Movies Guaranteed to Make You Cry
These are the tear jerkers. A manly sob is always excused when watching these films whose subject matter deals with a football player succumbing to cancer, a developmentally-challenged individual that’s been taken under the wing of a high school coach or a shell-shocked war veteran trying to get his golf game back. Also, I think it’s safe to assume that any movie with a horse as one of the main characters is guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings:
Brian’s Song
Radio
Seabiscuit
The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Blind Side
The Secretariat
Girls Who Kick Ass
The wide world of sports is not just for boys. These fine women all showcase their talents in these movies about girls who just kick ass in general. We’ve got Tom Hanks coaching an all-women’s baseball team (with an all-star cast: Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell), a juvenile delinquent turned gymnast and a surfer who’s defied all odds in spite of a shark attack that’s left her scarred. However, those are only the tip of the girl-power iceberg. Check it out:
A League of Their Own
Bend it Like Beckham
Million Dollar Baby
Blue Crush
Stick It
Whip It
Go Figure
Soul Surfer
Movies for People Who Don’t Like Sports
This list is near and dear to my heart. These movies are not only funny, inspiring and mostly Disney made-for-TV movies, but they all possess a certain pizazz that anyone can enjoy ranging from zonked out bowlers to Jamaican bobsledders to extreme ping pong to Bill Murray in hand to paw combat with a destructive little golf course gopher.
The Big Lebowski
Cool Runnings
Benchwarmers
Dodgeball
The Ringer
Balls of Fury
AlleyCats
WaterBoy
Caddyshack
Brink
Motocrossed
Sports Movies with Epic Speeches
Now some could argue that this is every sports movie ever or any sports movie with a locker-room scene, and I would have to agree. Some might even say that football movies sweep in terms of inspiring speeches. While more than half of this list proves that theory, there are a few that stand out from the crowd.
Miracle
Remember the Titans
We Are Marshall
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Friday Night Lights
Honorable Mention: Best Slow Clap Ever goes to Cool Runnings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31M_MdSVxV8&feature=player_embedded
Which is also a movie for the people who aren’t too keen on sports (see above).
Close Second: Hoosiers has a pretty awesome slow clap too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM0dbwDc2FE&feature=player_embedded
Sports Classics
Baseball is a pretty classic sport. In fact, it’s the oldest sport in America, hence “America’s National Pastime.” This could be why baseball movies dominate my classics list. It’s a sport so embedded in our nation’s culture that it’s hard to imagine stories about a child who can see angels helping the Los Angeles Angels or a whisper telling Kevin Costner “If you build it, he will come” not being the creme de la creme of any sports movie ever.
Angels in the Outfield
The Bad News Bears
Space Jam
Field of Dreams
The Rookie
Major League
Mighty Ducks
Sports Movies that Should Die
You’ve seen the best of the best, now here’s the unmentionables. Nothing is worse than movies that don’t know when to die. These are zombies that cannot be killed. Also, Will Ferrel’s attempt at creating funny sports movies will never happen.
Air Bud: Do you remember Air Bud? The heartwarming Disney Channel movie about a golden retriever that could shoot hoops? Ask anyone under the age of 10 and they won’t know what you’re talking about. Why? Because this movie classic has been eclipsed by Disney’s trademark endless sequels approach to films that should’ve been left alone after the original (I’m looking at you, Lion King II). The children of today won’t know anything about Air Bud because of ten spin-offs that followed including Air Bud: World Pup, Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch, Air Buddies, Snow Buddies, Santa Buddies, Treasure Buddies…when will the madness end?
Bring it On: Kirsten Dunst and spirit fingers? Yes, please. The first movie was pure cheerleading gold. Now there’s Bring It On Again, Bring It On: All or Nothing, Bring It On: In It to Win It, Bring It On: Fight to the Finish…Whoever is making these, please, stop bringing it.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro and all future Will Ferrell sports movies: Just stop for the sake of my sanity, and for anyone else that would like to retain theirs. These movies are not, and will never be, funny. You can all go home now.
Sports Movies You’ve Never Heard Of
These are the oddballs of the bunch. I’ve found everything from paraplegics playing full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs for the 2000 Olympics to Sylvester Stallone competing for his honor in a national arm wrestling competition to a couple of football players going to cheerleading camp. You’re welcome.
MurderBall
8 Seconds
Undisputed
Over the Top
The Express
Fired Up
The Freshman
Rollerball
The Natural
Sports Movies Featuring Keanu Reeves
He’s the man of many roles. Everything from Ted to Neo and a few romantic comedies in between. Reeves also does sports, and when he does them, he does them well.
Hard Ball
The Replacements
Man of Tai Chi (This one’s still in pre-production but looks promising).
Movies You’d Be Mad at Me for Not Mentioning
I knew I’d get no end of butthurting if I didn’t at least stick these on a list somewhere. Monosyllabic (two aside) wonders of the sports arena, these are considered classics, but appear on so many top sports movie lists that you should know them by now.
The Rocky Series
Rudy
The Sandlot
Hoosiers
Ali
Invictus