# SI says Bull Durham best sports movie ever...WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 4, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887 "2003-08-04T13:38:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/81 "2003-08-07T04:47:09Z")
Sorry, **AB** , but **Ataraxy** got that back on page one. And hey … no votes for _Mystery Alaska_? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/82 "2003-08-07T05:08:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > \*\*Sorry, **AB** , but **Ataraxy** got that back on page one. > \*\* Why, so he did – I must have skimmed over that part of his post. _Mea culpa_. I hate it when that happens, but thanks for pointing it out, **Cervaise**. And props to **Ataraxy** for mentioning such a fun movie! ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/83 "2003-08-07T05:51:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yojimbo \* > \*\*Well you’re all wrong. > > The best sport movie wasn’t even a movie it was a TV mini-series called [Bodyline](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0086672) and it wasn’t about sport it was about cricket 😉 > > It is my favorite sport based visual entertainment though so I felt like mentioning it.\*\* I was just about to nominate **Bodyline** when i saw this post. It’s a great mini-series, with some excellent performances, especially by Hugo Weaving as Douglas Jardine. Back to movies, and i’d like to nominate [This Sporting Life](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0057578) (1963), a film about professional rugby league in the grim working-class towns of northern England. Richard Harris stars. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/84 "2003-08-07T10:54:50Z")
The best sports film of all time is ‘Shaolin Soccer’ (also called ‘Kung Fu Soccer’). See, it had soccer and it also had Kung Fu, what better combination could you have?..Well, it was funny…Hey! If you don’t like my pick then [Cartman]screw you guys, I’m going home![\Cartman] ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/85 "2003-08-07T10:59:36Z")
No, Wait! There is a better sports film. ‘Debbie does Dallas’. About the meteoric rise of an independant young women in the competative field of Cheerleading (IIRC, for some reason the plot tends to elude me when I think of this film). Yeah, that’s the best sports film ever by a long shot! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/86 "2003-08-07T12:00:20Z")
> [@](#): > > ## quote: > > Remember, this is Class A ball. And with a 5-6 record, Nuke gets the call to bypass AA and AAA. He’s going straight to “The Show”! That’s the kind of stupidity you can let slide in a great movie. But in a bad movie, it’s the kind of stupidity that’s just plain stupid. > > * * * > > **What, a noncontender has never given a top Class A prospect a look in September when they expand their roster to 40 players? They don’t care which minor-leaguers have the best stats; they care about which ones have a chance to make the bigs for real someday.** Plus, Nuke was 5-1 in his last 6 decisions, had control of fastball and actually had a curve ball. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/87 "2003-08-07T17:10:28Z")
Great minds think alike **RTF** : 😃 > [@](#): > > FWIW, it was playing off the fact that, back in the mid-1970s, when Ali wasn’t fighting Frazier or Foreman, he was fighting a lot of journeymen that the casual sports fan had never heard of. Ali didn’t always prepare himself for those fights very well, but in the sleazy world of boxing, anything even close to a draw was going to be decided in favor of the champ. So instead of Ali, you have Apollo Creed, and you have Stallone’s Rocky Balboa as the bum-of-the-month that Creed only has to show up to beat. Chuck Wepner (the Bayonne Bleeder) was profiled in SI’s “Where are they now” issue (came out a few weeks back) and they mentioned how the Wepner/Ali fight in 1975 was the inspiration for Stallone’s Rocky. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/88 "2003-08-08T01:42:32Z")
I hadn’t realized that there was a specific fight that inspired the movie, **BF**. Fascinating! ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/89 "2003-08-08T03:37:27Z")
**Rocky** and **Raging Bull** may have been better movies, but I’d say that **Bull Durham** is the best _sports movie_. Either you see the distinction or you don’t, I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/90 "2003-08-08T04:51:56Z")
I’m not SI or anything important like that, but I’ve made a short list of films that in my opinion, it is acceptable for a Manly Man to get blurry vision, a hoarse voice and runny nose from watching. Pride of the Yankees and Brian’s Song are on that list. Knute Rockne is only on the long version of the list. \ ---
**Author:** ![TelcontarStorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ab097/32.png) [@TelcontarStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TelcontarStorm)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/91 "2003-08-08T16:43:55Z")
Does \*\* League of thier own\*\* not count as a baseball movie? or is it a _Girley_ film? I’m neither a big sports fan, nor a big movie fan but hell, you’ve mentioned about every other baseball film so I thought “What the hell…let’s add more fuel to the fire” Hell, if Susan Sarandon is s good enought reason to like a film I think Gina Davis and Lori whatsername should mean this one’s got them all beat. Granted my favorite list of sports films is real short. LotO Major League (but not II) Nessisary Rougness White Men Can’t Jump Also, on the Kevin Cosner “beat 'em with a stick” bandwaggon let’s not forget _Tin Cup_ ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/92 "2003-08-09T04:29:19Z")
