Over the course of our 3-day weekend, the boys and I watched several movies, two of which were Rudy and Remember the Titans. After watching both of those and being brought to tears by both of them (that's right... I'm man enough to admit it), I began to wonder, what is the greatest sports movie of all time? I have a few personal favorites, and I've listed them below.
- Rudy - This moving true story of an undersized, dyslexic, blue-collar kid from Illinois who stopped at nothing to realize his dream of playing football at Notre Dame is truly inspiring. His determination and passion to see his dream come true can be a lesson for us all. Sean Astin does an incredible job of portraying Rudy Ruettiger, and the scene where he breaks into tears after getting accepted to Notre Dame on his last chance is simply moving.
Memorable Quote: "You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have nearly a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football team in the land for 2 years. And you're gonna walk outta here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself." - Remember the Titans - This movie is also based on a true story, and tells the tale of an Alexandria, Virginia high school football team forced to deal with racial issues after their school is forced to integrate in 1971. Head Coach Herman Boone (played by Denzel Washington) set an example for the whole community by bringing the football team together despite racial, cultural and economic differences. This is a very inspiring movie, and the racial issues are dealt with from an equitable viewpoint, showing that we all have to give a little to unite and share this planet as human beings.
Memorable Quote: "I'm not gonna talk to you tonight about winnin' and losin'. You're already winners 'cause you didn't kill each other up at camp." - Miracle - This is the story of the 1980 US Hockey Team that won the Gold Medal in the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. I remember watching this drama unfold back in 1980, especially the game with the Soviet Union, which is featured on the movie. I didn't know anything about hockey at the time, and I certainly didn't know what "icing" and "offsides" meant. All I knew was that we were playing the Commies, and we just had to win. Jim Craig became a personal hero of mine at the time, and I still get goosebumps when I hear Al Michaels' call of the last five seconds of that game. Miracle does a great job of humanizing these boys, and showing the obstacles that they overcame to obtain the ultimate prize. This is not just another cheesy sports movie. Kurt Russell's portrayal of head coach Herb Brooks, the use of real hockey players in the cast, as well as the use of Al Michaels' original play-by-play call of the USSR game make this more than a movie: it's an experience.
Memorable Quote: "When you pull on that jersey, the name on the front is a hell of alot more important than the one on the back." - Hoosiers - Gene Hackman plays a down-and-out basketball coach in 1950's Indiana that is given a final chance at coaching at a small-town high school. This movie is also based on a true story (which seems to be a pattern among my favorites) of the Milan, IN Indians, who won the Indiana state championship in 1954. What makes this significant is that during this time, there were no classifications governing high schools. So what you have here is the equivalent of a 1A school here in Texas beating a large 5A school. The fact that they even made it to the state title game is remarkable, much less the fact that they won it. Great story with great acting, Hoosiers is an all-time classic.
Memorable Quote: "I play, coach stays. He goes, I go."
Those are my nominations. I invite others to post their ideas and favorites in the comments. I would like to hear what others think about this topic. I love movies and I love sports, so this is a topic that I'm naturally interested in. Let me know your thoughts.
Until next time... - B
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