Greatest Sports Movies

[IrishCanadian25]

I came to a stunning realization today while on the toilet. In terns of overall influence and important, The Mighty Ducks may be the greatest sports movie ever made.

And yes, I know, just months ago I spent loads of time on a thread calling the2nd Mighty Duck film the WORST ever, but think about it...has a sports movie OTHER than TMD's EVER spurned an entire, major professional sports franchise, EVER?

The Anaheim Ducks only exist because of the films. Disney found such success with Emilo Estevez's drunken lawyer and Joshua Jackson's barely pubescent, pre-teacher screwing days that they went out and sunk MILLIONS into the creating of this franchise. What other film can boast that?

But what is the greatest sports movie ever? Major League? Remember the Titans? Caddyshack? Poll will go up after I've gotten some nominations.

 

[Slyfox696]

Hoosiers and The Natural


You can't have a movie discussion about the best sports movies without including these two movies. Hoosiers is THE movie to watch for motivation, whether it be basketball or any other sport. It's quality is unmatched, and the history behind the movie is incredible. Incredibly well-made, extremely well-acted, and even very realistic in terms of the basketball action, just a great movie all around.

The Natural, starring Robert Redford, is another outstanding movie. Unfortunately, it's not as popular as other movies. These days, the movie kind of flies under the radar of sports movies. But, if you have seen this movie, you know for a fact that there is a deep emotional stirring inside of you during the final scenes of the movie. I won't ruin the end for anyone, but if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

In my mind, these are probably the top two sports movies of all time.

Some others that deserve mention (in addition to IC's list):

Bull Durham
Rocky 1
Rocky 2
Varsity Blues
The Karate Kid
Best of the Best

 

[klunderbunker]

I'd agree with those two, and also Rocky one and two. All four are absolute classics no matter how you look at them. Also for a wrestling connection, Bret Hart has said he got the best there is best there was best there ever will be line from the Natural.

These are all for the most part serious movies. I'd like to offer up the Sandlot and Major League.

Major League is nothing but comedy the whole way. Maybe its that I'm a diehard fan of Cleveland, but this is just gold all the way through. From Wesley Snipes to the Allstate Guy, there is never a bad moment.

Now for what might be my favorite sports movie ever, save for perhaps Rocky, we have the Sandlot. This is the perfect movie to show what sports can mean to kids. The baseball is the perfect catalyst for showing the main character grow up. It's an adventure movie, but at the end of the day, its all about the baseball.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I myself am very biased towards Angels In the Outfield. I cant count the amount of times I have seen this movie. Great Story, with some good bits of comedy and a serious undertone kept me hooked as a kid. I used to watch it everyday for at least a month coming home from school.

Friday Night Lights is another good one. It shows just how much high school football means to some. With a good cast and acting, it really is a top notch movie. I would also say that Facing the Giants is a good sports movie, but that is more religion based. But what kind of sports movie isnt based on some kind of faith?

 

[Davi323]

if I were to nominate films, my number one sports movie of all time is a no-brainer for me, its gotta be Rocky, the ultimate "underdog" story.

Other movies that should be considered as an all-time great sports film, in no particular order, would be:
Hoosiers
Rudy
Bull Durham
Raging Bull
Brian's Song (original)
We Are Marshall
Miracle
The Longest Yard (original)
The Sandlot
Slapshot
The Natural

 

[jmt225]

First, I want to state that of all the Ducks movies, Number 3 is by far my favorite and the one I consider to be the best.

But, with that said, D3 is not the greatest sports movie ever made. If people want to consider "The Karate Kid" a sports movie, then that would be my first pick. If not, then the honor would have to go to "Rudy". There is no movie that every single time I watch it accomplishes to give me goosebumps, except for "Rudy". The movie is fantastic.

Other recommendations from me would have to be "61*", "A League of Their Own", "Rocky", "Raging Bull", "Remember The Titans", "Any Given Sunday", "The Greatest Game Ever Played", "Varsity Blues" is a personal favorite, "The Bad News Bears", "The Sandlot" is another personal favorite, "Hoosiers", and there are plenty of more I love, but those are the one's I would consider if making the greatest sports films of all time list.

And I really hope "Caddyshack" doesn't make this list. I love Bill Murray, but that movie is terrible. God I hate it.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Friday Night Lights is an amazing film. Hands down. Well acted, heart-wrenching, LOTS of levels to it, from sports, class, race, etc.

