Best Sports movies - even minor sports

[Galway Eagle]

Basketball-Air Bud

Football-Air Bud: Golden Receiver

Soccer-Air Bud: World Pup

Softball-Air Bud: 7th Inning Fetch

Volleyball-Air Bud Spikes Back

Hahaha I wanted to post Airbud for basketball but didn't do it. Glad you did

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Basketball-Air Bud

Football-Air Bud: Golden Receiver

Soccer-Air Bud: World Pup

Softball-Air Bud: 7th Inning Fetch

Volleyball-Air Bud Spikes Back

Priceless!  Even my kids are laughing after sharing.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

For hockey movies I really liked Goon.  Funny movie about a hockey enforcer.  It's on Netflix watch instantly.

I liked Goon too.  Better than I expected and based on a true story.

Where's all the Adam Sandler movies?

[warriorchick]

Where's all the Adam Sandler movies?

The topic is best sports movies.

[LloydsLegs]

Hockey:

Love Story   

Running:

The Loneliest Runner:  Michael Landon after school special type true story where he played world class runner/ bed wetter who got that way b/c his mom would hang sheets out the window when he peed in bed every night and he would have to run home  from school every day to take the sheets down.

For Chili:

Rudy
Knute Rockne-All American

[real chili 83]

Hockey:

Love Story   

Running:

The Loneliest Runner:  Michael Landon after school special type true story where he played world class runner/ bed wetter who got that way b/c his mom would hang sheets out the window when he peed in bed every night and he would have to run home  from school every day to take the sheets down.

For Chili:

Rudy
Knute Rockne-All American

ND sucks.

[Tugg Speedman]

Hockey:

Love Story   

Running:

The Loneliest Runner:  Michael Landon after school special type true story where he played world class runner/ bed wetter who got that way b/c his mom would hang sheets out the window when he peed in bed every night and he would have to run home  from school every day to take the sheets down.

For Chili:

Rudy
Knute Rockne-All American

MU grad Pat O'Brien played Rockne in the movie.

Some promising young actor played George Gip .. .. I think his name was Ronald Reagan.

[wadesworld]

Great thread and some great movies mentioned.

[StillAWarrior]

For those of us who grew up in the 70s & 80s:  No love for Robby Benson?

One on One
Ice Castles


OK, maybe not great movies, but still some of the first sports movies that pop into my mind. 


I did see that Running Brave got a mention.

[warriorchick]

For those of us who grew up in the 70s & 80s:  No love for Robby Benson?

One on One
Ice Castles


OK, maybe not great movies, but still some of the first sports movies that pop into my mind. 


I did see that Running Brave got a mention.

Okay, you are the first guy I have ever heard of who had a thing for Robby Benson.  I thought he appealed more to tweens. I submit my many issues of Tiger Beat magazine from the '70's as proof.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Jericho Mile  (track movie)
Unbroken  (track)

[StillAWarrior]

Okay, you are the first guy I have ever heard of who had a thing for Robby Benson.  I thought he appealed more to tweens. I submit my many issues of Tiger Beat magazine from the '70's as proof.

As God is my witness, I used teal.

[warriorchick]

As God is my witness, I used teal.

Guess I missed the context.

Anyway, Robby should have props from all of you guys, if only for the fact that he is married to Meatloaf's hot backup singer from the 70's, Karla DeVito.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Running:

The Loneliest Runner:  Michael Landon after school special type true story where he played world class runner/ bed wetter who got that way b/c his mom would hang sheets out the window when he peed in bed every night and he would have to run home  from school every day to take the sheets down.

He stopped wetting the bed when he was able to sleep in a "big boy bed" after being locked in a department store.

An absolute classic.

[Benny B]

I ran cross country. I was so pleased to have just watched the best cross country movie ever....Mcfarland USA with Kevin Costner. lol

This would have been a better off season thread topic--sorry.
 
Any Sport major or minor: what are your best movies for the sport?

