OT - Favorite Sports Movies, by Sport
With the absence of sports and running out of shows to binge, I've been watching and re-watching a lot of movies, some of which are my favorite sports movies. There are so many good ones but which are your favorites, per sport? They can be based on real life events or original screenplays, just not Documentaries. Here are mine, feel free to add any sports that I didn't add.
Baseball - Major League
Football - The Program
Hockey - Youngblood
Basketball - White Men Can't Jump
Boxing - Rocky III
Tennis - Borg v. McEnroe
Golf - Happy Gilmore
Olympic Style Sports - I, Tonya
Martial Arts - The Karate Kid
Auto Racing - Talladega Nights
Bobsledding: Cool Runnings
400 M dash: Chariots of Fire
Dodgeball: Dodgeball
Obviously more of a war movie, but this scene from Galipoli is one of the best track scenes from a movie:
Jack : What are your legs?
Archy Hamilton : Springs. Steel springs.
Jack : What are they going to do?
Archy Hamilton : Hurl me down the track.
Jack : How fast can you run?
Archy Hamilton : As fast as a leopard.
Jack : How fast are you going to run?
Archy Hamilton : As fast as a leopard!
Great film!
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!
Dodgeball - Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Ping Pong - Balls of Fury
Martial Arts - The Art of Self-Defense
Dog Shows - Best in Show
Horse Racing - Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit is a great film and an absolutely indredible story. After seeing the movie I was stunned that the story was not more widely known in a country that admires the underdog.
Baseball - Field of Dreams/Major League
Football - Waterboy
Hockey - Slap Shot
Basketball - Semi-pro
Boxing - Rocky
Golf - Caddyshack
Olympic Style Sports - Cool Runnings
Martial Arts - Mortal Kombat/1990 TMNT because Jim Henson.
Auto Racing - Talladega Nights
Tropical Pole Vaulting- Jackass: The Movie
Auto Racing - (tie) Le Mans, Ford v Ferrari
Rollerball- Rollerball
Hockey- Miracle
Deep-sea Fishing- Jaws
Lol at the rollerball catagory.
Sorry, should have specified- I meant the 1975 film with James Caan, not the 2002 remake, which fails to capture the intricacies of the sport, in my opinion.
I was going to ask. Thank God!
I contend that The Karate Kid, Happy Gilmore, and White Men Can't Jump are not sports movies. Come at me.
If Rocky counts as a sports movie, then I think Karate Kid does for sure- it ends with a big sports competition and it includes training montages. What more could you want?
You're right. I'm removing Rocky from the list too. Thanks! :D
There was a decent amount of Soccer in Karate Kid, so it counts
Happy Gilmore had Hockey, Baseball, and Golf in it, so it counts
White Men Can't Jump had more basketball than we have seen in 2020, so it counts
Billy Madison for dodgeball.
+1
One of the best scenes in the movie.
I can't refute any of your points. You win. I concede.
I can see this. Never occurred to me but sure. Only one I really disagree with is Happy Gilmore. The dude transforms himself into a golfer, and the film climax is him winning a golf tourney.
While were at it, Field of Dreams is definitely NOT a baseball movie. I cringe when people list it as one of their favorite baseball movies. FoD is less about baseball than the 3 you listed are about their sports.
The backdrop is a baseball diamond, but it could have been a rink, pitch, course, field or court. There was only people practicing on it in the movie. It was about dreams: a man wanting the inspiration to write again; a son wanting to connect with his father; a doctor just wanting one chance to play a game (which he ultimately turned away from).
Baseball - Field of Dreams
Football - Remember the Titans
Hockey - Miracle
Basketball - The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh
Boxing - Rocky
Golf - Caddyshack/The Greatest Game Ever Played
Martial Arts - The Karate Kid
+1 for "Basketball - The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh"
I like this list from BlueUper. I would replace:
Basketball: Hoop Dreams
Boxing: Raging Bull - DeNiro’s best movie
Karate: Enter the Dragon - because Bruce Lee. I don’t care if it counts or not.
I would also add:
Skiing: Downhill Racer. Redford is excellent and my dad’s ski tips were extras riding up in the cable car during a scene.
Baseball - Baseketball
Football - Varsity Blues (I, still, don't want your life)
Hockey - Mystery, Alaska
Basketball - Baseketball
Boxing - Southpaw
Tennis - Mr. Deeds (There was a scene)
Golf - Happy Gilmore
Olympic Style Sports - Blades of Glory
Martial Arts - Legend of Drunken Master (original version)
Auto Racing - Baby Driver (it counts)
Good call on Mystery, Alaska even though it is a fictional town.
Almost all of my favorite movies are sports or sports related So:
baseball: Field of dreams. I cry like a baby a good three or for times, every time.
basketball: Hoosiers.
billiards: The Hustler
athletics: Chariots of Fire
Russian roulette: Deer Hunter
horse racing: The Godfather
Johnny Fontaine will never get that picture.
