In my childhood days, my family always went to lots of movies. They used to change the selection three times a week and most were double features. There were no multiplexes in those days. Saturday matinees were an automatic part of my weekly routine from the time I was six years old. During World War II it was pretty much our only form of entertainment.

Musicals were my Mom’s favorites and Westerns were my Dad’s. A sprinkling of love stories and gangster flics and you have the bill-of-fare. Once in a great while, sports was the theme. Way back in the day, William Bendix portrayed the great Babe Ruth and Gary Cooper’s Lou Gherig were the only two I really remember from my early childhood.

The thing I remember most is that the majority of the actors in those movies looked as if they had never thrown or caught a ball. Over the years the sports movies have really improved as the actors actually looked as if they could play a little.

Robert Redford’s swing in “The Natural” well, it looked natural. In the historical and hysterical “A League of Their Own” most of the ladies were very credible.

Basketball is a tough one. Two bounces of the ball and you know whether the person can actually play or not. “White Men Can’t Jump” stars Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes. Both can play a little and they were surrounded by real players, some of which played in the NBA.

Some of my favorites are “Bull Durham” and “Tin Cup” where Kevin Costner got to show off his swings. Add “Moneyball,” “Trouble With the Curve,” Burt Reynolds and “The Mean Machine,” “The Replacements” (Gene Hackman) and one of my all-time favorites, “Hoosiers” (Mr. Hackman again) and you have viewing pleasure for a couple of Saturday night’s at the movies.

My point in all of this? Being authentic is critical to the communication of your message. It is difficult for people to have the experience you would want when you don’t appear to be someone that can be taken seriously.