 Pick any sport, top tens are fine, no rules on whether its great action (Hoosiers, Glory Road) or simply good drama/ comedy (like Field of Dreams/Bull Durham) .

Here is a starter set ( Random listing-- not a ranking) :

Cross Country:

MacFarland USA

Basketball:

Hoosiers
Blue Chips
Love and Basketball
Glory Road
Hoop Dreams
Coach Carter
He Got Game

Baseball:

Field Of Dreams
Bull Durham
Pride of the Yankees
The Natural
For the Love of the Game
MoneyBall
Major League
61*
League of Their Own
Bang the Drum Slowly
The Rookie
Little Big League
Bad News Bears (a CBB fav-lol)
Eight Men Out

Football:
 Brians Song (Caan/Billy Dee Williams version)
Remember the Titans
Rudy
Friday Night Lights
The Express
North Dallas Forty
Longest Yard (original vers)
We Are Marquette (Marshall- lol)
Invincible
All the Right Moves

Hockey:
 Miracle on Ice(docu.)
Miracle (Kurt Russell)
Slap Shot
Mighty Ducks
The Rocket

Golf:
Caddyshack
Greatest Game Ever Played
Bagger Vance
Tin Cup

Soccer:
The Damn United
Bend it Like Beckham
Joyeaux Noel
Victory

Swimming:

Pride

Bicycling:

Breaking Away
American Flyer
Flying Scotsman
The Armstrong Lie

Boxing:

The Harder They Fall
Rocky
Raging Bull
Cinderella Man
Requiem For a Heavyweight
Ali
Million Dollar Baby
Hurricane
The Fighter


Fishing:

A River Runs Through It
On Golden Pond
Old Man and the Sea
Grumpy Old Men

Wrestling:
Vision Quest
Foxcatcher
Win Win
The Wrestler

Track:
Chariots of Fire

Horses:
Sea Biscuit
Secretariat

Racing:
Lemans
Driven
Rush
Senna
Grand Prix
Fast and Furious

Pool:
The Hustler
Color of Money

Surfing:
Endless Summer

Comment, add, subtract, react, or detract to your heart's content.

Auto Racing - Cars

And can we establish that in order to be considered a sport, there must be at least one way to objectively determine a winner, i.e. boxing is a sport (you can win by knockout, even if the other two manners of victory are subjective) but figure skating is not.

[keefe]

As a mountaineer I would add these climbing films:

North Face: Nazi sponsored expedition to summit the north face of Switzerland's Eiger. Spectacular scenery.


Touching the Void: Incredible true story about two Brits who scaled the west face of Siula Grande in Peru.


Cold: First team to summit K2 in winter


127 Hours: Best reason to never climb solo


Wildest Dream: Mallory's fated assault on Everest (Maybe Hillary Clinton's mom should have named her Mallory?)


First Ascent: Extreme climbing around the world. Best vignette is Berthod's attempt on Cobra Crack in BC.


Vertical Frontier: This film features Yosemite's walls. Magnificent.


Deadly Ascent: Denali.


The Man Who Skied Down Everest: True story about a Japanese climber who climbed to the summit of Everest then skied back down.


180^o South: One of my favorite places - Patagonia.

[warriorchick]

As a mountaineer I would add these climbing films:

North Face: Nazi sponsored expedition to summit the north face of Switzerland's Eiger. Spectacular scenery.


Touching the Void: Incredible true story about two Brits who scaled the west face of Siula Grande in Peru.


Cold: First team to summit K2 in winter


127 Hours: Best reason to never climb solo


Wildest Dream: Mallory's fated assault on Everest (Maybe Hillary Clinton's mom should have named her Mallory?)


First Ascent: Extreme climbing around the world. Best vignette is Berthod's attempt on Cobra Crack in BC.


Vertical Frontier: This film features Yosemite's walls. Magnificent.


Deadly Ascent: Denali.


The Man Who Skied Down Everest: True story about a Japanese climber who climbed to the summit of Everest then skied back down.


