Sports movies are a combination of two of my favorite things – sports and movies. Add in an attractive female or two and you’ve hit the trifecta.
With that said, below are my top 10 sports movies of all time.
10) Cool Runnings (1993)
Loosely based on the true story of the Jamaican bobsled team that entered the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. Heartwarming and funny.
9) Major League (1989)
A group of misfits come together to form a winning team - with a few comedic moments along the way.
8) Remember the Titans (2000)
This movie tells a poignant true story of race relations, all-the-while keeping itself grounded in football.
7) Miracle (2004)
I’m sure you’ve been inundated with this movie over the past week or so watching the Olympics. But, did you know this was a remake of the also well-done Miracle On Ice (starring Steve Guttenberg).
6) Slap Shot (1977)
The familiar script, misfits come together to form a winning team – with a few comedic moments along the way, takes the form of a hockey movie. Excellent.
5) Rudy (1993)
Sean Astin may be one of the greatest actors of our generation. If you don’t get chills at the last scene, you’re dead to me.
4) Rocky/Rocky IV (1976/1985)
The dispute forever lives about which of these is the best Rocky film, but whichever you choose, there is no doubt that this underdog story tops most. There is even less doubt that Eye of The Tiger has become THE inspirational song. Nothing makes a sports movie like the training montage.
3) Goal! (2005)
This movie never received much notoriety in the US and in fact I only learned of it during a trip to China, but it’s AWESOME. From the hardship of illegally entering the US and risking everything Santiago Munez strives to fulfill a dream he once had given up.
2) Youngblood (1986)
Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze and Cynthia Gibb. In search of his NHL dream Dean Youngblood has to overcome a lot of obstacles and a little hazing along the way.
1) Necessary Roughness (1991)
Scott Bakula, Sinbad, Rob Schneider, Kathy Ireland. I know this isn’t a consensus favorite, but this is my list and I think this movie is classic.
Honorable Mentions (In no particular order. Yeah, there are a lot on this list, but if you haven’t seen some of these, then I’m doing you a favor) – Caddyshack, The Cutting Edge (a guiltless pleasure), Field of Dreams, White Men Can’t Jump, Hoosiers, Searching for Bobby Fischer (chess is as much a sport as Nascar), The Mighty Ducks, The Natural, Everyone’s Hero, Cinderella Man, Jerry Maguire, Bull Durham, Happy Gilmore, Brian’s Song, Dodgeball, Invincible, Kingpin, The Hustler, The Color of Money, Bend It Like Beckham, Green Street Hooligans (less about ‘soccer’ then the fanatics who love it, but great none-the-less), Side Out, Days of Thunder, Debbie Does Dallas (just thought I’d sneak that one in), A League of Their Own, The Karate Kid, The Bad News Bears, Airborne, Endless Summer 2, The Power of One (another movie where the sport –boxing- is a tool to tell a much more important story), The Sandlot.
Thoughts? Feel free to tell me what I missed or why I'm an idiot or what your favorite quotes are, etc.. In fact, I encourage discussions.
Monday, February 22, 2010
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I say Poop! That was the worst sports movie list...maybe ever. I can agree with Rocky (I-IV), Rudy without a doubt, Miracle (though the role it played inthe 2004 red Sox clubhouse has dropped it a few notches in my book), Slapshot and even Major League. But Leaving out Hoosiers, Caddyshack, The Natural and Field of Dreams is unforgivable! And if you're going to call Bobby Fischer a sports movie, I'd go so far as to say Rounders is a sports movie too.
ReplyDeleteThank you John and Lisa for your feedback.
ReplyDeleteFirst - I'll give you that 'Rounders' can qualify as a sports movie, but honestly it's completely overrated.. the 'tell' at the end is just plain ridiculous and kills the entire movie for me.
The other movies you mentioned are all excellent films, but they don't make my cut. The films I chose would, if on tv, make me watch 100% of the time, almost regardless of what else is on. The films you chose I'd watch maybe 50-75% of the time. Field of Dreams for instance is AMAZING the first time around, but after watching it 100 times there is little to draw me in. Major League, on the other hand, still makes me laugh after the 100th watching and Rudy still gives me that chill, and the Rocky training montage still makes me do push-ups in front of my TV.... Caddyshack was tough to leave off the list, but some movie had to be #11.
1) I doubt do push-ups in front of your tv.
ReplyDelete2) Your list was the 'Greatest Sports Movies of All-Time", not the "Greatest Re-watchable Sports Movies of All-Time."
3) Since we are talking about All-time movies - I'd recommend "Pride of the Yankees" with "Knute Rockne; All American" - yeah, they're oldies, and Black and White, but they practically invented the genre.