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If you are a sports movie buff, you know how effective sports films are at inspiring and encouraging audiences to do more, be more, and give more. How can you watch an underdog struggle and strive and not become excitied about tackling your own problems head on? Can you really see a team or player be mistreated without feeling compassion and developing a greater understanding of the human experience?
With all of the questionable forms of entertainment available today, sports movies tend to be appropriate for families with great stories and moral themes. This lens is dedicated to all of the great sports movies that encourage us and our families, and to the movie buffs who can't get enough of them.

You may have noticed from my bio pic that I'm not the most likely sports movie buff ever. I'm a little surprised about it myself. The truth is that my husband is the original sports movie buff, and over the past four years we have watched almost every sports movie ever made, EVER.
Seriously.
Hubby and Two of the Three Sweetest Kids EVER
However, because of his love of sports (former football player himself) and his refusal to do anything that I like to do (he didn't want to take those ballroom dancing lessons; go figure), we have had a lot of time to watch movies and discuss their merit. Sports movies tend to have themes and messages that we agree with, and they are generally safe to watch with family and kids (except my three-year-old son who tackles his baby sisters during football season), so they get first pick when we're looking for wholesome entertainment.
Because of my husband, I know more about sports movies than most guys I know (which is pretty sweet), and I know the difference between the greats and the not so greats. We've seen more movies than those listed, and we'll probably see every sports movie that will ever be made from now to kingdom come.
With that said, I really do think Eddie (Whoopi Goldberg) was a good movie! It would have made the list, but then there was Rocky, so you know, somebody had to win the coin toss...
:-P
Vote your favorites up and your not-so-favorites down so that this list will reflect what sports movie buffs like YOU think are the best of the best!
If you see one that you don't yet have in your video library, click on it to get it from Amazon at the lowest price!
All his life people have told Rudy he s not good enough not smart enough not big enough. But nothing can stop his impossible dream of playing football for Notre Dame.From the time he s a young boy Rudy (Sean Astin) is determined to join the Fighting Irish. But his blue-collar family only laughs at his ambitions -- they know Rudy will follow his father and brother to the local steel mill. And for four long years after high school he does just that. But some dreams won t die as Rudy proves when he...1 point
Suburban Virginia schools have been segregated for generations in sight of the Washington Monument over the river in the nation's capital. One Black and one White high school are closed and the students sent to T.C. Williams High School under federal mandate to integrate. The year is seen through the eyes of the football team where the man hired to coach the Black school is made head coach over the highly successful white coach. Based on the actual events of 1971 the team becomes the unifying sy...1 point
No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 4-DEC-2007
Media Type: DVD1 point
A genuine stand-up-and-cheer movie about a courageous high school football team's fight to fulfill their destiny and live their dream, Friday Night Lights is "unforgettable and real!" (Larry King) Billy Bob Thornton stars in a true American story of how one legendary Texas town made hope come alive under the exhilarating glare of Friday Night Lights! "One of the greatest sports stories ever told" (Sports Illustrated) is now "one of the greatest sports movies ever made!" (Larry King)1 point
Football coach Harold Jones (Harris) befriends Radio (Gooding), a mentally-challenged man who becomes a student at T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson, South Carolina. Their friendship extends over several decades, where Radio transforms from a shy, tormented man into an inspiration to his community.1 point
Presenting the complete KARATE KID COLLECTION a rousing collection of four uplifting coming-of-age adventures that will leave you cheering! Two teenagers learn important lessons in life friendship and the art of self-defense from their wise mentor Mr. Miyagi. Starring Ralph Macchio Oscar®-nominated Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (Best Supporting Actor THE KARATE KID 1984) and Academy Award®-winner Hillary Swank (Best Actress Boys Don't Cry 1999).Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 043396047280 Manufactur...1 point
A phenomenal hit when it was released in 1989, Field of Dreams has become a modern classic and a uniquely American slice of cinema. It functions effectively as a moving drama about the power of dreams, a fantasy ode to our national pastime, and a brilliant adaptation of W.P. Kinsella's exquisite baseball novel Shoeless Joe. Kinsella himself found the film a delightful surprise, differing greatly from his novel but benefiting from its own creative variations. It is the film that cemented Kevin Co...1 point
One of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, this box-office hit cemented writer-director Cameron Crowe's reputation as "the voice of a generation." Crowe could probably do without that label, but he's definitely in sync with the times with this savvy story about a sports agent (Tom Cruise) whose fall from grace motivates his quest for professional recovery, and the slow-dawning realization that he needs the love and respect of the single mom (Renée Zellweger in her breakthrough role) who has...1 point
This highly acclaimed winner of five Emmy Awards is one of the best-loved movies ever made for television. It s the true story of the special relationship between two professional football players Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) and Brian Piccolo (James Caan). Both star players for the Chicago Bears Sayers and Piccolo soon become roommates and best friends. When Sayers suffers a knee injury in mid-season it s Piccolo who prods and inspires him to work toward a complete recovery. Then fate deals...0 points
Football is a game that knocks you down, then expects you to get back up. Life hit the West Virginia town of Huntington and its Marshall University even harder. When it did, Jack Lengyel came by to help pull them onto their feet by taking the job no one wanted: rebuilding the Marshall football program only months after a plane crash wiped out Marshall's beloved Thundering Herd. Matthew McConaughey portrays Lengyel, the energetic, compassionate coach of inexperienced players whose chances of vict...0 points
Universal Cinderella Man - HD-DVD
