I love sports. If I’m not at a game, I’m watching one on TV. If I’m not watching sports on TV, I’m playing a sports game on the 360. I’m a huge football and boxing fan, but I enjoy watching everything from golf to rugby. With that being said, it should be no surprise that I also enjoy watching sports movies. I’ve seen just about all of them: everything from the documentaries to the kids movies, from The Pride of the Yankees to Little Giants. Not too many of my friends like sports like I do, if they even like them at all. I usually can’t get them to watch a game with me, but I can get them to watch movies that involve sports. If you think about it, most sports movies aren’t really about sports. They are usually about working together as a team, overcoming adversity, not losing sight of your dreams: things that people can relate to even if they aren’t a sports fan. For me, I appreciate sports movies because it seems like these days, movies are the only place where you can get a sense of the spirit of the game – something that has become all but lost in professional sports. You actually get to see camaraderie  and athletes who play for the love of the game, unlike in the real world where it’s become all about personal stats, egos, and contracts.

Here is my list of favorite sports movies that appeal to sports enthusiasts and non-sports fans alike:

Wildcats · Probably my favorite football comedy. I thought it was great when I was a kid, but I think I like it better now as an adult. Goldie Hawn is wonderful as the unlikely high school football coach who gains the respect of her players and turns the team around. It’s also pretty funny watching Wesley Snipes as a high school football star. Plus, who can forget the “ghetto cheerleaders” and the “Football Rap”:

The Sandlot · It might be a kids movie but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good watch for adults. When I was a kid, I spent most of my summer vacation playing baseball on the field at the elementary school behind my house. The Sandlot reminds me of how much fun I had back then… before I had to worry about bills, the economy, and other boring grown-up stuff.

Rudy · Awesome movie that is a must see for everyone! It’s the story of a young man whose only dream in life is to play college football for Notre Dame, despite the fact that he’s constantly told that he’s “way too small.” Rudy (played by Sean Astin) is one of those characters that you become emotionally invested in and you root for him, the underdog, from beginning to end.

Pride · I watched this movie and I loved it. I thought that Terrance Howard, Bernie Mac and Tom Arnold were wonderful in their roles. I had no clue that it was thought of as controversial and got such bad reviews on IMDb until I did research to write this post! Since racism is such an understandably sensitive topic, any movie that deals with the topic does set itself up to be scrutinized. I say, read the synopsis and the reviews, and then watch it for yourself. No matter if you think that “it’s been done before” or that it is predicable, you’ll still probably agree that it’s a good movie overall.

Tin Cup · Some will argue that this is more of a chick-flick than it is a sports movie. It is probably more about a budding relationship than it is about golf, but that’s what makes this movie “watchable” by so many. If you are a guy who likes all things sports, Tin Cup is a good compromise. It’s a good movie you can watch with your girlfriend or wife – even if she despises the fact that you pay more attention to ESPN than you do to her. She’ll like the fact that it stars Kevin Costner.

Best of Times · Another classic football comedy, this time staring Kurt Russell and Robin Williams as 30-some year old former high school football players. Russell and Williams agree to play one last game against their former rival football team and become the talk of the town. Not a lot of people like this movie, but I do – I thought it was fun.

Glory Road · Inspired by the true story of Coach Don Haskins and his 1965-1966 Texas Western Minors basketball team. Haskins, played by Josh Lucas, leads his team to win the NCAA National Basketball Championship against Kentucky. Thing is, the 65-66 Minors were the first team whose starting line up was comprised mostly of black players. It’s amazing that those young men, both black and white, endured so much racism and still managed to stick together as a team and win the championship. It was an amazing triumph that changed the history of basketball and sports, as we know it.

Happy Gilmore · I, like a lot of people, found golf to be slow and boring. I didn’t like the sport or its players until a few years ago. I went to a driving range a few times years ago with an ex-boyfriend and realized that it’s real effing hard to hit that little white ball. After that, I somehow learned to love playing Tiger Woods Golf on Xbox. But back when I hated it, I had (and still have) a total appreciation for Happy Gilmore. It’s more about Adam Sandler being Adam Sandler than it is about anything else, but it does revolve around golf. Well, poking fun at golf.

A League of Their Own · Awesome movie. I could list hundreds of reasons why you should love this movie, but instead, I’ll share with you why I love it. My grandmom, who raised me, moved to Baltimore from a small town in WV (Mannington, ever heard of it?) in the ’40s during WWII to work for the Social Security Administration, which had recruited her. Just like the ladies from A League of Their Own, she was filling a position that was left vacant when all of the men had to go to war. My grandmom wasn’t what you would call a feminist, but she made sure to let me know that I could do any job that men could, possibly even better. The ladies in A League of Their Own did just that. This is a great movie for parents to watch with their daughters to show them that there are better role models out there than Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian or those girls from the Hills.

Invincible · Last but certainly not least, my favorite sports movie of present time. I grew up in Baltimore in a family full of Baltimore Colts fanatics. We had Colts everything from autographed pictures, pennants flags, and photos of Memorial Stadium all over our walls. Before I was born, my grandfather used to have Artie Donovan over to the house all of the time. For some reason, they used to like to make a mess of the kitchen, drink some Boh, and make cabbage rolls. Anyways, by the time I was interested in sports, the Mayflower trucks had long left Baltimore for Indianapolis so I watched the games every Sunday and had to choose my favorite teams on my own. I chose the Green Bay Packers and the more local Philadelphia Eagles. So back on to the movie… Invincible is based on the true story of Vince Papale, played by Mark Wahlberg. He was a 30 year old bartender / teacher from South Philly who ends up trying out for the Eagles in 1976 during open try-outs. Not only does he make the cut, he plays with the team for three years. Might not sound like much, but it’s an amazing story of great guy who from a neighborhood, much like the one that I grew up in, who followed his dreams and succeeded. It’s a feel good movie with an awesome soundtrack that I recommend for sports fans and non-sports fan alike.

I know that I left out quite a few movies but I had to narrow it down to ten. I also chose movies that I thought would be enjoyable for the masses, not just sports enthusiasts. If you have anything you’d like to add, please feel free to leave a comment and do so.

Tags: baseball, basketball, football, golf, sports

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Lists, Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.