Top 10 Sports Movies

For ranking purposes, I will not be including comedies on this list since comedy movies that revolve around sports don't technically qualify as sports movies. However, here are my honorable mentions for comedy sports movies:

HONORABLE SPORTS COMEDY MENTIONS:

Happy Gilmore (1996) - somewhere between Sandler's Oscar-worthy performances and his horrible movies that you'd swear he's only making to piss Hollywood off, lies this gem. The idea of a stereotypical hockey player playing golf is pure comedy gold. Special shoutout to Shooter McGavin, one of the greatest comedy antagonists of all time.

Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (2004) - Dodgeball was that one PE game back in grade school that turned boys vicious, resorting to primal instincts as they formed into two teams that loved nothing more than to hear that sweet, sweet sound of the rubber ball slamming into the other team's face. Naturally, Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller made a comedy about it and they nailed it.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) - Since racing movies still count as sports movies, then I have no choice but to include one of the greatest films to come out of the Ferrell Golden Era of 2000s Comedies. Arguably the most quotable Will Ferrell movie aside from Step Brothers.

Caddyshack (1980) - One could call this the father of sports comedies. With Chevy Chase and Bill Murray at the peaks of their careers, this movie is the epitome of 80's comedy.

Space Jam (1996) - Pure Nostalgia and proof that Michael Jordan, one of the most iconic and talented athletes of all time, has one glaring weakness - acting.

#10 - 42

Oh boy, now I'm about to get emotional about Chadwick Boseman. This was the first movie I ever saw him in and it still resonates with me to this day. His calm and stoic demeanor was perfect for the role of Jackie Robinson. You'll notice a theme during this list, and that is the fact that almost all of these are going to be true stories. The thing about sports movies is that anyone can make up a good sports story, but it's the true underdog stories that really tap into what sports are all about. This movie was an important look into how one of baseball's greatest players had to overcome the challenges of being the first African-American player in the MLB. How did Jackie deal with the racists that chanted disgusting things at him as he approached home plate? He sent fastballs into the stratosphere. What a legend.

#9 - Rudy

When people think "underdog" they typically think about this movie. While most sports movies have been copying this formula for years following this movie's 1993 release, nobody can match its authenticity. It touched every underdog characteristic. A small-town boy trying to make it big. A small-statured boy being told he's not big enough to make it big. Sean Astin really brings it home as Rudy but he'll always be Sam from The Lord of the Rings for me.

#8 - Ford v Ferrari

Racing movies are still sports movies, at least according to my Xfinity channel lists. Racing, especially NASCAR, has one of the more niche fanbases, but nobody can deny racing movies have been some of the coolest of all time. This movie is based on the true story of when Ford tried its luck by creating its very first race car and entering into the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, one of the biggest races in the world. Ferrari has had a monopoly on Le Mans for years and everybody laughed at Ford for even thinking about trying their luck with a race car. Enter Carrol Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale), the dynamic duo of smarts and maverick-style that led to one of the best final acts of any movie I've ever seen. You'll be at the edge of your seat the entire time.

#7 - Million Dollar Baby

This movie didn't win four Oscars, including the Oscar for Best Picture, for nothing. Get the tissues out for this one, because you're gonna need to uproot a tree after this one. Hillary Swank delivers her Oscar performance as a rough-around-the-edges, but gritty boxer who convinces Clint Eastwood (the crowned king of grumpy) to train her. By the way, those tears are going to be sad tears, not happy tears, just a forewarning.

#6 - Field of Dreams

While Million Dollar Baby leads to sad tears, this movie leads to happy tears...every...single...damn...time. Ask you dad about this movie, I promise you he will confidently admit he cried. It’s one of the only movies that has made almost every man cry. ESPN commentators, legends across all sports, and average joes alike have all admitted it’s damn hard to hold back those tears when we hear Kevin Costner say, “Hey Dad, wanna have a catch?” OH, SHIT IT’S ALLERGY SEASON. The plot is kind of ridiculous. A man hears a mysterious voice command him to build a baseball field on his farm, and magically, the ghosts of dead baseball players begin to show up. Don’t think this is biblical metaphor or anything because this is just an ode to the heart of sports. Most of us got into sports because of our parents, and there is simply no other feeling better than playing catch with your dad.

