# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/61 "2010-01-07T14:54:06Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > _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) \*Janet \*Jones. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/62 "2010-01-07T14:55:10Z")
Horse Racing: **Seabiscuit Phar Lap Let It Ride The First Saturday In May** ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/63 "2010-01-07T15:51:47Z")
Two old classics about relatively uncommon sports: [The Endless Summer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060371/) - surfing [The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056194/) - marathon running (starring the unique and outstanding [Tom Courtenay](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0183822/)). ---
**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 7, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/64 "2010-01-07T15:58:05Z")
How about skateboarding: Documentary – Dogtown and Z-Boys (awesome) Fictionalized drama – Lords of Dogtown (based on same story – not as good but still decent) Also, same filmmaker (Stacy Peralta) made surfing documentary: Riding Giants ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/65 "2010-01-07T16:24:19Z")
Gotta add **The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh**. Haven’t seen it since I was a kid but I remember loving it. It had Dr. J and a slamming soundtrack. ---
**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 7, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/66 "2010-01-07T16:44:57Z")
[Gymkata](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymkata)? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/67 "2010-01-07T16:53:30Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > It’s a bit of a stretch, but One Crazy Summer has a boat race at the end. As does _Summer Rental_. ---
**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, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/68 "2010-01-07T20:39:26Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > \*Janet \*Jones. :smack: I knew that, don’t know why I typed Julie. ---
**Author:** ![satoridt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@satoridt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/satoridt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/69 "2010-01-07T21:00:08Z")
Vin Scully: And you know Steve you get the feeling that Billy Chapel isn’t pitching against left handers, he isn’t pitching against pinch hitters, he isn’t pitching against the Yankees. He’s pitching against time. He’s pitching against the future, against age, and even when you think about his career, against ending. And tonight I think he might be able to use that aching old arm one more time to push the sun back up in the sky and give us one more day of summer. -For love of the game The parts with Kelly Preston were kind of meh, but the parts on the diamond were incredible. And Vin Scully was at his absolute best. I love this movie. ---
**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, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/70 "2010-01-07T21:27:37Z")
> [@Moirai](#): > > 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. Um, crap- that would be **Big WEDNESDAY** , wouldn’t it? :smack: ---
**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 7, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/71 "2010-01-07T21:41:18Z")
> [@Moirai](#): > > Um, crap- that would be **Big WEDNESDAY** , wouldn’t it? > > :smack: Big Monday would be the prequel, right … 🙂 Didn’t notice that you had mentioned Riding Giants before me – good flick How about North Shore … super hokey, but some nice surfing scenes and hit-you-over-the-head moments regarding surf culture. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/72 "2010-01-08T11:52:46Z")
Where’s the love for the movies about bowling? **Kingpin** is damn funny. There’s this other one that I like as well. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/73 "2010-01-08T12:10:55Z")
> [@satoridt](#): > > Vin Scully: And you know Steve you get the feeling that Billy Chapel isn’t pitching against left handers, he isn’t pitching against pinch hitters, he isn’t pitching against the Yankees. He’s pitching against time. He’s pitching against the future, against age, and even when you think about his career, against ending. And tonight I think he might be able to use that aching old arm one more time to push the sun back up in the sky and give us one more day of summer. > > -For love of the game That is really cool. As soon as I picked up what it was (probably at Billy Chapel) I could hear the rest of it in my head. And I don’t get to listen to Vin Scully, though I have seen the movie twice. Read it to yourself and it sounds like poetry and there is not one flash word in it. ---
**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 8, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/74 "2010-01-08T12:51:42Z")
I forgot to mention [Personal Best](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0084489/). > [@KarlGauss](#): > > [The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056194/) - marathon running (starring the unique and outstanding [Tom Courtenay](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0183822/)). That reminds me, there are two good movies about Steve Prefontaine. The better one, IMO, is [Without Limits](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0119934/), with Billy Crudup as Pre. The other one, also good, is [Prefontaine](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0119937/), with Jared Leto. They both have their strong and weak points. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/75 "2010-01-08T14:05:54Z")
The Natural Major League Slapshot Miracle The Sandlot ---
**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 8, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/76 "2010-01-08T17:10:31Z")
Oh, I missed the one about curling - [Men With Brooms](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263734/). It has Paul Gross and Lesley Nielsen in it - do you need to know more? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/77 "2010-01-08T22:56:33Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > …We Are Marshall (shut up, I cried) > … I was coming in to say this one, so thanks, **Equipoise**! It really is a beautiful movie, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/78 "2010-01-08T23:36:27Z")
Unless control-F has let me down, two that haven’t been mentioned are _Kid Galahad_ and _Little Giants_, which maybe merit inclusion for different reasons. Kid Galahad’s another boxing film, and it’s got Bogart, Bette Davis, and Edward G. Robinson. Little Giants is a pretty solid entry in the Mighty Ducks vein. Also, I guess I should say that my username here is from _Hoosiers_. I think there are two kinds of sports movies. Some are just universally great, like _Raging Bull_, where the violence of boxing is just kind of an appropriate setting for the story, and you don’t need to play or care about the sport to get the point any more than you need to be in the desert or rich or poor or a soldier at war to get other movies. And then some are narrower in scope and really speak to a particular experience such that a lot of the emotional content comes from having played or followed the sport. _Hoosiers_ is the best example of the second kind for me. It’s cheesy and makes you wince more than a few times, and I wouldn’t really recommend it to anybody very highly just as a great film to watch, but as far as communicating the experience of playing in a small town for a good high school basketball team, and the pitfalls and the relationships that come from that, it’s really incredibly profound. I imagine that the more you’ve cared about any particular team you were a part of during your lifetime, the more a movie like _Hoosiers_ gets at your heart. I had a very similar high school experience considering that it was 50 years later and nowhere near the middle of Indiana, so it’s high on my personal list. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/79 "2010-01-09T00:00:57Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > . . . The other one, also good, is [Prefontaine](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0119937/), . . . . The director of Prefontaine also did a basketball documentary called [Hoop Dreams](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416945/). Although I have _not_ seen it, everyone I know who has seen it, as well the “critics”, consider it an outstanding movie. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871/80 "2010-01-09T00:29:43Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Oh, I missed the one about curling - [Men With Brooms](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263734/). It has Paul Gross and Lesley Nielsen in it - do you need to know more? 🙂 Funny at times, but as movies go it was badly written and in need of lots more editing. It’s probably the best comedy feature film I have ever seen that was about curling. It was also the worst. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-sports-movies/523871.md?page=5)