# Sports movies where the protagonists lose (Spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2013, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771 "2013-05-08T07:40:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/1 "2013-05-08T07:40:31Z")
Offhand I can think of two sports movies where the protagonists don’t win the big competition at the end of the movie: _The Bad News Bears_ and _Rocky_. What are some other examples? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/2 "2013-05-08T07:46:17Z")
Thought of another one: _Tin Cup_. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/3 "2013-05-08T07:47:33Z")
Bring it On. ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/4 "2013-05-08T08:24:48Z")
A League of Their Own (well, most of the protagonists lose). ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/5 "2013-05-08T09:30:16Z")
How about this one, 15th of 16 😛 > **[Year of the Dogs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Dogs)** > > Year of the Dogs is a 1997 documentary film detailing the 1996 season of the Footscray Football Club (now Western Bulldogs). Directed by Michael Cordell and Stewart Young, it stars Alan Joyce, Tony Liberatore, Stephen Wallis, Terry Wallace, Chris Grant, Pat Hodgson, Jenny Hodgson, and Peter Gordon. > Filmed during the turbulent 1996 season where they finished second-last (15th) in the Australian Football League, the documentary follows the club and two dedicated fans, Pat and Jenny Hogson. The ... ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/6 "2013-05-08T09:47:59Z")
Friday Night Lights? I know they changed stuff from the book (where they lost in the semi-finals rather than going to the finals) but I think they still didn’t win state in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/7 "2013-05-08T10:18:15Z")
Cool Runnings. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/8 "2013-05-08T10:57:40Z")
Rocky. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/9 "2013-05-08T12:29:51Z")
Coach Carter ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/10 "2013-05-08T12:30:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Rocky_. > > What are some other examples? _Rocky Balboa_. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/11 "2013-05-08T12:59:39Z")
Beer League comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/12 "2013-05-08T13:18:48Z")
Kingpin. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/13 "2013-05-08T13:24:05Z")
I’ve noticed that sports movies are the one place where it is “safe” to show the protagonists losing in the climax and not have it be considered a tragedy. Possibly a cathartic metaphor for the inevitable losses in life. ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/14 "2013-05-08T13:33:07Z")
I was going to answer _Victory_ (or _Escape to Victory_), but apparently I didn’t remember the end of the movie correctly. The POWs don’t lose to the Germans, they tie them. But the POWs do win a larger battle in the end. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/15 "2013-05-08T13:35:51Z")
IIRC, The Indians win a playoff game at the end of _Major League_ but go on to lose the Series. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/16 "2013-05-08T13:49:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > IIRC, The Indians win a playoff game at the end of _Major League_ but go on to lose the Series. That’s sort of correct. The movie ends when they win the one-game playoff, but in the sequel, it’s mentioned that they lost in the ALCS afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/17 "2013-05-08T14:32:27Z")
_Real Steel._ ---
**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:** [May 8, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/18 "2013-05-08T14:37:53Z")
_Charlie Brown’s All-Stars_. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/19 "2013-05-08T14:37:55Z")
[Charlie Brown’s All-Stars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Brown%27s_All-Stars) ETA: Dammit, **kaylasdad99**! ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/20 "2013-05-08T15:39:56Z")
_Lucas_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771.md?page=2)