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GREENSBORO — Cold beer sat on ice for students in the class.

Boxes of Cracker Jack and peanuts sat nearby.

Most students for this film course at Greensboro College were baseball geeks, but they didn't have to be to appreciate what they were watching.

This group gathered Tuesday for the last screening in the course, "Baseball at the Movies."

Students watched films and talked about the messages on the field and beyond.

In "Cobb," they saw the bio of misanthropic Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, then talked about social interaction.

The comedy "Major League," about a ragtag Cleveland Indians club, led to talks on satires of the game and baseball movies.

For the final film, "Fever Pitch," they talked about how the film was made during the 2004 Boston Red Sox's run to the World Series title — their first in 86 years.

"After the last three-quarters or five-sixths you saw, it had to be re-shot," said Michael Carter, one of the students.

The movie, scripted to tell the story of a rabid fan of a team that hadn't won a title in decades, had to be rewritten as the Red Sox won.

The course was a non-credit, continuing education class to cover a game that some fans call a metaphor for life.

"Films are a great projective device," said Dr. Paul Leslie, professor of sociology, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Greensboro College, who led the class. "They give us prompts to talk about and discuss and analyze."

He created the class, which was open to non-Greensboro College students.

Leslie speaks with the accent of his Worcester, Mass., hometown. He remembers the 2004 season and knows what baseball can do to a fan.

He grew up cheering for the Red Sox, after all.

"I was in Oregon at an ethics conference, and I was reduced to yelling at a television in the bar of a hotel," he said.

A few Yankees fans grumbled at the screening, but took it in stride.

But "A League of Their Own," about the women's professional baseball league of the 1940s, sparked a talk about gender issues and social norms for athletes.

"I don't know, maybe there is crying in baseball," Leslie said, referring to Tom Hanks' classic line in the film. "Who knows?"

Another student, Salem Owens, is a fan of minor-league ball. She identified with "Bull Durham."

"Yes, it's got some camp, too, but it's the most accurate depiction of minor-league life," said Owens, who has season tickets behind home plate for Greensboro Grasshoppers games.

Leslie is considering teaching a similar class during the fall semester.

Before that, here's one more stab at the answer.

"I think it's showing up every day and doing the best you can," Leslie said of baseball's metaphor for life. "To be the best you can be, to contribute the most, even if you're not the star of the team, but for the sake of overcoming adversity."

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com