COLUMN: Top-10 overlooked sports films
Whenever a list of greatest sports movies is created, films like “Remember the Titans” and “Field of Dreams” inevitably rise to the top, while other films are passed over and left out of the discussion entirely. The following ten movies are not the best of all time; rather, they are ten forgotten sports films that deserve a little more credit than they typically receive.
10. “The Replacements” – Based on the 1987 pro football players’ strike, the fictitious Washington Sentinels hire Coach Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) to assemble a group of misfit players and finish the remainder of the season. Hackman recruits washed-up quarterback Keanu Reeves as well as Orlando Jones, Jon Favreau and Roy from “The Office” in an attempt to piece together a winning team. The movie is both a better comedy and a better football film than its more popular counterpart, “The Longest Yard.”
9. “Miracle” – Though well-received by critics and audiences alike, this biographical film following the formation of the U.S. men’s hockey team and its road to the 1980 Winter Olympics is frequently left out of the “greatest films” conversation. The film is an intense portrayal of one of the most significant events in the history of American sports.
8. “Rocky Balboa” – This final installment in the “Rocky” franchise, released 30 years after the original, was a fitting end to a series that desperately needed to forget “Rocky V.” Stallone neatly parallels his character from the first “Rocky” film, delivering the closest thing to an emotional performance he’ll likely ever give.
7. “Cool Runnings” – An obvious product of the early 1990’s, “Cool Runnings” is both hilarious and inspiring. On a list of most-quoted sports movies, this would rank just ahead of “Jerry Maguire” and just barely behind “The Sandlot.”
6. “D2: The Mighty Ducks” – This movie might not ever appear on any other list of forgotten films, but nostalgia demands it be mentioned here. It’s basically “The Goonies” of sports movies. The best scene in the movie shows Team USA playing an aggressive game of street hockey against some neighborhood kids while Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is)” plays in the background.
5. “Moneyball” – Brad Pitt’s depiction of Oakland Athletic’s manager Billy Beane earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and the film was nominated for Best Picture in 2011. The film follows Beane’s struggle to assemble a competitive team despite severely limited funds due to the team’s small market, ultimately resulting in a revolutionary method of scouting players and a historic winning streak by the poorest team in the majors. It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.
4. “Four Days In October” – Part of ESPN’s “30 For 30” series, this film documents the four consecutive days in which the Boston Red Sox challenged baseball history against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. The entire film is available on YouTube and is a must-see for any baseball fan, regardless of team allegiance.
3. “Finding Forrester” – Admittedly gets some degree of credit when placed on a comprehensive list of classics, but rarely placed on the same level as “Rudy” or “Hoosiers” due to the nature of the film. “Finding Forrester” manages to somehow be a basketball movie that isn’t about basketball, which makes sense only after seeing it.
2. “Warrior” – Saying this film is about UFC fighting falls laughably short of doing it justice. “Warrior” is emotionally draining. It’s intense. It’s both thrilling and heartbreaking. It is absolutely brutal in every meaning of the word. “Warrior” is possibly the best fighting movie ever made.
1. “Hoop Dreams” – Printed across the top of “Hoop Dreams'” movie poster is a quote from famed movie critic Roger Ebert, which reads “This is one of the best films … I have ever seen.” “Hoop Dreams” follows the lives of Arthur Agee and William Gates, two basketball players from Chicago trying to make it to the NBA. The film explores economic division, race and education while tracking the young men’s budding basketball careers. “Hoop Dreams” may be one of the most underrated movies ever, regardless of genre.
– Logantjones@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @Logantj