Top 10: Sports Movies!

This week, I thought I’d look at my favorite sports movies.  I (mostly) limited it to movies about kids and teenagers, though there are a couple older ones as well.

Let start with a few honorable mentions: She’s the Man, Rookie of the Year, The Mighty Ducks, Rudy, Space Jam, and Dodgeball.

And now, on to the list!

10

Cutting Edge

The proto-figure skating movie, where the hockey player has to transition to figure skating for some reason or other.  This one was done exceptionally well, and has characters that are relatable. “Toe pick!”

9

Cool Runnings

This was such a fun movie.  The based on a true story of the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team, and was tons of fun.  Even though they turned the ‘little guy comes from behind to win’ trope with the guys losing, there were still tons of great moments to enjoy.   Not to mention the resurgence of “I can see clearly now,” which so super fun to sing along to.

8

The Sandlot

A new kid moves to town, and makes friends through baseball.  Not that the new kid even knew what baseball was, what with his ridiculously long-billed hat and no knowledge of Babe Ruth.  But that didn’t stop him from a summer of hijinks with the best friends he ever found.  A great movie that only scored so low because the sports portion, while a major plot point, was almost incidental to it.  It was a coming of age story, not a sports one.  Still great, though.

7

A League of Their Own

Five words: “There’s no crying in baseball!”  This movie had an all star cast, and was just fantastic.  I didn’t rank it higher because it featured mostly adults, but the story is great.  While the men were off to World War 2 and whatnot, it was decided that the women should play baseball to fill the gap.  So we had the normal baseball drama, except with women.  And Rosie O’Donnell.

6

The Big Green

The requisite soccer movie.  Even though it was only made because soccer was becoming huge at the time, it was still a fun one.  I remember the overhead shot of all the kids chasing after the ball like U5 players, all in a clump, movement looking vaguely like a game of snake.  Of course, they manage to win over the ‘evil’ team, and everyone was happy, the end.

5

Angels in the Outfield

I remember watching this movie over and over again, and not just because the day care kids loved it.  One of the first movie appearances by the current it guy, Joseph Gordan Levitt,  it followed the story of a boy in foster care who prayed that God would let the Angels win the pennant so his dad would come home.  And what do you know, God sent actual angels to help the terrible ball club!  This was such a sweet movie, and the ending’ll get ya every time.

4

Little Giants

I really really liked this movie as a kid.  Peewee football was never so interesting as when Devon Sawa decided to play.  So, Becky wants to play on her uncle’s team, and even though she’s clearly better than some of the boys on the team, she gets cut anyway.  Her dad doesn’t take that sitting down, and they make their own team of kids that really have no business playing football, and Devon Sawa.  Becky trying, and usually failing at being more girly really resonated with me, and I still enjoy the heck out of this movie whenever it is on.

3

The Blind Side

This is the newest movie on the list, and an Oscar winner to boot.  The life story of Michael Oher, who came from an incredibly impoverished background to go on to play in the NFL, thanks to being taken in by the Touheys.  This is a great story, and it is put together really well.  There have been several complaints from people that say, Oh, the Touhey’s only did it to get Michael into their alma mater, their ulterior motive is a terrible terrible thing.  But honestly?  They pulled a boy out of poverty, out from a terrible neighborhood that would have probably gotten him killed.  Would those people rather Michael Oher be dead, now?  Cause he would have been.  Anyway, great movie, fantastic story, go see it if you haven’t already.

2

The Mighty Ducks 2

This movie is sooo awesome.  It took everything we loved from the first movie, and made it bigger, better, and more awesome.  The suck to great montage felt more real, and the new characters were fun as well.  Of course, the best part for me comes from outside the movie, from Aziz Ansari.  Watch, and enjoy!

And my number one sports movie is

1

Bring it On

Oh, my goodness.  This movie is freaking amazing.  From the quips to the cheers, everything made you laugh or cheer.  Even with double the training montage, it was great.  This was much more of a teenage story than a kid one, but it was so great, I had to put it at number one!