I have to give credit to the Rivoli theater in Cedarburg for inspiring me to put together my list of go-to sports movies.
The historic movie house is in the midst of a two-week long sports movie marathon. It is a great idea and I am hoping to check out a few of the films that will be back on the big screen.
Over the weekend, I was discussing that series with people and decided that I should come up with my own list of favorite sports movies.
I am not going to try to rank these in order, but these are what would be playing at the theater if someone came to me and asked for my recommendations.
You are probably aware of most, if not all, of these movies, but I will add a brief description about each selection.
As with any list, there are some notable features that may surprise you when you discover they are missing. Obviously, we all have different tastes, so I invite you to watch, or rewatch, some of these.
Now, grab your popcorn, some Raisinets and a beverage — and don’t forget to silence your phone — and let’s get ready because the movies are about to begin.
Aaron Carlson, News Graphic sports editor
■ Hoop Dreams — This is a movie that you may not have seen or might have seen but forgotten about, but this was a fascinating documentary that was ahead of its time. This feature, which was essentially reality TV before that genre took off, followed Chicago area high school basketball phenoms Arthur Agee and William Gates. If everything had gone as planned, it would have been a fascinating look at the journey from preps to the pros, but it tells a real-life story filled with highs and lows, both on and off the court.
■ Draft Day — I will concede that it is a little far-fetched at times, but I have always been fascinated by the real-life world of being a general manager in professional sports and what types of things go down when negotiating a trade and how a club decides who to select when making a draft pick. It is sensationalized at times and the ending seems a bit unrealistic, but it does put you in the room for the negotiations and give a glimpse of what happens as franchise-altering decisions are made. Moneyball is another movie that I really enjoy that takes the viewer into the front office, but the NFL Draft is a much bigger event and this film puts you there.
■ Little Giants — I will admit that this is a bit of a nostalgia selection for me as there are probably better football movies, but this is a feature that I always enjoy watching. And I am not just saying that because I was afraid that “Icebox” would beat me up if I didn’t write that. Plus, Ed O’Neill — who played Al Bundy on the classic TV show “Married with Children” — is one of the stars of this movie. It is a bit corny, but there are a lot of laughs throughout the film and it is just simple fun. If that isn’t enough, John Madden makes an appearance to call a Pee-Wee football game. Boom!
■ Miracle — This is the movie that chronicles the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team. It covers the highlights of a somewhat unlikely journey to the gold medal by the Americans, which included an upset victory against the Soviet Union. In addition to the wins on the ice, this inspirational movie pulls no punches in its portrayal of head coach Herb Brooks and his relationships with the players on the team and features a cameo appearance by Al Michaels, who called the game and made the memorable call that essentially gave the movie its name.
■ Caddyshack — If you have not seen this movie, you probably are at least familiar with some of the memorable lines from this cult classic. An all-star cast of Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight and Bill Murray were brilliant and actually improvised many of the classic scenes set at fictional Bushwood Country Club. It is difficult to put into mere words what made it to the silver screen, but keep in mind that gambling is illegal at Bushwood and I never slice.
■ Tin Cup — There are myriad fantastic golf movies that I could have added to this list, but this Kevin Costner effort is one that I think is sneaky good. If you did not know better, you might think this is loosely based on John Daly. The basic spoiler-free plot of this story is that a down-on-his-luck club pro attempts to qualify for the U.S. Open and overcome his demons, all while woo his psychiatrist.
■ Major League — The story of a baseball team owner who puts together a roster full of players that are either past their prime or years away from stardom in an effort to have a record bad enough that the franchise can relocate from Cleveland to Miami. Aside from some cost-cutting measures implemented by the owner for comedic effect, this movie gives a pretty good window into the Major League lifestyle. I quote this movie multiple times every single day, with many of those lines being the ones improvised by the great Bob Uecker. And, for those that don’t know, while the movie is about Cleveland’s baseball team, a good portion of this classic was filmed in Milwaukee.
■ Major League 2 — Don’t worry, I will not be filling the list with the entire Major League trilogy, but I cannot put together a top 10 and not include this film. As a lifelong baseball fan, what I really enjoy about the sequel is that the focus remains on baseball and continues to develop the characters we met in the original. Once again, Uecker is hilarious and most of the cast from the first edition are back for another season.
■ Just a Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Brewers — I recently wrote about this release which tells the story about the 1982 American League champions. I put this on my list not because of a recency bias — it is by far the newest movie here — but due to proximity. I would argue that it is worth a look if you are a baseball fan even if the Brewers are not your favorite team. There is a ton of footage from when the games and events actually happened, then commentary from the players that made the memories. It was a lot of fun to watch about the most successful season in franchise history.
■ Tiger Town — I probably cannot make an argument about this truly being one of the 10 best sports movies of all time, but it is definitely among the 10 movies I have seen the most times. It was a made-for-TV movie for the Disney channel and features a boy that is a devoted fan of the Detroit Tigers and their aging superstar Billy Young. This film spoke to me because I was kind of like Alex, the star of the film, who was a fanatic of the local team. It is a relatively simple story, with the big action scene being the child’s trials and tribulations attempting to make it to Tiger Stadium for the big game.
In a break with tradition, I will add a very brief honorable mention list. Close to making the cut were “The Blind Side,” and I will note that I bought a Michael Oher jersey because of that movie; “The Rookie,” the story about Jim Morris’ journey to the Majors; “Hoosiers,” a movie I watched in several coaching classes for my minor while in college; “The Sandlot,” and like most, I was afraid of “the Beast,”; and ”Johnny Be Good,” a movie that for some reason I watched countless times growing up when I slept over at my best friend’s house.
I hope you enjoyed this list, and that it might introduce you to a movie or two you might not have seen before.
This post was originally published on here
