# 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:** 3
**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 9, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/41 "2013-05-09T00:20:41Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Did they win, though, or was the game called? That’s why I added a question mark. The other team was so angry at Braden taking off his clothes, they walked off the rink in protest. A ref then called this as a forfeit and gave the win to the Chiefs. ---
**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 9, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/42 "2013-05-09T00:27:33Z")
Point of order; I believe they forfeited after McCracken slugged the referee. ---
**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 9, 2013, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/43 "2013-05-09T00:33:36Z")
“Dave’s a mess.” ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/44 "2013-05-09T00:40:40Z")
North Dallas Forty. A terrific Nick Nolte movie which for some inexplicable reason I’m one of the four people on Earth who like it. Also, Mystery, Alaska. Another under appreciated gem. ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/45 "2013-05-09T02:57:28Z")
Little Girls In Pretty Boxes (the main girl’s mother pulls her off the elite team; another girl breaks her neck on the vault) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/46 "2013-05-09T03:12:34Z")
[American Anthem (1986)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090631/combined) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/47 "2013-05-09T03:17:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > … _Rocky_. … I disagree. Rocky just wanted to go the distance, and win Adrian’s love. Rocky won! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/48 "2013-05-09T03:27:26Z")
_The Karate Kid_, according to Barney Stinson. "Hey, Karate Kid is a great movie. It’s the story of a hopeful, young karate enthusiast who’s dreams and moxie take him all the way to the all-valley karate championship. Of course, he loses in the final round to that nerd kid. But, you know, it’s an important lesson about gracefully accepting defeat." ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/49 "2013-05-09T03:52:36Z")
Can’t recall: did Rudy’s football team win in the end? ---
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/50 "2013-05-09T03:55:52Z")
Pretty sure they did. The team getting a huge lead is why Rudy was allowed to play IIRC ---
**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 9, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/51 "2013-05-09T12:15:20Z")
NUMBER ONE, where past-his-prime quarterback Charlton Heston spends the movie deciding whether to retire from football and cash in on his fading celebrity: he could get out _now,_ while a decent amount of people still want his autograph – and if he sticks around too long, he’ll surely be remembered as a mere has-been while the job offers make like ice cream in the sun – but if he’s still got what it takes, he can lead his team to victory one last time and go out on top. Do they win the big game? I don’t know; the movie ends once our hero is hit by career-ending tacklers. Heston apparently broke three ribs filming that scene. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/52 "2013-05-09T17:19:05Z")
There was [The Comrades of Summer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103997/). The Soviet baseball team loses to an American major league team but gets a standing O from the crowd for their efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/53 "2013-05-09T17:22:36Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > _The Karate Kid_, according to Barney Stinson. > > "Hey, Karate Kid is a great movie. It’s the story of a hopeful, young karate enthusiast who’s dreams and moxie take him all the way to the all-valley karate championship. > > Of course, he loses in the final round to that nerd kid. But, you know, it’s an important lesson about gracefully accepting defeat." And Daniel wins illegally. They specifically said “no kicks to the face,” then Daniel crane kicks him in the face and wins! GAH - I’m still irritated by that. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/54 "2013-05-09T18:11:53Z")
How about draws? In _Victory_, the POW’s manage the feat in the fixed soccer match against the German pros, despite having a goal disallowed by a cheating ref, but they all manage to escape into the Paris crowd outside before having to play overtime. Pele blended right in, too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/55 "2013-05-09T18:30:22Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > How about draws? In _Victory_, the POW’s manage the feat in the fixed soccer match against the German pros, despite having a goal disallowed by a cheating ref, but they all manage to escape into the Paris crowd outside before having to play overtime. Pele blended right in, too. 😉 They didn’t have overtime back then (although I wouldn’t have put it past the Germans to invent it just so they could win) - the game was over after Stallone’s character saved the penalty. And they never do say what happened to the original goalkeeper (the one whose arm they broke in order to get Stallone’s character onto the team that went to Paris). > [@kenetic](#): > > 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. No, they lost in the movie as well. In fact, “the version I heard was,” pretty much the first thing the producers did with every script submitted was, they turned to the end, and if the team ended up winning, the script was tossed. (Trivia: in real life, that team lost in the semi-finals to the team that eventually won the state championships, only to be stripped of the title for having ineligible players…and even though the team in the movie came closest to beating that team, Texas’s high school athletics association gave the state championship to the other team in the final.) > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > _Charlie Brown’s All-Stars_. I’m surprised ABC still shows that. It was made back when Little League still had its “Boys Only - No Exceptions - any league with a girl on it need not bother sending a team to the tournament that leads to the Little League World Series” rule. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I’m not sure whether _Million Dollar Baby_ counts. The only reference to the result was when paralyzed Maggie tells her mother something like, “I won, didn’t I?”, and her mother replies, “They’re saying that you lost” (i.e. since the referee didn’t see the hit after the bell, he couldn’t disqualify the champion). > [@the\_diego](#): > > Can’t recall: did Rudy’s football team win in the end? I think the movie ended before the game did, but they were well ahead (and they did score a touchdown near the end of the game so Rudy could get back in on defense). ---
**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 9, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/56 "2013-05-09T18:33:57Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > There was [The Comrades of Summer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103997/). The Soviet baseball team loses to an American major league team but gets a standing O from the crowd for their efforts. _Best of the Best_ had Team America lose to Korea in a martial-arts tournament, but only because Eric Roberts refused to score points by continuing to pummel his badly dazed opponent, who’d probably have died if the beatdown continued. So the Koreans get the win, but of course present their medals to our heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/57 "2013-05-09T19:25:20Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > I think the movie ended before the game did, but they were well ahead (and they did score a touchdown near the end of the game so Rudy could get back in on defense). The real game that Ruettiger played in was was 1975-11-08. Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 24-3. The sack was in fact the last play of the game. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/58 "2013-05-09T19:35:41Z")
George Plimpton was humiliated in his one game with the Detroit Lions in [Paper Lion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_Lion_(film)). Of course, the movie was based on Plimpton’s humiliating (but entertaining) real-life tryout with the Lions. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/59 "2013-05-09T20:20:56Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > The real game that Ruettiger played in was was 1975-11-08. Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 24-3. The sack was in fact the last play of the game. Cool. There’s some good trivia here: [Waking Up Rudy’s Echoes by Jeff Merron](http://espn.go.com/page2/s/merron/021202.html) **In Reel Life:** The Notre Dame players go nuts when Rudy gets in the game and makes a tackle. **In Real Life:** “Oh, the guys just went crazy on the sideline,” said Joe Montana on Charles Kuralt’s “Sunday Morning” show in December 1992. “I mean, it was like we had won the national championship almost. I mean, that’s how – how excited everybody was for him.” **In Reel Life:** At the end of the film, it says, “Since 1975, no other Notre Dame player has been carried off the field.” **In Real Life:** “That’s BS,” Bob Golic, a teammate and friend of Rudy’s, told the L.A. Times. “In 1978, I got a concussion and they carried me off on a stretcher.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771/60 "2013-05-09T20:44:06Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I thought I heard that entire ending [of _Dodgeball_] was itself a joke? The whole damn movie was! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-movies-where-the-protagonists-lose-spoilers/657771.md?page=4)