Some time ago, there was a post about films we never see, such as the film Julia Roberts’ character is making in “Notting Hill,” or the various documentaries Paul Reiser’s character made on “Mad About You.”
Here’s that link:
Okay, I can’t find it. I’ve been searching for 40 minutes and I can’t find it. But it was there.
On a similar but hopefully less transient note, I wanted to call for a compilation of histories and records of teams that do not exist, based on information supplied in films. These teams include:
Washington Sentinels (“The Replacements”)
North Dallas Bulls (“North Dallas 40”)
Pittsburgh Pythons (“The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh”)
South Central Louisiana Mud Dogs (“The Waterboy”)
Texas State Armadillos (“Necessary Roughness”)
California Atoms (“Gus”)
Charlestown Chiefs (“Slapshot”)
Miami Sharks (“Any Given Sunday”)
And you can include the fictionalized Cleveland Indians (“Major League”), Anaheim Angels (“Angels in the Outfield”) and the Mighty Ducks – in that last case, the tail wagged the dog.
The above incomplete list reflects my own football bias, so if anyone knows other made-up teams, bring 'em on (that would be the Rancho Carne Toros vs. the East Compton Clovers, am I right?).
Also, if you want to throw in TV – like the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles (“Coach”), the no-city-given Cougars (“Playmakers”) or the recent short-lived New York Empires (“Clubhouse”) – that’s fine with me.
So, are there any film nerds – er, buffs – who have some of these films on video, who can compile a win-loss record, or any other fun facts? I know that the SCL Mud Dogs beat the Louisiana Cougers in the Bourbon Bowl (sorry if that’s a spoiler), and the Miami Sharks played the Dallas Knights in the finals for the Championship Cup, but there’s more info out there.
Fortunately, I only know one anime sports team: the Shohoku High School Basketball team of Slam Dunk, which has suspicious parallels to the Jordan-era Chicago Bulls.
Shohoku was the champions of the Kanagawa (local turney) finals, but they didn’t make it past the first round of the next tier up. (This seems to happen a lot in Shonen sports anime.)
Further stats will have to await someone who’s not as lazy as I am.
How about the records of the New York Knights from The Natural or the New York Mammoths from Bang the Drum Slowly. Not to mention that of The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings.
Thanks for the contribution, ** silenus ** – though we’d probably write the Armadillos’ record as 1-11-1.
In fact, I think that film deserves credit for providing realistic goals and achievements for a bad team. Instead of going “worst to first” like in so many sports films, they just wanted to win ONE game, and/or beat their biggest rivals. How many directors, screenwriters and studio executives would allow their main characters to keep losing throughout the story?
While we’re on the subject, I think the hapless California Atoms of “Gus,” – you know, the film where the mule kicked field goals – went from 0-14 to Super Bowl champs, beating the Michigan Mammoths. I don’t know if they were undefeated, which would have put them in the history books alongside the '72 Dolphins. I think Gus may have been kidnapped or unable to play several games, so the Atoms actually lost a few. I’m sure Shula, Griese and Czonka broke out the champagne if/when the Atoms lost.
The Peanuts Collectors’ Club’s FAQ file lists around ten separate occasions in which CB’s team actually won, the most famous of which was in 1994, when the round-headed kid himself hit the game-winning home run.
After a terrible start they won enough to make the playoffs… how many games in a Little Leage season? 30? Let’s say they went 19-11. They won something like 3 of their playoff games, but lost the final. I can’t remember whether or not they won the games in Houston or Japan.
The tail actually wagged the dog in Slapshot, too. It was filmed in Johnstown, PA, and following the movie, the Johnstown minor league hockey team was renamed the Chiefs (I don’t remember the original name).
Not quite the same thing, but the Durham Bulls were an on-again off-again low-level minor league team (folding and being restarted several times) until the making of Bull Durham, which “put them on the map” and resulted in them seeking and receiving an International League AAA franchise. http://www.durhambulls.com/team/history.html?1940-1988
(Fans may be interested to know that the current stadium dates from 1995, but the old stadium featured in the movie still exists, and efforts are underway to preserve it as a baseball historical site.)
Thanks, Ranchoth, I knew I wasn’t crazy! Although this post might refute that…
Any stats or records of fictional teams, people? Or has this post become “Hey, was that a real team?” Sometimes SDMB OP’s remind me of the poem “I shot an arrow in the air…”
Is two ellipses in a post too many? What about three…?
Well, the Miami Gators lose the World Series (to the Chicago Cubs) in 2015, according to Back to the Future.
And I know there’s a Star Trek encyclopedia that shows a closeup of a baseball card for Buck Bokai, a MLB player with the London Kings, dated a few decades from now. The card had a few stats on it (I think it mentioned that they played against the “Gotham City Bats” at one point.)