Hate Indiana, but love Hoosiers.
Nice call on the Horse Racing movie!
Football:
1. Friday Night Lights (biased-- I played hs football in TX)
2. The Longest Yard (orginal Burt Reynolds version, not that farcical remake)
3. All The Right Moves-- mostly forgotten Tom Cruise movie but pretty good representation of western Pennsylvania HS football
hm: The Last Boy Scout, but only the first scene where the ballcarrier pulls a gun and starts shooting his way to the endzone-- that was the greatest play in football history with the Immaculate Reception being in second place-- but the rest of the movie sucked
Basketball: Hoosiers
Baseball: Moneyball
Hockey: Slapshot and how is this not everyone's answer?
Sports Agent: Jerry Maguire, I don't know if there's another one. Should have been called "Bob Sugar" though.
Soccer: Victory
Volleyball: Top Gun, NTTAWWT
EDIT:
Diving: Back to School
+1 for Slapshot. +1000 for the Hansen brothers.
Tapin' on the foil, Coach.
Victory is an excellent under the radar movie. I love the scene where Pele explains how he scores.
All the Right Moves made me so homesick freshman year in Ann Arbor. Those bus scenes.
Football - On the lighter side, The Waterboy. A more serious movie, Friday Night Lights or Rudy. I know I'll probably get negged for saying Rudy, and yes the movie had its inaccuracies, but its hard not to get goosebumps watching the ending. Great musical score as well.
Baseball - The Sandlot
Basketball - Coach Carter
Hockey - Miracle
Golf - Caddyshack. Not even a debate. Happy Gilmore is a great movie too, but it is a distant, DISTANT second place.
Boxing - Rocky I. Rocky II-IV are very entertaining movies, but Rocky I is art.
Ping Pong - Balls of Fury
Tennis - Seven Days In Hell. Not a movie, but a hilariously funny HBO mockumentary with Andy Samberg and the guy who plays Jon Snow. I almost pissed myself watching it the first time around.
Baseketball-BASEketball
Martial Arts-Kung Pow Enter the Fist
Skiing-Dumb & Dumber
Hockey-Wayne's World
Archery- Robin Hood Men in Tights
Golf-Happy Gilmore
Football-Ace Ventura Pet Detective
Checkers-Black Sheep
Baseball-The Naked Gun
Upvoted for including "Naked Gun" on your list. Such a funny movie, but especially the clip of Leslie Nielsen as an umpire. I still get uncontrollable tears of laughter from this scene and the rest of the baseball sequence in that film:
Baseball - Field of Dreams
Football - The Longest Yard
Basketball - Air Bud
Hockey/Olympic style sports - Miracle
Golf- Caddyshack
Martial Arts - Enter the Dragon
Auto Racing - Talladega Nights
Baseball - Field of Dreams
Football - The Longest Yard
Basketball - Air Bud
Hockey/Olympic style sports - Miracle
Golf- Caddyshack
Martial Arts - Enter the Dragon
Auto Racing - Talladega Nights
Baseball - Bull Durham
Football - Any Given Sunday
Hockey - Slapshot
Basketball - He Got Game
Boxing - Raging Bull
Tennis - Wimbledon
Golf - Tin Cup
Olympic Style Sports - Miracle
Martial Arts - Bloodsport
Auto Racing - Days of Thunder
I loved Bruce Lee movies as a kid. One of the reason I took up Taekwondo from the 5th grade to the 7th grade and made it up a few stripes in brown belt before I quit for 8th grade football.
Golf- Tin Cup
Football - Rudy, Jerry Maguire
Basketball - Space Jam
The shanks!
Basketball: Hoosiers
Baseball: The Natural
Football: Friday Night Lights
Boxing: Rocky III
Soccer: Kicking and Screaming
Rugby: Alive
Hockey: Mystery Alaska
Auto Racing: Rush
Golf: caddyshack
Arm wrestling: Over the Top
Fighting Robots: Real Steel
ESports: Grandma’s Boy
original bad news bears. one of the funniest movies ever - all the better since no one would have the balls to make that same movie in crazy modern times.
so many good ones. id struggle to pick bw hoosiers and white men cant jump, miracle and slap shot, rocky and cindarella man and raging bull
Basketball - Hoop Dreams
Baseball - Major League
Football - The Replacements
Racing - Born Racer, Rush
Hockey - Miracle
Golf - Caddyshack
Boxing - Tough Love The Lennox Lewis Documentary
Cricket - Lagaan
Olympic: Cutting Edge
Boxing: Gladiator
Baseball: Eight Men Out
Basketball: Blue Chips or Finding Forester
Football: North Dallas Forty or Friday Night Lights