Ok folks, I have spent too much mental energy to let this one go. I am building a 64 March Madness style tournament for our favorite sports movies (65 actually, as we have a Farrell vs. Farrell play-in game).
We will add some spice as these movies go head to head, and we will encourage anyway to support your favorite movie: post a quote somewhere, wear a t shirt or whatever creative way you can think of to make it fun. As you will see below, I have broken the movies down into specific categories: baseball, football, basketball, fighting sports, racing sports, ice sports, soccer and miscellaneous.
Here are the parameters: overall entertainment value, connections to sports, cultural influence, and other stuff. There are no documentaries in the tourney. That is basically tournament in itself. I have avoided sequels unless something is absolutely essential.
This bracket will be definitive and final. There will be no subjectivity – all decisions will be made with the utmost of adherence to standards and without bias. Unless Kevin Costner, Will Farrell and Adam Sandler are concerned. I basically hate those guys. Costner still gets on the list 3 times, and he could have had 5, even 6.
Also, for the whole list, male-centric underdogs movies basically rule the roost. I would like to give extra points to a movie not about an underdog that stars a female. I don’t think that exists. Maybe a movie about Serena Williams punishing the field for a decade, stacking money and trophies, only to mail it in when she’s bored? Starring Beyonce? I would watch that shit.
Here are the movies – the bracket will be up tomorrow and we will have movie battles next week.
Baseball – The Natural, Moneyball, Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, Bad News Bears, 42, 61*, The Sandlot, Major League, A League of Their Own
Football – Rudy, Friday Night Lights, The Longest Yard (Burt Reynolds), The Replacements, All the Right Moves, The Program, Any Given Sunday, Varsity Blues, The Blind Side
Basketball – Hoosiers, Air Bud, He Got Game, Semi Pro, White Men Can’t Jump, Coach Carter, Glory Road, BASEketball, Facing the Giant
Fighting Movies – Rocky, Karate Kid, Creed, Bloodsport, Warrior, Raging Bull, Vision Quest
Soccer – Bend it Like Beckham, Ladybugs, Invictus, Kicking and Screaming, Escape to Victory
Ice Sports – Miracle, Youngblood, Slapshot, The Cutting Edge, The Mighty Ducks, Cool Runnings, Blade of Glory, I, Tonya
Racing Sports – Seabiscuit, Chariots of Fire, McFarland, Days of Thunder, Talladega Nights, Without Limits, Breaking Away
Misc – Rad, Gleaming the Cube, Bring It On, 8 Seconds, Borg/McEnroe, Dodgeball, Stick It, 7 Days in Hell, American Anthem, Caddyshack
Workout of the Day
OTM 30
Minute 1 – Sled Push
Minute 2 – Rope Climb
Minute 3 – 3 Deadlift 315/225