# Signature films for professional sports franchises **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489 "2015-11-24T23:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/1 "2015-11-24T23:53:35Z")
We know that fictional sports teams are often created for movies (Roy Hobbs plays for the New York Knights in _The Natural_, for example). But sometimes, real sports franchises (past or present) are used–either to recount a moment in their history, or to lend a greater feeling of authenticity to a fictional story. So, the purpose of this thread is to cite the signature film–most iconic or prominent–for every professional sports franchise out there. A few rules: 1. Theatrical films only. 2. No documentaries. 3. Priority goes to films about the franchise and its players, then about their fans, and then any other plot point that might depict or reference that team. I’ll start with some baseball titles, but feel free to add your picks for football, basketball, or hockey. Boston Red Sox - **Fear Strikes Out** Brooklyn Dodgers - **42** California Angels - **Angels in the Outfield** (1994) Chicago Cubs - **Rookie of the Year** Chicago White Sox - **Eight Men Out** Cleveland Indians - **Major League** Detroit Tigers - **For the Love of the Game** Minnesota Twins - **Little Big League** New York Yankees - **The Pride of the Yankees** Oakland A’s - **Moneyball** Pittsburgh Pirates - **Angels in the Outfield** (1951) San Francisco Giants - **The Fan** St. Louis Cardinals - **The Pride of St. Louis** Tampa Bay Devil Rays - **The Rookie** Any thoughts on other MLB teams, or other films you think better represent a certain club already listed? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/2 "2015-11-25T00:05:42Z")
New York Mets: **Men in Black**. They even used it as a team nickname for a few years. And yes, the team is shown, notably Bernard Gilkey. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/3 "2015-11-25T00:07:16Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > New York Mets: **Men in Black**. They even used it as a team nickname for a few years. > > And yes, the team is shown, notably Bernard Gilkey. Isn’t that actually **Men in Black 3**? Yes, great example. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/4 "2015-11-25T00:50:28Z")
Fun idea. The baseball section will be the biggest. Different MLB pick: New York Yankees - _61_\* More MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers - _The Sandlot_ Milwaukee Brewers - _Mr. 3000_ Non-MLB professional baseball: Durham Bulls (Carolina League) - _Bull Durham_ Kansas City Monarchs (Negro American League) - _Soul of the Game_ Rockford Peaches (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League) - _A League of Their Own_ Swing of the Quad Cities (Midwest League) - _Sugar_ ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/5 "2015-11-25T01:32:32Z")
Pittsburgh Pythons/Pisces: The Fish that Save Pittsburgh The ABA: Semi-Pro ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/6 "2015-11-25T03:25:44Z")
New York Knicks - **Eddie**. Well, it _is_ about the Knicks, and that’s about how good they are now. It’s funny, the Dallas Cowboys get proxied in two films, **Debbie Does Dallas** and **North Dallas Forty**. But neither counts because the teams don’t actually get called the Dallas Cowboys. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/7 "2015-11-25T03:32:05Z")
Too bad you excluded made-for-TV movies. Or else I would nominate _Brian’s Song_ for the Chicago Bears and _Fighting Back_ for the Pittsburgh Steelers. ---
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/8 "2015-11-25T03:35:37Z")
Los Angeles Rams- Heaven Can Wait Chicago Bears- Brian’s Song ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/9 "2015-11-25T03:39:46Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Too bad you excluded made-for-TV movies. Or else I would nominate _Brian’s Song_ for the Chicago Bears and _Fighting Back_ for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I noticed you also excluded documentaries, so that would also disqualify these films as they were docudramas. I withdraw my nomination of these movies. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/10 "2015-11-25T03:41:47Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > Boston Red Sox - **Fear Strikes Out** Boston Red Sox - Fever Pitch Boston Celtics - Celtic Pride Chicago Bears - Brian’s Song ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/11 "2015-11-25T03:47:17Z")
The Mighty Ducks - The Anaheim Ducks. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/12 "2015-11-25T03:58:39Z")
Cleveland Browns - Draft Day ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/13 "2015-11-25T04:07:34Z")
Sudden Death-Pittsurgh Penguins (NHL) The Harlem Globetrotters had a 1951 movie. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/14 "2015-11-25T04:14:53Z")
> [@](#): > > The Mighty Ducks - The Anaheim Ducks. If real teams named after fictional ones count, then there’s also the Johnstown Chiefs, from Slap Shot. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/17 "2015-11-25T04:33:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If real teams named after fictional ones count, then there’s also the Johnstown Chiefs, from Slap Shot. Don’t forget the Isotopes. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/18 "2015-11-25T04:39:23Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The Mighty Ducks - The Anaheim Ducks. Actually, it would be the Minnesota North Stars. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/19 "2015-11-25T08:06:43Z")
For the NY Jets, the book is **Semi Tough**. Even as a fan, I’ll call them the Dog-ass Jets. I don’t know if they used the term in the movie, though. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2015, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/20 "2015-11-25T11:04:22Z")
Philadelphia Eagles [Invincible](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445990/combined) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/21 "2015-11-25T11:10:19Z")
Leeds United- The Damned United ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489/22 "2015-11-25T16:23:52Z")
What’s the line between documentaries and fictionalized-but-based-closely-on-real-people-and-events like **42** or **Eight Men Out**? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-films-for-professional-sports-franchises/738489.md?page=2)