Academy Award winners, Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, star in this inspirational and triumphant true American story, "Cinderella Man." When a nation was on its knees, a courageous underdog brought them to their feet, overcoming incredible odds to become a legendary champion and an American hero. A story about second chances and man's fight of desperation for the goodof his family together.0 points
Based on a true-life story set in 1970s Philadelphia PRIDE follows determined swimming coach Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) as he as struggles to gain recognition and respect for his African-American team. Operating out of a recreational center in a rough part of Philly Ellis s loose-knit group of teens face difficulties dealing with both criminal and racial issues making it that much harder to keep them focused on swimming. When Ellis gets a chance to take on the swim team of a school that rejecte...0 points
IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 30 2005 The second film directed by actor Bill Paxton is a marked departure--in both form and content--from his debut 2001's FRAILTY a shadowy gothic tale of murder. THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED is a sports movie slash Horatio Alger rags-to-riches tale with undertones of class consciousness and social critique. The story is based on a real-life event--the 1913 U.S. Open golf championship--at which two equally sympathetic young men both of whom grew up economically and soci...0 points
When the coach of Vince Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time--no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way. Certainly no one like Papale--a down-on-his-luck, 30 year-old, substitute teacher and part-time bartender who never even played college football. But against these odds, Papale made the team and soon found himself living every fan's fantasy--moving from his cheap....0 points
Teenagers at a juvenile detention center under the leadership of their counselor gain self-esteem by playing football together.System Requirements:Run Time: 125 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG - 13 UPC: 043396163058 Manufacturer No: 163050 points
The story of a high school basketball coach who receives both criticism and praise after benching his entire team due to poor grades.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 2-JAN-2007
Media Type: DVD0 points
The studio that brought you REMEMBER THE TITANS now delivers another winner with this exciting and inspirational true story of the team that changed college basketball -- and the nation -- forever! Josh Lucas (SWEET HOME ALABAMA) stars as future Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins of tiny Texas Western University, who bucks convention by simply starting the best players he can find: history's first all-African American lineup. In a turbulent time of social and political change, their unlikely success...0 points
A disillusioned war veteran, Capt. Rannulph Junah (Matt Damon), reluctantly agrees to play a game of golf. He finds the game futile until his caddy, Bagger Vance (Will Smith), teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke which turns out also to be the secret to mastering any challenge and finding meaning in life.0 points
Ali is a rush of charm, violence, and well-crafted mythmaking sure to enthrall. From the unforgettable surge of the opening--a 10-minute montage of sheer brilliance where formative scenes from the early life of Cassius Clay float along on the rapture of a live performance by Sam Cooke in a Harlem nightclub--through to Muhammad Ali's departure for Zaire to fight George Foreman, Michael Mann's homage is mostly crisp and fleet-footed. As Clay/Ali, Will Smith acquits himself marvelously due in large...0 points
Director Robert Aldrich had a knack for depicting outsiders with originality and authenticity. Much like The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Yard is a popular fable about integrity and group unity. It possesses a requisite toughness along with the loneliness that accompanies the outsider status. Compromise is never easy in an Aldrich film. There's always a bitter price to pay.
Burt Reynolds, in peak form, plays a former pro quarterback ostracized for shaving points. After beating up his girlfriend and...
0 pointsThe story of pro quarterback Paul Crewe (Sandler) and former college champion and coach Nate Scarboro (Reynolds) who are doing time in the same prison. Asked to put together a team of inmates to take on the guards Crewe enlists the help of Scarboro to coach the inmates to victory in a football game fixed to turn out quite another way.System Requirements:Starring: Adam Sandler Chris Rock Burt Reynolds William Fichtner James Cromwell Directed By: Peter Segal Running Time: 113 Min. Copyright Paramo...0 points
Warner Brothers Million Dollar Baby - HD DVD
"I DON'T TRAIN GIRLS", trainer Frankie Dunn growls. But something's different about the spirited boxing hopeful who shows up daily at Dunn's gym. All she wants is a fighting chance. Clint Eastwood plays Dunn and directs, produces and composes music for this acclaimed,multi-award-winning tale of heart, hope and family. Hilary Swank plays resilient Maggie, determinednot to abandon her one dream. And Morgan Freeman is Scrap, gym caretaker and counterpoint...0 points
Fictional account of African American boxer of the early 1900s who defies social conventions by having an affair with a white women and who is attacked for his outspoken racial views.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 11-JAN-2005
Media Type: DVD0 points
In 1945, the world of baseball was divided between the Majors and the Negro Leagues - but the time has come for change. Will Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson or Jackie Robinson be the first to take the field in the Majors?0 points
Kung Fu expert Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a martial arts master who arrives in Hong Kong to compete in the Kumite a violent championship fighting contest.Running Time: 92 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 0853937744240 points
Fetching blurbs now... please stand by
I have to say, the remake was my favorite. I didn't think I would like Adam Sandler in a leadership role, but he was hilarious. And Terry Crews as "Cheeseburger"? Come on, you've got to admit that THAT was a riot!
Posted August 27, 2008
Although we love sports movies and we watch them together, we disagree on which ones are the absolute best. But hey, he's a guy that played football, I'm a girl who cries watching Sci-Fi (there was one episode of Stargate Atlantis that was really sad). So, his Top Three and mine differ a bit.Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.D2: The Mighty Ducks - DVD- Duck Power triumphs ag more...1 point
Three bad news Bears movies about the hard-luck te more...0 points
There are obviously movies that we all know and love that didn't make the Top 25. However, if you are outraged that one of your favorites didn't make the list, YOU list it here. If it gets enough votes, I may just have to change the Top 25 to reflect the people's choice!