Gus Matthews

Do-Gooder
Full Name	Gus Matthews
Alias(es)	Gus Bus
Origin	The Benchwarmers
Occupation	Landscaper, Pitcher
Powers / Skills	Pitching skills
Hobby	Pitching,
Goals	No information
Family	Liz (wife)
Friends / Allies	Richie Goodman Clark Reedy Mel Carmichael Nelson Carmichael
Enemies	Jerry McDowell
Type of Hero	Reluctant Hero

Gus Matthews is the main protagonist of the 2006 sports comedy film The Benchwarmers.

Gus is a landscaper who hates seeing kids bullied. He is friends with Video Clerk Richie Goodman and Paperboy Clark Reedy. Reluctant to get his wife Liz pregnant, he spends most of his free time playing ball, and uses some profanity.

He was portrayed by Rob Schneider who also played Deuce Bigalow.

History

One day Gus Richie and Clark win agianst a bullysome team after the team farted in a boy named Nelson Carmichael's face. That evening, the teams coach and also the trio's childhood rival, Jerry McDowell confronted the three and insulted them calling them names "Clark the Dork and Richie Bitchy" to which Gus responded with "Fairy Jerry". Jerry responds with "Gus Bus" . Gus and his friends leave.

Later, Nelson's billionaire father, Mel, tells the trio that he is impressed with their wins, and explains his plan to hold a round-robin with all the mean spirited little league teams in the state, plus their team. The winners will be given access to a new multi-million dollar baseball park that he is building. Wanting to capture the spirit and fun they never had when they were kids, the three decide to form the Benchwarmers and join the tournament. They prepare to compete with all the other teams, despite the fact that they are three adults squaring off against nine kids per team. Jerry and his jocks continue to spy on the Benchwarmers as they continue win every game, much to his frustration and confusion.

At the semi-final game, Jerry convinces coach Wayne to bribe the umpire by entering his Dominican friend Carlos into the league claiming him to be 12 years old (despite the fake birth certificate being written in green crayon). Carlos proved to be a professional, who purposely stepped on Gus' hand to to injure it to much for him to pitch. But the Benchwarmers eventually manage to defeat Carlos by making him too drunk to actually pitch properly and they manage to win when Richie's agoraphobic brother Howie is hit by the pitch but forces the winning run.

However, Jerry's jocks find evidence that Gus was a bully himself; known for using name calling over physical force and had bullied one child so intensely that the boy, named Marcus, had to be sent to a mental institution. Taking advantage, Jerry exposed Gus' secret to the public, resulting in Gus getting kicked out of the team. However, on his wife Liz's advice, Gus sincerely apologized to Marcus, who before the final game, made an incredible speech that he forgave him. Gus is kicked off the team as a result.

At Liz's, suggestion, Gus apologizes to Marcus. Marcus arrives at the final game to reveal to the crowd that Gus had apologized and felt awful about what he did when he was kid, and Gus re-joins the team, announcing that Marcus is the Benchwarmers' new third-base coach. While Karl, Wayne, and Brad and the whole crowd were touched by the speech, Jerry was the only one unmoved.

In the final game, Gus, Clark and Richie do not play; rather, they let a team of Nelson and other children play, to give them a chance to compete. The final is played against a team with a heartless coach, Jerry, who practically torments his players – and was Richie and Clark's main bully when they were children. Nelson hits the ball, and Jerry's team lets him score a run, saying that Jerry is "the loser". The Benchwarmers storm the field, celebrating the fact that they were not shut out, and they give an enraged Jerry a taste of his own medicine, giving him a wedgie. Later, The Benchwarmers celebrate at Pizza Hut where Richie and Clark manage to kiss girls, and Gus celebrates as he will become a father.

Trivia

• Gus was nicknamed Gus Bus by Jerry McDowell or Fairy Jerry

Gallery

Gus and Liz trying to start a family—well, mostly Liz, while Gus is a bit reluctant for some reason.

Gus Richie and Clark receive their Benchwarmer outfits

Gus, Clark and Richie with Mel Carmichael

Gus with Reggie Jackson

"I'm afraid if we have kids, they're gonna be picked on without mercy 'cause karma'll be catching up with me."