ESPN Top 25 Sports Movies (1 Viewer)

[Lew Crippen]

Slap Shot was a 1977 movie.

 

[Richard Kim]

Okay, I got it.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Richard, I probablhy should have mentioned that I was not piling on---but pointing out that you were not alone in missing the time period.

 

[Chad Ferguson]

Did I miss something or was Any Given Sunday not one of the most intense and sport focused movie out there? Instead crap like Remember the Titans which just attempts to the pull the heart strings. What do you expect I guess with a horribly cliched movie as your number 1.

 

[Steve Christou]

eeeek where's Grand Prix (1966)?!!!

 

[Walter Kittel]

And we're still not alone.

- Walter.

 

[Chris_Richard]

Abbott and Costello would be proud

 

[Steve Christou]

Actually that was in response to Lews post, Walter ol'chum.

 

[Walter Kittel]

One never knows.

- Walter.

 

[Steve Christou]

Well I'm still upset Grand Prix's not in there...

 

[Chris]

I can't believe "Cool Runnings" didn't make the list

Neh, pretty happy with the list.. I regard "Hoosiers" highly, and was glad to see it #1, not just a great sports movie, but a great -movie- about overcoming the odds, and for those of us that grew up in very small towns, it has somewhat of a special place for us

 

[Eric Howell]

Have not seen 61*, Ali, or Cobb so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, but how could Finding Forester(not a basketball movie, IMO) be on the list and Hoop Dreams be left off? Hoop Dreams is top 10 material for sure.

Other minor omissions that I’d take over their top 25. :
Big Lebowski (as about Bowling as Hurricane is about Boxing)
Happy Gilmore (over Tin Cup)
Shaolin Soccer (over White Men Can’t Jump)

Statistical Breakdown of ESPN’s list:
Baseball: 9
Basketball: 3
Boxing: 3
Football: 3 (counting Jerry Maguire here)
Golf: 2
Soccer: 1
Chess: 1
Track: 1
Horse Racing: 1
Pool: 1

I agree that baseball seems to make the best sports backdrop for movies, but I wonder how these movies translate in places like Europe where I assume baseball isn’t very popular?

 

[Chris_Richard]

Eric - I hadn't thougth about it but bowling is certainly more integeral to the plot of Lebowski as the sport is to Finding Forester or Hurricane.

Steve - It could have been worse. They could have put that great auto racing epic Driven on the list.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Hey, where's Fever Pitch?

But seriously, very much tilted towards American sports, but then again that's to be expected with an ESPN poll. Curious, though, that Bend It Like Beckham made the expert's list.

 

[Chad Ferguson]

Some of these films seem kinda loose sports wise, then why not have Bowling for Columbine in there...
Also , I totally agree about Hoop Dreams, it deserves and has earned to be on any kind of list, you would think a sports one would just be a given.
Thanks

 

[Jon Mahoney]

This list is awful. Sports Guy's going to do his list soon he said since he's embarrassed ESPN put this list out. Here are the main ones I think they left out:

Days of Thunder (Chess is a sport?, A writer who plays basketball is a sport? but Nascar isn't? and just for the record I hate Nascar)

Sandlot - no explination needed

Without Limits - this is in my opinion, if not the top sports movie in the last 25 years, but atleast in the top 5. If you havn't seen this go get it for $7.99 on DVD. Great acting by Billy Crudup, Monica Potter and Donald Sutherland.

Miracle - must not have made the cut for time.

Major League 2 - I think it's even better than the first. Come on, Black Hammer, White Lightening!

Victory - Come on, Sly Stallone playing goalie! OK, nevermind total lapse in judgement.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

This list suffers greatly from the age limit. Limiting it to 25 years leaves out far superior sports movies such as:

Pride of the Yankees (I can't believe I just wrote that after last night's game in the Bronx:b)

North Dallas Forty

The Longest Yard

Fear Strikes Out (even though Anthony Perkins throws like a girl)

And the greatest sports movie of all time - Slap Shot!!!

Bad ommision on The Sandlot and (if not time related) Miracle.

 

[Chris]

As noted, though, we're only talking 25 years. Lots of the films that keep coming up are outside of that number.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Actually Walter, where Steve is concerned, one should always suspect

 

[Ray Chuang]

Jeff Gatie, you wrote:



You can say that again. It leaves out Rocky, Slap Shot, and Grand Prix, all truly landmark sports-themed films.