I would rather be shot in the face with a rusty bullet than watch “The Natural” again. God Damn, what an awful film. Yes, baseball is simply divine intervention. When God says you should hit a home run, you hit a home run. When God says you suck, you suck. When you have a child with a woman, the appropriate thing for her to do is to keep it a secret for years, then send you a note about it to give you the inner strength to win the game winning home run. Absolutely godawful tripe. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/93 "2003-08-09T05:02:19Z")
I am somewhat mystified that I have seen no mention of _The Black Stallion_. Also _The Basketball Diaries_, _The Ref_, _The Karate Kid_, or even a **single one** of the Chronicles of _Air Bud_. snicker On a somewhat less ludicrous note, if _Best in Show_ is a sports film, I reserve the right to vote for _Babe_\*. \*That’s the **first** _Babe_, not _Pig in the City_. _Pig in the City_ wasn’t about sports at all. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/94 "2003-08-09T15:46:53Z")
Whoa! How come no one has given mad props to Helen Hunt in the inimitable and ineffable [Quarterback Princess](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0086161)? Is there not a real sports movie fan amongst you?! ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/95 "2003-08-10T05:24:50Z")
FWIW, I’m a huge baseball fan and I watch _Bull Durham_ 2-3 times a year for the great baseball stuff (although I agree Tim Robbins couldn’t break a sheet of paper with his fastball). OTOH, I’ve forced myself to sit through _Field of Dreams_ twice to figure out what all the fuss is about and still don’t get it (but I was sure bothered by watching Shoeless Joe bat from the right side). While we’re also discussing movies with tenuous sports connections, what about _The Princess Bride_ with all the fencing? Finally, if I were picking my top sports movie, I’d have to fall into the _Rocky_ category. Sure, the actual boxing isn’t very real (get your damn hands up, Balboa!), but the story is gripping and inspiring and comes from a place that boxing fans can relate to. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/96 "2003-08-11T06:35:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > \*\* > FWIW, [Rocky] was playing off the fact that, back in the mid-1970s, when Ali wasn’t fighting Frazier or Foreman, he was fighting a lot of journeymen that the casual sports fan had never heard of. Ali didn’t always prepare himself for those fights very well, but in the sleazy world of boxing, anything even close to a draw was going to be decided in favor of the champ. So instead of Ali, you have Apollo Creed, and you have Stallone’s Rocky Balboa as the bum-of-the-month that Creed only has to show up to beat. > > At the time, one didn’t have to be much of a sports fan to be aware of this. So, contrary to **Dewey** ’s suggestion, the movie _couldn’t_ have ended in a win for Rocky; it would have lost its believability, and its ending would have been unintentionally comic rather than moving. It was what it was because it stayed within the bounds of the story that had already been written. \*\* I don’t see where **Dewey** was suggesting that Rocky should have won. > [@](#): > > I don’t see where you get that about Rocky at all. To me, the defining feature of that film is that you don’t get the overblown cornball scene you would expect of a film in the genre: Rocky loses the fight. > > What he gains is a moral victory, a redemption of sorts: he’s not just a bum, a guy who lost to another local club fighter at the start of the film. He’s the guy who found it within himself to go the full fifteen with the champ. So he basically said what you said. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/97 "2003-08-11T07:06:35Z")
FTR, the Indian cricket movie is titled _L **aa** gan_. (Watch those double AAs, folks, speaking of minor leagues.) Everything considered, _Bull Durham_ still rocks when compared with all the others. So far nobody has mentioned _Major League_ (which wasn’t very good), about the Indians, or _The Fortune Cookie_ (which was excellent) about the Browns. Yeah, I’m a native Clevelander, and that does skew my appreciation somewhat. But I seriously think _The Fortune Cookie_ should be pretty high up on the list. If anyone can remember a movie made that far back in the past (1965). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887/98 "2003-08-11T16:30:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > I don’t see where **Dewey** was suggesting that Rocky should have won…he basically said what you said. Not really, at least as I read his comments. What I was disagreeing with was “you don’t get the overblown cornball scene you would expect of a film in the genre: Rocky loses the fight.” Well, what was the genre? _Rocky_ didn’t take place in the totally-mythical, anything-can-happen sports movie genre that, say, _The Natural_ takes place in. Whatever genre you’d say _Rocky_ was part of (maybe it was a genre unto itself, for all I know), the victorious ending couldn’t have happened in that genre, IMHO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/si-says-bull-durham-best-sports-movie-ever-wtf/192887.md?page=4)