agreement.
Images of current house and street and buildings around town where Breaking away was filmed on location.
Mark: I think a lot of people didn’t know about the race until the movie came out, and I think people who did know about the race and were able to watch the movie and see how much fun was being had, and how the race was put on, and how serious it was — even professional — I think they decided then to come as well, so I think it really did increase the popularity.
Sameera: I’m Sameera from HSJI news reporting.
By Sameera Degaulle, Walnut Hill High School, Ryan Miller, Floyd Central High School, and Jalen Ferguson, Merrillville High School
Bloomington, Indiana is a town of traditions. From restaurants to recreation, the people here have created memories that will last a lifetime, and one of the biggest traditions is the Little 500.
Little 500, modeled after the Indy 500, is the largest college bike race in the United States and attracts people from all around and from all ages.
“It’s something everyone gets excited for, even the teachers, professors, and grad students,” said Cooper Hudson, a senior at Indiana University.
The Little 500 received so much traction that a movie was even created as a tribute to the race. The 1979 classic entitled Breaking Away follows the life of Indiana local Dave Stohler as he carries out his dream of becoming a cyclist.
The movie was released to predominantly positive reviews, with acclaimed movie critics such as Roger Ebert describing it as a “Wonderfully sunny, funny, goofy, intelligent movie.”
“I think the movie was pretty real to that time,” said Mark Bruhn, a former Associate Vice President at Indiana University, “There’s a lot changed now, there are more sponsorships, the teams are more professional, and so that view in the 70s doesn’t match what is happening now, other than the general excitement surrounding the entire event.”
The Little 500 annually takes place on the third weekend of April at Bill-Armstrong Stadium.
Breaking Away became quite successful and went on to win awards such as Best Motion Picture for a Musical or Comedy and more. As the movie skyrocketed, so did the popularity of the Little 500.
“I think people didn’t know about the race until the movie came out, and I think people who did know about the race were able to watch the movie and see how much fun was being had, and how the race was put on,” Bruhn said, “I think they decided then to go as well and it really did increase the popularity.”
The race began in 1951 as a way to raise scholarship money for Indiana University undergraduate students who need it. Since then, the Little 500 has blossomed into a lasting tradition that the whole town comes out to support.
“It [Little 500] is something that everyone gets involved with,” Hudson said, “Even local businesses will do stuff for the Little 500.”
Ultimately, both Breaking Away and Little 500 have had a big influence on Bloomington culture.
“There’s a lot of people, there’s a lot of excitement, there’s family, there’s students, and just a lot of fun being had I think,” Bruhn said.