180^o South: One of my favorite places - Patagonia.

Cliffhanger (starring Sylvester Stallone) or GTFO.

[MU82]

Movies I liked a lot that weren't mentioned:

Olympics: Munich ... Well done, tension-packed movie about the '72 terrorist/hostage situation.

Boxing: When We Were Kings ... Amazing documentary about the Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire.

Baseball: The Naked Gun ... OK, not really a sports movie, but the baseball scenes -- especially with Frank Drebin calling balls and strikes -- are hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-S-eeInJVk

Basketball: White Men Can't Jump ... Mostly funny.

Football: Big Fan ... Laughed my ass off several times at Patton Oswalt's pathetic loser of a Giants fan.

Also have enjoyed many, many of the ESPN 30 for 30s.

For the record, my No. 1 sports movies of all time is Hoop Dreams. No screenwriter could have invented a more compelling story because the whole thing was real.

I do understand the Raging Bull love, though, and I love it, too. The best performance of DeNiro's career, IMHO.

If rasslin' is a "sport," then The Wrestler is certainly in my top 10. Also a big fan of Slap Shot, North Dallas Forty and Hoosiers (love any team that can shoot 90% from the floor!)

I consider Rocky to be top-10 material and most of the sequels to be garbage, but I have to admit a soft spot for Rocky III because I loves me some Mr. T.

Most overrated sports flick: Field of Dreams. It's a snoozer and historically error-filled -- Shoeless Joe batting right-handed, for crissakes! And even though I am famously (in my family) weepy at sentimental movies, it was so contrived I didn't shed a tear. Bull Durham is far superior entertainment. If I want sentimental baseball schlock, I'll go with Pride of the Yankees or The Natural.

[keefe]

Cliffhanger (starring Sylvester Stallone) or GTFO.

Cliffhanger was actually a good movie. Another climbing movie that was quite good was Eiger Sanction. One of Eastwood's best.

[HouWarrior]

Auto Racing - Cars

And can we establish that in order to be considered a sport, there must be at least one way to objectively determine a winner, i.e. boxing is a sport (you can win by knockout, even if the other two manners of victory are subjective) but figure skating is not.

Disagree.

Figure Skating is one of the most popularly watched Winter Olympic sports, and Gymnastics the same in the Summer Olympics (also Diving). All of these are decided by judges...they are all still clearly sports. The athleticism to do these things make them sports...objective winning is not definitional to sport. Consider Keefe's mountain climbing and many who recreation-ally swim, bicycle, ski, surf, or enjoy those kids sports seen in the xgames. Not keeping score, or having judges decide,  still qualifies the activity as sport.

In this thread...I tried to place NO restrictions on the postings here...Its just movie escapism,... so who really cares?

This is in superbar, not politics.
Movie watching of sports is fun...lets  not digress into restrictions, opinion baiting or  battle....They are Thread enjoyment/posting killers....So....take a break....go watch the "auto racing" Cars cartoon movie. lol

[keefe]

The Natural.

As good as the movie is Malamud's book is better. Excellent Americana.

[MU82]

As good as the movie is Malamud's book is better. Excellent Americana.

I definitely preferred the book, too, but Redford was darn good.

[keefe]

I definitely preferred the book, too, but Redford was darn good.

I couldn't agree more, Mike. I would not have pictured Redford when I read the novel. But somehow, he is a natural (pardon the pun.) Certainly my favorite baseball book with baseball Paradise and Hobbs career as a metaphor for The Fall.

[Skitch]

In our first semester English class (I can't recall the class number) we had to write what was basically a book report and my roommate wrote his on The Natural without ever reading it.  Apparently the TA had read it because he noticed that he missed the major difference between the book and movie. 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Baseball: The Naked Gun ... OK, not really a sports movie, but the baseball scenes -- especially with Frank Drebin calling balls and strikes -- are hilarious.

"Hey look, It's Enrico Pallazzo!"