#5 - Miracle

There’s a reason this moment has been called the greatest moment in US sports history. This is a true story starring Kurt Russell (one of my top 5 favorite actors of all time) as Herb Brooks, the coach hired to put together a team of scrappy college kids to compete against the greatest hockey team in the world at the 1980 Olympics. That would usually be enough of a good story, but when the best hockey team in the world is the Soviet Union Olympic hockey team and the Olympics are being played at the height of the Cold War, then you’ve got yourself a battle between nations’ prides as well as teams. At this point, NHL players were not allowed to play in the Olympics, so the team was typically made up of washed up college players. These college players came from all over the US (or wherever hockey is popular which usually means Massachusetts or Minnesota), and they came back from behind to win the gold and inspire a generation of Americans. I’ve heard it’s scientifically impossible not to fist pump the air when Al Michaels screams, “DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES? YES!”

#4 - Rush

The best movie about rivalry, hands down. Again, the best sports movies area always based on true stories, and there is no better rivalry story than this. The wild playboy, James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), versus the methodical genius, Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl). Hot versus cold. Talent versus hard work. Risk-prone versus risk-averse. These two Formulae 1 drivers were complete opposites on and off the track. Set in the glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing in the 1970s, Rush puts on full display all the ups and downs of what defines a rivalry. How both men both hate and respect each other. How each other’s differences highlight each other’s strengths and fatal flaws. This movie is the cinematic personification of competition, and you are going to watch with horror and awe as these two famous adrenaline-junkies try to out-do one another to be the best. Oh, and Hans Zimmer delivers some of his best music.

#3 - Rocky

Da da daaaaaaaaaaa, da da daaaaaaaaaaaa. The most iconic training montage of all time still holds up today. Except when I finish racing up flights of stairs, I am panting on the verge of death instead of fist pumping the air. What else is there to say about the greatest boxing movie ever? I know I throw the word "iconic" around pretty easily, but this movie is quite literally ICONIC. Do yourself a favor and watch it, because you're one of the few left who haven't.

#2 - Moneyball

How can you not be romantic about baseball? Based on the story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and the 2002 Oakland A's as they changed professional baseball forever. Beane is the GM for the A's and is in dire need of saving the team, who is dirt poor compared to teams like the Red Sox or Yankees, who both keep stealing the A's best players with their deep pockets. Then Beane meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill, what are you doing here?), a young economics graduate who has a crazy idea: what if...and bear with me....what if teams judged players based on their statistics instead of how "good the ball sounds coming off the bat." Beane and Brand then recruited what Sorkin calls "an island of misfit toys", a team of overlooked players they could afford for cheap to put together the best team in the MLB. This movie's writing is golden and you could know literally nothing about baseball and love this movie. It's one of my favorites because for all the good stories about "heart" and "grit", it's nice to see one about a real-life, logistical method to the madness.

#1 - Remember the Titans

We all knew this was coming. This movie didn’t win a bunch of awards. This movie didn’t even do well in theaters. Yet, it is typically the go-to movie of sports-fans in my generation when we talk about our favorite sports movie. When you break it down, this movie isn’t too different than a lot of other movies on this list, but there are two aspects that make this my favorite. The first one is that it's small scale. This is just good old Georgia high school football. No grandiose stakes or national attention, just the typical Friday-night euphoria we all enjoyed back in the day. The second aspect I love is the relevance of its message. When you step on the field, race doesn't matter, it's your team versus the other team, and you always get your team's back. In today's divided times, it would do America well to have a national viewing of this film and listen to the wise words of my favorite actor of all time, Denzel Washington, "I don't care if you like each other or not, but you WILL respect each other. And maybe...just maybe...we'll learn to play this game like men."