- When Norman first enters the school and is standing in the sunlit hall, when the classroom door on the left opens, a fluorescent light fixture is visible in the room. The production crew replaced most of the fluorescent fixtures in the school scenes with older, incandescent lights.
- A couple clues indicate that the Nineveh school, where the Hickory High scenes were shot, was an elementary school. One of the hallway coatracks hangs lower on the wall, and the nearby drinking fountain taps are not placed too high, so that younger, shorter kids can reach them.
- Principal Cletus Summers has on his desk a picture of his wife, Millie, and daughter, Loetta, who is one of the cheerleaders.
- At one of the first team practices, after Rade gripes, “Feels like we’re in the army,” and Norman responds, “You are. You’re in my army, every day between 3 and 5,” Merle salutes.
During the home games, on the wall behind the Huskers’ bench, a small rectangular outline is visible. A sign reading NO DRINKS IN GYM was removed before the games were filmed. But the sign is present in the scene where Norman is introduced to Jimmy, at the pep session, and when the little boy shoots baskets in the empty gym.- Even though Opal and Myra’s truck is a newer model, it’s very rusty.
- In the scene where Shooter visits Norman at home, a tattoo is visible on the coach’s left bicep, mostly hidden by his sleeve.
- In that same scene, Shooter picks up and holds a framed picture of Norman’s Ithaca State Warriors team, the 1939 National Small College champs. This photo was taken in the gym where the movie’s sectional game was filmed.
- During the Cedar Knob game, Norman benches Rade for speaking without permission. But Rade is seen back on the floor in the very next shot, before the fight breaks out.
- When the Huskers are in the barbershop getting haircuts, a team jacket is hanging from the antler of the antelope head mounted on the wall.
- In the montage of basketball games, the team names Bloomington and Decatur appear on scoreboards. These are the hometowns of the movie’s writer/producer and director, respectively.
- In the sectional game, after the fight breaks up, Terhune player #41 (J. June) has swelling and a cut near his left eye. In a subsequent shot, his facial injuries are gone.
- In the regional game, the cheerleaders for the Linton Wildcats have sweaters with the letter J on them. In the original script, Hickory was to play Jasper in the last game of the regional. (Jasper also is mentioned incorrectly in the movie’s closing credits; see the last item on this page.)
When the caravan departs for the state finals, the team bus and other vehicles are decorated with crepe paper streamers. Exposed to travel at highway speeds, these streamers would be ripped to shreds within minutes. But when the team bus pulls up in front of Butler Fieldhouse, all the streamers are intact.- When Norman and the Huskers first enter Butler Fieldhouse, a metal framework is visible in front of the upper-level bleachers on both sides. Before the filming of the game scenes, black cloth was hung on this framework to hide the highest bleachers and let them fall into darkness.
- Before the state-finals game, the national anthem is sung. After the last note, while the crowd is still standing quietly, a woman just to the right of the singer on the far right waves at the camera.
- In the last time-out huddle in the state-finals game, right after Coach Dale asks, “What’s the matter with you guys?”, Buddy and Rade are pictured in a shot by themselves. According to Brad Long, several days after the completion of state-finals filming, he and Steve Hollar were asked to return to an empty Hinkle Fieldhouse so that this shot could be captured.
- In the movie’s closing credits, “Referee – Logootee” should be “Referee – Lyons,” “Coach – Jasper” should be “Coach – Linton,” and “Player – Jasper” should be “Player – Linton.”
