13岁的艾米（安娜·帕奎因 Anna Paquin 饰）在一场交通事故中失去了母亲，只好被送到与母亲离异多年的父亲（杰夫·丹尼尔斯 Jeff Daniels 饰）身边。父亲经营着一座农场，整日琢磨各种稀奇古怪的发明，面对已经长大的艾米难免不知所措，二人最初的相处生疏而隔阂。艾米收拾好丧母之痛，也努力适应农场生活，一日在一片树丛发现一窝被遗弃的大雁蛋，她小心将它们捧回家里，并成功孵出一窝小雁，但是出于政府野雁不可以家养的规定，艾米必须要令这些小雁放归自然。父亲想出了奇妙的主意帮助艾米，他动手为她制作了一架滑翔机，让她带着小雁学会飞翔，然后在迁徙季节一路护送“雁妈妈”艾米带领小雁们飞向安大略湖，在这个过程中，一对父女的心也开始紧紧连在一起……

故事发生在1987年，席恩（基努·里维斯 Keanu Reeves 饰）虽然只是一介名不见经传小小擦船工，却拥有着与生俱来的橄榄球天赋，并且深深的热爱着这一项充满了竞争和冲突的体育运动。在令人兴奋而又充满了期待的赛季即将开始之际，明星球员们却突然发起了罢工运动，眼看着球赛的票都销售殆尽，这可急坏了球队老板。
就在这个节骨眼上，席恩站了出来，成为了球队的教练，并且开始了替补球员的招募。就这样，一个个从事着和橄榄球毫无关系的职业的男人们汇聚到了一起，他们之间唯一的共同点就是对橄榄球运动的热爱。虽然席恩有着强大的号召力和凝聚力，但这些替补队员们毕竟只是初出茅庐的菜鸟，他们真的能够在席恩的训练之下站到绿茵场之上吗？

John Langer, (John Hurt) a crusty old civic engineer, has an arsenal full of memories. With irreverent wit, he rattles on, in his irascible humorous style, burning his spicy stories into the imagination of a young neighbor kid, Danny Himes (Gregory Smith). Danny is a gifted, spirited athlete with something to prove. Worldly, old man Langer has turned his back on proving anything at all. It's post WWII. Danny's father, Earl, (David Strathairn) did not serve in the military and is considered a coward. Danny excels to overcome his father's reputation while Earl is actually more a man than the town knows. "You don't smoke, you don't drink, and you don't screw. What kind of man are you anyway?" old man Langer asks Danny. The more appropriate question is: "What kind of men are they?"