Dear Michael Polydoros, Inspiration For An Iconic Nerd

I saw [The Sandlot] was currently on Hulu and I was looking for a movie to half pay attention to while getting some work done. I have loved this movie for 28 years so it was a no brainer to turn it on.

I’m easily distracted when I work so I found myself on Wikipedia reading their entry for The Sandlot. I learned that a man named Michael Polydoros sued 20th Century Fox and the producers of the film for defamation. He claimed the character Michael “Squints” Palledorous was based on him and now people were calling him “Squints.”

I can’t help but scratch my head and the writer, because that dude didn’t do very much to change the character’s name. I read a few Google articles and I also learned that the writer of the movie, David Mickey Evans, was one of the more popular kids growing up while Michael Polydoros was not so much.

My immediate concern was that I was not going to be able to enjoy this movie any longer if the writer was a dick. But as I continued to watch the movie, I remembered how cool of a character Michael Polydoros/Squints is.

He’s the one who gets to kiss the beautiful lifeguard and becomes the envy of the group. Squints is also the one who gets to tell the tale of The Beast! A story that I’ll remember… For-ev-er!

I don’t know if Michael Polydoros will ever read this page but if he does: Own it, man! There’s no reason to feel ashamed or defamed. You were the inspiration for a cool and likeable character. Enjoy having yourself immortalized even if it is just a similar name and appearance. There’s thousands of nerds out there who are no doubt envious.