50 Greatest Sports Movies, Part I

I recently conducted a mini-survey to find out what were the 50 greatest sports movies. You probably gathered that from the title, but what you didn’t gather is that a variety of sports fans and movie buffs were asked.
I had hockey fans, baseball fans, football fans, basketball fans, soccer fans, both men and women fill out this survey. Out of sixty choices they listed their own top 50.
Please note that many are interchangeable spots and some were tiebreakers. Obviously, there will be some arguments over the exact rankings, but every greatest list has controversy, I just hope that the top ten and top five are close enough to everyone’s choices (if not, it’s my column, and I do what I want).
So, sit back, enjoy and get ready to use your Blockbuster card, because here are GC&SU’s and The Cheap Seats’ top 50 sports movies.
(Editor’s Note: receiving honorable mentions are “Above the Rim,” “Mr. Baseball,” “Play It to the Bone,” “Baseketball,” “Little Big League,” “Little Giants,” and “Undisputed.”)
50. “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” (golf, 2000).
49. “Kingpin,”(bowling, 1996).
48. “Bring It on,” (cheerleading, 2000).
47. “Varsity Blues,” (football, 1999).
46. “Angel in the Outfield,” (baseball, 1999).
45. “The Junction Boys,” (football, 2002).
44. “Bloodsport,” (martial arts, 1986).
43. “North Dallas Forty,” (football, 1979).
42. “Mystery Alaska,” (hockey, 1999).
41. “The Waterboy,” (football, 1998). The only movie that I’ve ever seen where people in the theater stood up and applauded when Bobby Boucher tackled someone. It’s one of Adam Sandler’s best (which some would argue is an oxymoron).
40. “The Karate Kid,” (martial arts, 1984).
39. “The Color of Money,” (billiards, 1986).
38. “Tin Cup,” (golf, 1996). Kevin Costner … in a sports movie … that’s not baseball? Yeah, it happened. Good movie about a local golf hero giving the pro tour one more shot.
37. “Bad News Bears,”(baseball, 1976). Walter Matthau is a lovable drunk that you hate and then come to love.
36. “Any Given Sunday,” (football, 1999). It has a great cast led by Al Pacino.
35. “Rookie of the Year,” (baseball, 1993).
34. “White Men Can’t Jump,” (basketball, 1992).
33. “The Cutting Edge,” (figure skating, 1992). Yes, a figure skating movie. A hockey player sees that his only chance at a gold medal lies in a female figure skater who skates triple axles into his heart.
32. “The Longest Yard,” (football, 1974).
31. “The Replacements,” (football, 2000). Whoa, Keanu Reeves is a quarterback, whoa. Improbable storyline, but it does lift the spirits and gives you an “I can do anything” feeling and makes you want to sing “I Will Survive.”
30. “Happy Gilmore,” (golf, 1996). Sandler’s back. He has the second highest ranked golf movie with him. Unfortunately, it’s not high enough. Sorry Sandler, but “The price is wrong, b****.”
29. “When We Were Kings,” (boxing, 1997).
28. “Ali,” (boxing, 2001).
27. “Basketball Diaries,” (basketball, 1995).
26. “The Hustler,” (billiards, 1961). Great movie about greed and personal demons. Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats was great casting.
25. “Days of Thunder,” (auto racing, 1990).
24. “Slap Shot,” (hockey, 1977).
23. “For Love of the Game,” (baseball, 1999). Costner and baseball, it’s like peanut butter and jelly. Costner showed his age in this movie, which really added to his great performance of a worn-out Major League pitcher reaching for one more chance at greatness and perfection.
22. “Seabiscuit,” (horseracing, 2003).
21. “Hoop Dreams,” (basketball, 1994). You know what’s better than a movie based on a true story about overcoming adversity? A documentary on two gifted young men doing it right in front of a camera for five years. “Hoop Dreams” is a real sports story based on a movie, not the other way around.
20. “Unnecessary Roughness,” (football, 1991). It’s Texas football once again at its finest. A rough and tumble and unlikely group of players come together with all their quirks and eccentricities to bring a college program back from the dead. They face their rival at the end of the year and the movie just makes you want to stand up and cheer when you’re not laughing your butt off.
Didn’t see your favorite movie? Don’t worry, next week the countdown concludes with the remaining 19.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 19 2004. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry