# Greatest sports movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871 "2010-01-06T05:27:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/41 "2010-01-06T18:09:59Z")
> [@infinitii](#): > > My favourite ‘sport’ is figure skating – I’m not a big fan of _Ice Castles_, but there’s not a lot of competition for singles figure skating. There are two Disney movies though which I like for various reasons, _Ice Princess_ because of the characters and _Go Figure_ because I think it got closer to the spirit of the sport (even though most of the movie was dedicated to women’s hockey, go figure…heh). But there is actually an anime series that I can’t remember the name of right now that was the best in my opinion. I’m a big fan of the movie [“The Cutting Edge”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104040/), a figure skating movie with Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney (“toe pick!”). There was a show this fall that had figure skaters paired up with NHL hockey players - apparently one of the biggest problems the hockey players had was getting used to skates with toe picks. 🙂 I’m not a huge sports fan either, but I also tend to like sports movies. I think it’s because the action of having the sports in the background lends itself to supplying drama and moving a plot forward naturally. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/42 "2010-01-06T19:19:55Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m a big fan of the movie [“The Cutting Edge”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104040/), a figure skating movie with Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney (“toe pick!”). There was a show this fall that had figure skaters paired up with NHL hockey players - apparently one of the biggest problems the hockey players had was getting used to skates with toe picks. 🙂 Ahh yes, that one is cute as well. I don’t like pairs skating as much, but that movie (as well as the ABC Family sequels) are decent movies. I had almost forgotten about them. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/43 "2010-01-06T19:33:41Z")
_For The Love Of The Game_ is a decent, if formulaic, baseball/romance flick. ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Raisin\_Danish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Sweet\_Raisin\_Danish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Raisin_Danish)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/44 "2010-01-06T19:55:36Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [The Bronx is Burning](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790477/), a [six-hour miniseries](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R7HY46). Yes!! Love this one – the casting is phenomenal and the attention to detail with the real events is amazingly detailed. Since we’re talking cable programming here, I’ll throw in a couple of HBO baseball documentaries – The Ghosts of Flatbush about the Brooklyn Dodgers history and eventual move to LA; and Nine Innings from Ground Zero about how Yankess baseball helped heal NYC after 9/11. Both fantastic stories. (Also, sorry I missed the previous mentions of Victory and Bend it Like Beckham – both soccer movies deserving mention.) ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/45 "2010-01-06T20:03:56Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > My favorites, per sport: > > basketball: Hoosiers > baseball: The Natural > football: The Longest Yard > hockey: Slapshot > golf: Tin Cup > boxing: Rocky > martial arts: Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story > horse racing: The Black Stallion > skating: Rollerball Dodgeball: Dodgeball ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Raisin\_Danish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Sweet\_Raisin\_Danish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Raisin_Danish)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/46 "2010-01-06T20:31:01Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > My favorites, per sport: > > horse racing: The Black Stallion Let it Ride (Richard Dreyfus) ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/47 "2010-01-06T20:58:11Z")
Baseball seems to make the best movies, go figure. Here’s my partial list, in no particular order- Baseball Eight Men Out Cobb Bull Durham The Natural Field of Dreams Pride of the Yankees Bang the Drum Slowly Major League The Rookie Football North Dallas Forty Any Given Sunday Brian’s Song The Longest Yard Hockey Miracle Mystery, Alaska Slap Shot Billiards The Hustler The Color of Money Golf Caddyshack Soccer Victory Rugby Invictus (okay, I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m going on faith) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/48 "2010-01-06T21:00:32Z")
> [@Moirai](#): > > Baseball seems to make the best movies, go figure. Baseball and boxing. It’s the pacing, I imagine. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/49 "2010-01-06T21:19:37Z")
> [@Moirai](#): > > Here’s my partial list There aren’t many of significance you’ve left out. 😉 Not having seen some of the candidates, I’ll go with: Bull Durham Lagaan Caddyshack Major League North Dallas Forty Victory Requiem for a Heavyweight in that order. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/50 "2010-01-06T21:23:20Z")
Best of the Best - The US competes in the world finals in Tae Kwon Do. Ya gotta love James Earl Jones. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/51 "2010-01-06T21:33:10Z")
Fishing: Man’s Favorite Sport The Old Man and The Sea A River Runs Through It ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/52 "2010-01-06T21:40:00Z")
It’s a bit of a stretch, but One Crazy Summer has a boat race at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/53 "2010-01-06T23:17:30Z")
If we want to get silly, there’s **Spellbound** , **Looking for Bobby Fischer** and **The King of Kong**. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/54 "2010-01-06T23:27:38Z")
_No Retreat, No Surrender._ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/55 "2010-01-06T23:36:24Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > _The Blood of Heroes_ Juggerball! No one can put a post-apocalyptic dog skull on a post-apocalyptic stick like Joan Chen. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/56 "2010-01-06T23:52:46Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Hazel mentioned _Bend it Like Beckham_. And there’s also Gregory’s Girl. Surfing - Blue Crush Jogging - The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Runner Horse Racing - Seabiscuit ---
**Author:** ![kingbighair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@kingbighair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingbighair)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/57 "2010-01-07T00:04:30Z")
Major League is one of the funniest movies of all time, sports or no. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/58 "2010-01-07T01:08:22Z")
Some lesser sports movies from the 80’s that I liked as a kid: _American Flyers_ - Stars Kevin Coster (he has to be the King of sports movies, right?) and another actor as brothers in a big cycling race. Costars a young and very hot Alexandra Paul, who briefly shows her boobies. 🙂 _The Best of Times_ - stars Kurt Russell and Robin Williams as two men who organize a rematch of a high school football title game that they played and lost many years previously. The supporting cast is solid and the two leads play their parts (as two guys living in the past and longing for their glory days) really well. _American Anthem_ - cheesy movie about two young gymnasts striving to make the American Olympic team. I mainly liked it because the lead actress, [Julie Jones, is smoking hot. She later became Mrs. Wayne Gretzky.](http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0812/nhl.celebrity.couples/images/gretzky-jones.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/59 "2010-01-07T01:55:58Z")
I’m not much of a sports fan, but I like THE trio of baseball movies: \*\*Field of Dreams Bull Durham \*\ ***League of Their Own** to which I will add: \*\* Major League\*\* (silly, but a lot of fun!) For non-baseball movies: \*\* Chariots of Fire Breaking Away\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/60 "2010-01-07T14:43:23Z")
Some of the best surfing movies are docs like **Bra Boys** and **Riding Giants** , but of course the classics like **Big Monday** & **Endless Summer** are awesome. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871.md?page=4)