Sports Movies

[Princess Sparkle]

The new (relatively) 30 for 30 "I Hate Christian Laettner" showed up on Netflix, so I watched it and really enjoyed it. I was too young to know who he was when he was actually playing college basketball, so I went in with no preconceived notions of him. He did come off as a bit of a dick, but no more so than some of the other players I've seen in other 30 for 30s (I'm lookin at you Eric Dickerson and Craig James). And no one will ever out-asshole Bill Laimbeer, at least to me. I loved the Bad Boys doc, but every time Laimbeer spoke, I wanted to punch him in the face.

After the Christian Laettner doc, I wanted to rewatch The Fab Five (since a few of them appeared in the doc), but it looks like that one isn't on Netflix anymore. Bummer.

I also watched "Slaying the Badger" after Sharpie66 mentioned it above, and was fascinated, since I know nothing about cycling. And honestly, while Greg Lemond's life was fascinating on it's own and his relationship with Bernard Hinault was interesting, I could've watched an hour of him snarking on Lance Armstrong. For whatever reason, him telling Lance Armstrong's mother that there was nothing he could do to make Lance less of an asshole was hysterical to me (I wish I could remember the exact quote he said)

Edited April 20, 2015 by Princess Sparkle

[Sharpie66]

I am glad you liked my rec!

This July, check out the Tour de France. I started watching it for the gorgeous scenery (the camera people really know how to make France stunning), but then started to listen to the commentators talk about various cyclists and the team tactics and I got hooked.

[turbogirlnyc]

Hoosiers. I didn't see it mentioned and I'm baffled. Best sports movie ever! Just watched it again on TV last week. So moving and inspiring. Even if it's a bit slow, it's a wonderful movie.

Oh and I love, love, love The Cutting Edge which I saw upthread. Toe pick! Didn't enjoy the sequels at all. I'll stick to the original.

[Rick Kitchen]

I love Hoosiers.

[Shannon L.]

I've watched Hoosiers twice in the last month.  I love it.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I really must watch Hoosiers sometime.  Actually, all of these recommendations sound good.

 

Hoop Dreams, Breaking Away, and The Babe haven't been mentioned yet.  (I haven't seen those either.  On the other hand, count me in for having watched The Cutting Edge a couple of times!)

 

I nominate The Natural for most disappointing sort of sports movie ever.  I wanted baseball!  Was there any?  I didn't notice, I think I had some problems with my eyes that day.  Everything seems hazy in my memory.

 

Does the original Karate Kid count?  Because I freaking loved that movie.  Then again, maybe martial arts (and dancing) should have their own categories.

 

I am so pleased to see the US Olympics hockey win still lives on in memory.  That really was one of the highlights of the 80s.  As for other olympics sports, I really want to see a movie made about women's curling, which I find inexplicably fascinating.

[DollEyes]

Bumping it up to show love for When We Were Kings, the 1996 documentary about "The 'Rumble In the Jungle," the legendary boxing match in  1974 in Kinshasha, Zaire between Muhammad Ali & George Foreman. The film also featured concert footage with James Brown, B.B. King,The Spinners, the Crusaders and Miriam Makeba. The film won the Oscar for Best Documentary, which was richly deserved. 

Edited June 11, 2016 by DollEyes

[Oosala]

On 10/6/2015 at 2:26 AM, ToxicUnicorn said:

Hoop Dreams, Breaking Away, and The Babe haven't been mentioned yet.

Hoop Dreams is now streaming on Peacock.  I just finished watching it (almost 3 hours long) and I really enjoyed it.  I'd seen it in the theater when it first came out.  William and Arthur were both screwed over again and again.  It was one step forward, two steps back.  The moms were such powerful forces for both men, who were just kids when the documentary started.  The startling contrasts of moving from Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing projects to nearly all-white schools, and the 3-hour round trip to get there and back every day, must have been extremely difficult.  I give these boys so much credit for adapting as well as they did.  Arthur's hatred and disrespect for his father, while understandable, was heartbreaking.  The odds are so stacked against even the most talented athletes in these situations, and this documentary really showed that.  And all for the love of the game.

Edited to add The Fighter to this post.  I hate boxing but this movie was just really good, even though I shut my eyes through most of the actual boxing scenes.

Edited November 19, 2022 by Oosala

[BlueSkies]

No mention of Mr. Baseball here.  Great movie.  And it has one of the most underratedly funny lines in cinema history below imo.

Being how baseball is ruled by statistics nowadays this quote was well ahead of its time! 

Edited November 19, 2022 by BlueSkies

[Moose135]

I love Mr. Baseball! It's one I usually watch every year before the start of the MLB season.

[RunningMarket]

Cutting Edge for the pure nostalgia and goofy lines. "Tooooooooe piiiiiiiic!" Major League and Talladega Nights for the laughs. The Natural for the beauty of how its filmed and fantastic acting. (And yes, I still get goosebumps when the music swells during the ending.)

[BlueSkies]

Unnecessary Roughness- an underrated movie 

[proserpina65]

On 11/30/2022 at 7:00 PM, BlueSkies said:

Unnecessary Roughness- an underrated movie 

I love that movie!

[BlueSkies]

Big Fan- one of my favorite football movies.  A very good dark comedy about a Giants fan 

[elle]

On 11/30/2022 at 5:00 PM, BlueSkies said:

Unnecessary Roughness- an underrated movie 

Is this the one with Scott Bakula?  

[BlueSkies]

7 hours ago, elle said:

Is this the one with Scott Bakula?  

correct

[elle]

4 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

correct

I did remember the movie then.  I was confused because I could not find the right movie.  I also mixed it up with the Kurt Russell movie (The Best of Times).  The title is Necessary Roughness.  I thought it had the “Un” too.

[BlueSkies]

In honor of the Buffalo Bills.  This character was my favorite fan of them

 

 

[BlueSkies]

I liked The Mighty Ducks series as a kid.  

 

Ironically the 2nd movie is the one I watched the most and wore out an old VhS tape with.  They were a lot of fun as a kid of the 90s to watch but ironically I think the 3rd one held up the best.  That awkward transition between childhood and adolescence.  Plus it dealt with themes of not knowing what people go through sometimes