The Gang Gives Back

"The Gang Gives Back" is the thirteenth episode of the American situation comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia aired on July 20, 2006 on the FX Network in the United States. The episode was directed by Dan Attias and written by Charlie Day.

Plot

It starts out 11:15 am on a Monday and the gang is out at a restaurant, complaining about their sentencing. Apparently, they got into trouble for burning down a building next door to Paddy's in the previous episode, "The Gang Goes Jihad". Each of them has at least 100 hours of community service to do, and they would rather pay lots of money than do that. Charlie has to pick up trash on the highway and go to an alcoholics anonymous meeting, too. The check for the food comes and it's costly because of the seven drinks Charlie had. The other three bolt, and Charlie does the same.

The gang goes back to Paddy's Pub and they see Asians smoking and gambling. Among them is the standout, Frank. He likes to gamble and says that Asians love to gamble. He met them 10 years ago on a business trip to Vietnam. Dennis and Dee are distressed and want the men out of the bar. Frank reminds his son that half of the bar is owned by him (the other half is Dennis, Mac, and Charlie's). Dennis threatens to sell their share; Mac and Charlie don't agree. Frank and his gambling buddies stay.

At the AA meeting, Charlie comes in drunk, is told that the first step to recovery is acknowledging his problem, and tries to convince the people there that he's not an alcoholic. He got in trouble because he was only a little drunk and used a lit-up bag of poop to throw at a building. He only wanted to make it smell bad. Him telling his story only certifies that he is an alcoholic.

Dee, Mac, and Dennis go to the place where they are given their service tasks. The first one they get assigned is to coach basketball teams. Since the guy in charge saw that Mac and Dennis were arguing right in front of him, he split them up so Mac and Dee were coaches of one team, and Dennis the other.

Still at the AA meeting, the waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) from the coffee shop comes up to Charlie and reluctantly offers to be his sponsor. She makes it clear that she doesn't want to go out, flirt, have sex, or anything similar to that with Charlie. He really likes her and accepts her offer. She gives him her phone number and hopes that she doesn't regret giving him her number, and overall being his sponsor.

They even go to her house and Charlie tries to flirt with her and seduce her but she's not buying any of his moves, like him taking off his jacket or sitting down on her sofa/chair, or taking his shoes off.

At the recreational gym, the other three try to pick teams, first Dennis getting all the black kids. Dee and Mac call him out on that because they say that it's unfair. It turns out there are already teams. Dee and Mac are coaches of the Ducks and Dennis is the coach of the Wildcats. But the players on the team suck and on the Wildcats, one boy is wearing flip-flops and another is only wearing socks. On the Ducks side, Dee and Mac fight to be head coach. They play to 21. Mac uses physical force and elbows Dee in the face and is able to win, becoming the head coach. Dee is on the ground, writhing with pain.

At the bar, Frank finds out that the three are coaching basketball and comes up with an idea to coach, too. He also wants to do more father and son stuff with Dennis.

It's been a couple days since Charlie's been sober and he's still trying to put the moves on the waitress. He's doing pushups and flexing his biceps. The waitress starts asking him about Dennis, finds out that he's coaching kids, and thinks that it's really sweet of him. Charlie says that he is down at the rec gym at that very moment and the waitress wants to go immediately. Charlie thinks he's finally getting somewhere with her. She has to change and kicks Charlie out, much to his dismay.

At the rec gym, Mac stresses that using elbows and knees is the best way to take down an opponent and get the ball. Dee, as assistant coach, is dressed in a yellow business suit. Dennis is using the 'stomp on their feet' method, noting that the foot will break in three places. It turns out that this kid, Chris (Carlon Jeffery), who happens to be black, is the best player (on either team). Dennis knows this, and Frank knows this; Frank came because he wanted to help coach and Dennis was late so Frank offered to step in. Dennis is angry with his dad for trying to take over everything he does and Frank challenges him to see if he can coach the team. Best of three free throws is the challenge. Frank wins. The season schedule comes out and the first game of the season has the Ducks against the Wildcats. A bet, starting at $100 and going up to $500, gets made by the three (4 if you count Frank) coaches and the challenge is on. Later on a break, the waitress comes to say hi to Dennis. She likes Dennis almost as bad as Charlie likes her. She wonders if maybe later on, some day soon, she and Dennis could get together again. Dennis practically brushes her off and goes back to coaching.

Game day has arrived and the teams are prepping. The waitress is there. Dee is still in her yellow suit. Mac shows the kids that by sticking a safety pin the pointy end out on a wrist band, it can inflict much pain on the opponent. Dennis gives the kid who was wearing flip flops some heavy duty army-type boots with a steel toe. He tells him to use it wisely. The game cannot start without a referee and it just so happens that Charlie volunteered to ref for the game. He did it to impress the waitress but she told him that the only reason she became his sponsor was to get closer to Dennis. Charlie was not aware of this and this gets him really upset. So Charlie got drunk; he's drunk while reffing the game. (Frank paid Chris, the good player, off with a bicycle to teach Dennis about gambling. Chris is not to show up to the game and the Wildcats will then be the underdogs.) Dennis goes to find Chris and finds out that Frank had something to do with it. The Asians just happen to be there and it makes Frank look suspicious (the viewers can assume that he made bets, possibly for the Ducks to win). Dennis calls Frank out, saying that he fixed the game, the Asians get upset, and the game has to be called off. But Charlie doesn't listen to Dennis and starts the game anyway.

The game is hilarious, with kids beating and pushing and elbowing each other. Mac deploys the 'safety-pin on wrist band' play, and the kid who has the wrist band stabs the person who has the ball and is able to get the ball. The kid with the steel toe boots steps on another kid's feet and get the ball. The Ducks are in the lead, though, with all the foul play going on. Even Charlie gets some action and shoots a couple shots and blocks one kid's shot attempt. Dennis still wants to call it off, since anyway he's losing. Everyone breaks into fighting, even the spectators on the bleachers. Charlie yells out to the waitress, "Do you see what you've done?!"

During the credits, the TV audience sees the gang on the side of a highway, wearing orange vests and picking up trash.