Is All American Based on a True Story?
All American is a sports drama series that follows the life of Spencer James, a young high-school football player raised in the Crenshaw community. Spencer’s life changes when he moves from Crenshaw to Beverly Hills in order to play football for Beverly Hill Eagles. He has to adapt and find a way to fit into a new society while also keeping his private life and football performance in the line.
All American brings to light many modern problems that teenagers face and also tackles some real issues that American society struggles with such as social status differences, racial problems, and gang issues. However, Spencer James is a top-notch athlete whose dream is to one day become a professional NFL player, which is the show’s center. But, is All American based on a true story?
All American is based on a true story. The story follows the life of Spencer James, a young high-school football player whose character is based on a real person, Spencer Paysinger. Paysinger is a former American football linebacker and the story of the show was inspired by his life, and some other characters in the show were also based on the people close to Paysinger in real life.
The show is based on a true story and that just gives it even more depth and meaning. The fun fact is that the ‘real’ Spencer also shows up in several episodes of the series, playing Assistant Coach Davis. However, as this usually goes, the show has the liberty to add up or change some things that did not necessarily happen in real life and we’ll dig into that further on.
Spencer James’s character is based on a former football player, Spencer Paysinger
Spencer James’s character, played by Daniel Ezra, is based on a real-life person, Spencer Paysinger. Paysinger is a former football player whose professional NFL career started in 2011 and ended in 2017. NY Jets and Miami Dolphins were the main clubs he played for and his main position was linebacker. In the show, this is somewhat different as Spencer’s main position is wide receiver.
In the show, we follow the life of Spencer James and his transition from Crenshaw to high school in Beverly Hills. After some time he comes back to Crenshaw high-school to help his community. However, in the real life that didn’t happen as Paysinger spent his high-school career entirely in Beverly Hills.
Spencer Paysinger’s family was all about football as his uncle Carter Paysinger was the head football coach at Beverly Hills high school and his father, Donald Paysinger, worked as an assistant and later became head coach at Beverly Hills high school. The show changed this a bit, as Spencer James’s father, Corey James never worked in BHHS, but was a professional footballer who later became a coach. However, he dies in the show so Spencer wants to continue carrying his legacy. Also, Olivia Baker is one of the most important people in Spencer’s life in the show, and her character is most likely based on Spencer Paysinger’s wife, Blair.
South Crenshaw is actually South Central
In the show, Spencer James is a high school student from South Crenshaw. South Crenshaw is portrayed as a community where gang violence, drugs, and a modest way of living are a part of their daily lives. The goal was to highlight those problems as much as possible in the show so the difference between Crenshaw and Beverly Hills would be even more noticeable.
However, we also get to see South Crenshaw as a community where people are willing to stand up for what is right and are willing to help each other. South Crenshaw is based on the town South Central from where Spencer Paysinger actually is in the real life.
When Spencer leaves South Crenshaw and transfers to BHHS, he moves in into Coach Baker’s house. Then he starts to realize the big differences between these two worlds. Instead of the gangs and poverty, he then faces new problems like social status differences and the problems that ‘rich kids’ face.
Conclusion
The CW’s show All American is based on a true story. It is a sports drama series that follows the life of Spencer James, a young high-school football player raised in the Crenshaw community who then moves to Beverly Hills. The life of Spencer James is based on the life of Spencer Paysinger. Paysinger is a former football player whose professional NFL career started in 2011 and ended in 2017. He played for NY Jets and Miami Dolphins among other clubs.
Some events that happen in the show really did happen while others are altered or changed. This show is a coming-of-age story of a high school football player whose dream is to eventually make it to the NFL. It is also a story about family, friendship, love, and struggles that come along with the pursuit of one’s dreams.
Spencer Paysinger himself also shows up in several episodes of the series, playing Assistant Coach Davis, and is a consulting producer of the show.
