The Game is Afoot: A Sporting Top 5

I am not a sports fan. I don't understand the rabid fandom that every team seems to have (except for the Clippers, of course). I don't enjoy watching sports and only ever watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and half-time shows (when there is an act worth watching). That said, I have a love for a good sports movie. There's something uplifting about stories of standing tall against long odds and winning (or sometimes even losing). Any great sports film has you rooting for the little guy because no great drama has ever been made about a completely dominant team. And movies that are about winners usually go out of their way to show you how flawed the individuals are off the field. So, without further ado, my Top 5 Sports movies.

5) Space Jam
Michael Jordan and the Looney Toons. Oh, and Bill Murray! Some people say that this is one of the worst movies ever made. I think not. Just mull over the awesomeness of the premise: alien cartoons try to take over the world by stealing the abilities of NBA Players and entering a basketball game against the Looney Toons. Luckily, Michael Jordan has retired from the NBA, so his skills are still intact. The Looney Toons enlist his help and they go on to defeat the alien menace.

Best Quote: Stan Podolak  "C'mon, Michael! It's game time! Get your Hanes on, lace up your Nikes, grab your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we'll pick up a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark."

4) Rocky Balboa
Now, you're all asking why I would dare to put the sixth film of the Rocky series on this list but not the original Rocky. The reason is simple: Rocky Balboa is the best of the six. It is about the losses that inevitably happen in life and the tragedy of growing old. Adrian has passed away and Rocky's son doesn't respect him. He is just working the daily grind and running his own restaurant when a computer analysis on ESPN puts Rocky in his prime against the current champ and shows him winning. So, partially as a stunt, the two decide to meet in the ring. I won't give away the ending, but this movie packs an emotional punch.

Best Quote: Rocky Balboa: "It ain't about how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward."

(As an aside, how prescient was "Theme from Rocky XIII" by Weird Al in which an aging and out of shape Rocky now runs a restaurant?)

 

3) A League of Their Own
This based-on-true-events film is centered around a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League which was formed during World War II to maintain the public's interest in Baseball while the men were off fighting in the war. They do this by finding the most attractive athletes they can find and putting them in skirts to play (seriously the dumbest idea ever for a sport that involves sliding on dirt). Two sisters find their way onto a team coached by an alcoholic former Major League slugger. This movie is definitely a comedy, but there are some really great moments of drama, as well.

Best Quote: Jimmy Dugan: "There's no crying in baseball!"

2) Rudy
Rudy is the ultimate underdog. He dreams of playing football at the elite Notre Dame, but there's just one snag: Rudy is Hobbit-sized in a sport played mostly by larger-than-average men. Add to that the fact that his grades aren't good enough to get him accepted into Notre Dame anyway. He enrolls in a smaller college hoping that his grades will be good enough for transfer. He eventually does get the transfer, but only makes the practice squad for the football team. He never gives up and the coach, bowing to pressure from players and students, finally lets him in for the last play of the last game of his senior year. He ends up sacking the quarterback of the opposing team and Rudy is now a legendary example of perseverance.

Best Quote: Father Cavanaugh: "Son, in 35 years of religious study, I have only come up with two hard incontrovertible facts: there is a God, and I'm not Him."

1) Miracle
At a time when the USA seemed like it would inevitably lose the cold war to the monolithic Soviet Union, Herb Brooks put together the most unusual team of misfit hockey players that had ever been heard of. He didn't want any stars on his roster because he wanted the guys he picked to be a Team. He was criticized heavily for the choice to field amateur and collegiate players, but they went on the defeat the USSR in the 1980 Olympics. It was a huge achievement and, to this day, overshadows the fact that they still had to beat Finland to win Gold in the round-robin style tourney in that Games.

Best Quote: Herb Brooks "Great moments... are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it."