Sly is spot on with Hoosiers. I am not as high on "The Natural" but Hooisers is a classic.

If you want motivation, look no further than RUDY. THe greatest motivational moive EVER. That story ALWAYS gets me, and that was my HS Wrestling Nickname because I never missed practice, got my ass kicked, and won my only match on the last day of my last season.

Speaking of which, who has seen VISION QUEST?

 

[Slyfox696]

Wow, I SOOO cannot believe I forgot Rudy. I am going to dedicate another post just to it.

Rudy is THE football movie to watch for inspiration. I like Hoosiers more for the team aspect, and Rudy more for the individual aspect. Watching the end of the movie, and see how it ends always ALWAYS brings a tear to my eye. It's so moving and heartfelt, and you can literally get swept away in all of it.

I also hold a special place in my heart for this movie as Notre Dame football is my favorite college football program. I'm a big Mizzou fan, but Notre Dame will always be number one. I remember growing up, much like Rudy did, sitting in front of the TV (not radio) with my dad, watching every Notre Dame game, cheering their wins, and booing their opponents. I remember my dad going crazy with glee back in 1993 when Notre Dame beat #1 Florida State to put themselves squarely in the national championship picture. I remember our hearts sinking when Boston College kicked a field goal at the end of the next game, beating Notre Dame. And I remember my dad cursing like crazy when it was decided that FLORIDA STATE, the team Notre Dame beat, was to play for the National Title and was named the college football national champions.

I remember the Bob Davie era, and the one good year they had. I remember the magazines that came out, comparing Ron Paulus to a guy by the name of Peyton Manning (ever heard of him?). I remember Davie out and George O' Leary in. I remember O'Leary falsifying resume and Willingham in. I remember the first Willingham year, and the dropoff after. And I still follow to this day. My whole life has been following Notre Dame football.

And when I was growing up, I always dreamed of being the next Rudy. Being able to just walk out that tunnel, step on that grass, and play in front of those fans. Needless to say, that didn't happen, but Rudy was always a dream of mine.

And it's one hell of a movie.

 

[BooCocky]

wow, i always thought Rudy sucked.

I am going with Bull Durham, there is something about this movie i love. I dont know if its my weird infatuation with Kevin Costner or the fact that it was a move with several different stories. It was a love story and a story of a guy who truly loved the game even though he was a career minor leaguer. The movie was funny at times, it was sort of a love story and it was an all around good movie

BTW Fridau Night Lights was a terrific movie. It was what a football town should be. It brought the whole town together, and it was a sad movie.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I didn't care for Varsity Blues at all. It was overacted, cheesy, and a bit disjointed. I actually enjoyed the "Not Another Teen Movie" spoof more. "Coach says it's ok to bleed from the ears!"

Jon Voigt was BY FAR the highlight of that film. He played one of the most hated characters in sports film history (along with the woman who played Rachel Phelps in Major League and Chong Li from Bloodsport) as the coach of that team, how he'd turn on people in a second for his own personal gain.

A League of Thier Own is absolutely classic. It's one of the best funny sports films ever, and it is infinitely quotable. I'd even say is as funny as Major League, as well as being a) based on a true story and b) realistic. The way the Rockford Peaches lost at the end to Racine was a nice surprise, and it brought the storylines together nicely. Also, brining the team back at the end was heartwarming, especially when Stillwell tells Dottie Henson that his mom had passed away.

As a motivational speaker (yes, I do that too) I derive a lot of great quotes from films. My motivational speaking coach and mentor from my University used to show this clip in his classes to remind people to stay focused on their long term goals regardless of hardships:

[youtube]m888nlVxZu8[/youtube]

Shit, Dottie, if you want to go back to Oregon and make a hundred babies, great, I'm in no position to tell anyone how to live. But sneaking out like this, quitting, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Baseball is what gets inside you. It's what lights you up, you can't deny that. It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.

 

[BooCocky]

I also forgot too mention Million Dollar Baby. There was something about this movie, it was a heartwarming story, it was a good all around movie, and the cast was pretty good. I remember watching this movie and basically shedding a tear at the end.

Another movie that popped into my head was Jerry Maguire, i loved this movie, it was funny. This movie brought out some funny quotes like "Show Me the Money", or the infamous "Help Me, Help You". I wonder if this movie was based on Scot Boras' real life?
show me the money scene
[youtube]D7ir_6Hip1E[/youtube]

[youtube]p-oHuogx6_Y[/youtube]

there really isnt much too say about these movies except that they are true classics.

 

[relik]

Rudy, is hands down my favorite sports. When they start chanting his name at the end it always brings tears to my eyes. Major League is the funniest baseball ever made, funnier than Bull Durham IMO. Varisty Blues, was only good because of Voight, like someone else said. Happy Gilmore, c'mon how can you hate Happy Gilmore, that movie is classic. Days of Thunder, I'm not the biggest Tom Cruise fan, but this movie is awesome. Best of the best, I think overall is bad movie, but it's a guilty pleasure.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

If this is inclusive of documentaries, I think the two greatest sports movies are Hoop Dreams and Murderball. If not, then I would definitely have to go with Raging Bull (among some other films that have already been mentioned).

 

[Starchild]

The genre of sports movies actually some of the best movies ever made in my opinion. There are some really good ones that aren't quite in that top echelon of movies such as Miracle, We Are Marshall, Friday Night Lights, The Longest Yard, Invincible, etc.
But then there are some that are just legendary. Of course you have to put the Rockys in here, particularly 1 & 2 as they are easily the best boxing movies ever. Then you have such things as Hoosiers, The Natural, Rudy...all classics that you can watch again and again and they never get old.
But being a sports fanatic, particularly football I might be a little biased. But I think the best sports movie ever and one of my top 2-3 favorite movies of all time is Remember the Titans. I have seen this movie no less than 20-30 times and I still love it now as much as I did the first time I saw it. The story is just great and the fact that it's based on a true story like most sports movies are makes it that much better. This movie launched Denzel to being on the biggest stars in Hollywood imo and one of my favorite actors.

 

[Mr. TM]

Well I didn't see it mentioned yet, so Ill throw it up here. Field of Dreams. As a kid, Field of Dreams was one of those movies that made me love baseball. It has a good story line, and inspirational. One of the greatest quotes of all time came out of the movie "If you build it, he will come." It may not be the best sports movie ever, but it sure means a lot to me and my childhood.

 

[Enigmania]

How about Dodgeball? I mean it's a true underdog story with Chuck Norris making a cameo. Okay I thought it was crap and Vince Vaugan looks like he needs sleep but surely it should be considered?

 

[CaseyisBA52'sGFnow]

Friday Night lights is good. It depicts small town america perfectly. We are Marshall is also pretty good. It's based on a true story so that gives it merit. But im kinda biased to it seeing that i live close to Marshall.

 

[AMERICANFIRE]

IM GOING TO SAY WE ARE MARSHALL AS #1 THIS WAS TRULY A SAD DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY AND A PROGRAM ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION WAS REBORN AND KEPT ALIVE BY A MAN WHO NEVER HAD A WINNING RECORD THERE. LOOK NOW THEY HAVE SEVERAL TITTLES AND BOWL WINS ALL BECAUSE THE DREAM AND SCHOOL NEVER LET FOOTBALL DIE.

"WE MAY NOT WIN THIS WEEK,NEXT WEEK, OR THIS SEASON. BUT WHAT MATTERS NOW IS WE KEEP THIS PROGRAM ALIVE. GIVE IT TIME AND THE WINNING WILL COME."

JACK LENGYEL COACH MARSHALL 1971

"from the ashes we rose"

TO ALL THOSE WHO LOST THERE LIVES NOVEMBER 14th 1970 YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

 

[Dead Kennedy]

The remake of The Longest Yard.







Okay, so I joke, but I had you there for a second.

Nope, seriously, there are good sports movies out there. But basically, me not being a very big fan of (real) sports, I don't go out of my way to watch one. But you can't dislike the Rocky films. Sure, Sly should have someone always closed-captioning his dialogue, but there's just this nice feeling to the films. I think Rocky III's my favourite, but I haven't seem any of them in ages and have a crap memory for series with many sequels. Is that the one with Ivan Drago and stuff? Either way, that one's my favourite.

Oh yeah, and I liked Slapshot. Hockey's one of the sports that I actually do like and that film's funny as hell. The sequel sucks though, stay away from that.

 

[RVDgurl]

I believe 2 or my top 3 picks have already been mention: A League of Their Own and Remember the Titans, both of which are stellars movies from start to finish. Both make mecry like a baby. But I have to choose The Program as my all time favorite sports movie. What a great piece of filmwork. For anyone who played a college sport or was close to someone who did, you know this movie really hits on the highs and lows of the collegiate athlete. Hands down the best sports movie.

 

[RBH]

Hoosiers and The Natural


You can't have a movie discussion about the best sports movies without including these two movies. Hoosiers is THE movie to watch for motivation, whether it be basketball or any other sport. It's quality is unmatched, and the history behind the movie is incredible. Incredibly well-made, extremely well-acted, and even very realistic in terms of the basketball action, just a great movie all around.

The Natural, starring Robert Redford, is another outstanding movie. Unfortunately, it's not as popular as other movies. These days, the movie kind of flies under the radar of sports movies. But, if you have seen this movie, you know for a fact that there is a deep emotional stirring inside of you during the final scenes of the movie. I won't ruin the end for anyone, but if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

In my mind, these are probably the top two sports movies of all time.

Some others that deserve mention (in addition to IC's list):

Bull Durham
Rocky 1
Rocky 2
Varsity Blues
The Karate Kid
Best of the Best

This is gonna sound sad but I have never seen any of those movies...nothing....but I want to see Rocky 1-5 and the last one. Varsity Blues looks good. Based on what I have seen, I would agree that the Mighty Ducks is a greta movie because it spawned my favorite team. Another favorite would have to be Remember the Titans simply because it was about color barriers, a very important issue in America even today and the ability to put personal prejudices aside for the sake of a team effort. Those are my picks.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I love Remember the Titans. What an awesome movie. I loved Gridiron Gang too. I know it is popular to bash Rock movies, but that wasn't a bad one.

But is this going to be a poll, are are we going official WZ Tournament. I think we can get 64 movies together.


So far we have (in no particular order)

6 Rocky's
3 Might Ducks
2 Major Leagues (The third one was the worst movie ever made)
2 Caddyshacks
Bull Durham
Raging Bull
For the Love of the Game
No one mentioned- Above the Rim
Remember the Titans
Longest Yard
Grid Iron Gang
Cool Runnings
The Program
Million Dollar Baby
Field of Dreams
Sandlot
Angels in the Outfield
Knute Rockne (Win one for the Gipper)
Rudy
Basketball Diaries
When we were Champions
Murderball
The Ken Burns 9 hour baseball documentary
Varsity Blues
Friday Night Lights
Hoosiers
Coach Carter
No Holds Barred
Miracle
Slap Shot
8 Men Out
Chariots of Fire
Victory Road
There was a movie abou pro beach volleyball
3 Karate Kids
Blood Sport
Best of the Best
A League of Their Own
We are Marshall
Dodge Ball
Blades of Glory
The Cutting Edge
Jerry Maguire
61*
Cobb
3
ESPN's Roger Bannister movie
Munich
The movie they have to make about Nastia Liukin
I think there was a movie about the 1972 Olympic Basketball travesty
Pride of the Yankees
Rookie of the Year
The Rookie
Express
Great White Hype
White Men Can't Jump
The Wrestler
Nacho Libre
Goal (underrated soccer movie)
Bend it Like Beckham

I am sure we can come up with more.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Are you honestly asking for a sports film tournament?

We can't. Papa Shango and Klunderbunker are hard at work on an over all film tournament. Down the line I will run a sports movie tournament...but not right away. I cannot steal thunder more than I already have with my slasher mini-tournament.

 

[FromTheSouth]

lol, no problem.

If nothing else I've provided quite a number of films for discussion.

I guess my favorites would Remember the Titan and Caddyshack.


Someone on here said Caddyshack sucked. I am interested into why they think that. I think Chevy Chase is a deplorable human being, but in that movie, he is awesome. Caddyshack has several storylines that all wrap up nicely into one. The movie is so well written, acted and shot.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Ok, this thread has completely captivated me. I forgot a couple of my favorites.

First, Days of thunder took a southern racing tradition which rose from bootleggers and criminals, and made it a national phenomenon. For pure cultural impact, Days of thunder has to be considered. That and Nicole Kidman at her peak.

Rounders gave spark to the match that was Chris Moneymaker. The poker boom can be traced back to this movie, a full four years before Moneymaker made us think any idiot can get rich playing cards.


And technically, Fight Club has a sporting angle amongst the examination of schizophrenia, workplace anger, and self hatred.

And then there's Basketball Jones, Love and Basketball, and He Got Game.