1o. Invincible – I loved the plot, and I thought it was an interesting concept for a movie, yet it was based on a true story. To see a guy come from the streets and get a chance to play in the NFL is really cool. Also, I liked that the movie was based on Papali’s character so that it incorporated other aspects of his life outside of football. It told a complete story and it was very enjoyable.
9. The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh – For some strange reason, everytime this movie came on ESPN Classic, I loved watching it. It was a crazy mix of basketball in the 70′s and the influence that an astrologer and a kid had on a professional basketball team. With guys like Dr. J and Kareem Abdul Jabbar having roles in the movie, I felt it was funny and out-of-place. Usually when you get players of their caliber to star in movies, they are usually more serious kinds of movies. It went against all conventional movie characteristics and that’s why I always liked it.
8. Waterboy – Pure Sandler comedy. So many funny parts and funny lines that can be used everyday conversations, which shows how clever it is behind all of that goofiness. It’s the kind of movie that I can watch at any given time. Also, for a comedy, it was a very inspiring movie for a lot of people. Bobby Boucher shows that with a little hard work and some elbow grease, you can do anything you put your mind to. “You can do it!”
7. White Men Can’t Jump – One of my all-time favorites. This movie has an authentic school yard feel to it. It shows how for some of these street guys basketball is their lives, and they take it very seriously. I think that Harrelson and Snipes do a wonderful job as partners in crime, and their relationship in the movie is classic.
6. Junction Boys - This was a made-for-tv movie on ESPN, which was about legendary coach Bear Bryant and the rigorous workouts that he put his players through during the summer time. Tom Berenger, who plays Bryant, is excellent in his role as the hard*ss coach that only cares about winning and working hard to achieve that goal. I also felt that the players really captured their roles as well. Some of them were very respectful of Bear Bryant as a coach, whereas others hated his attitude and short-sightedness. To Bryant, it was football or death; nothing in between. If you haven’t seen it, I would suggest renting it on DVD.
5. Remember The Titans – Denzel Washington does an incredible job as one of the coaches for a desegrated high school football team. This movie has many messages about race and equality, and it jerks out many emotions from the viewer. It is wonderful to see how the team puts their differences aside in the end after one of their best players becomes paralyzed from the waist down. Sometimes it takes an extreme event to bring people together, and I felt this movie did a great job at showing that.
4. Jerry Maguire – This movie has gone down as one of the best of its kind. The agent-player relationship between Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Junior is one that is unforgettable. Cruise’s character, Jerry Maguire, is a struggling agent who invests his life into Cuba Gooding Junior’s character, Rod Tidwell. Tidwell comes off as arrogant, and showing little concern for anyone but himself in the beginning. But by the end, when a possible career-threatning injury occurs to Tidwell, he realizes how important his agent Jerry Maguire truly is. Sounds similar to Remember The Titans now that I think about it.
3. The Wrestler – I am a Jersey guy, so that definitely affected the way I feel about this movie. Also, I was a wrestling fan for the greater part of my lifetime, and I thought this movie was an eye-opener for me and other wrestling fans alike. This movie goes in depth into the life behind a wrestler, and that it is really not all fun and games once their careers start to take a downturn. They are treated like pieces of meat, and once they are no longer desirable as wrestlers, they get thrown to the dogs to be chewed up and spit out. On a lighter note, Mickey Rourke and Marissa Tomei play their roles beautifully, and they really capture the emotions of their characters. By far my favorite non-comedy movie in 2008.
2.Brian’s Song – This is an all-time classic movie, book, and real-life story about the life of Brian Piccolo. Brian Piccolo was a running back for the Chicago Bears for 4 years. During his short time with the bears, a young running back by the name of Gale Sayers was drafted to the team and was competing for the starting job with Piccolo. Piccolo, being the starter when Sayers came in, did not want to relinquish his role to the young back, and this caused a schism between them. When Piccolo is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Sayers is the one that is there by his side trying to get him through it all. This movie is Sayers’ account of his friendship with Piccolo and how hard it was going through the tough times with Brian. A must watch for anyone who hasn’t seen it.
1. Rocky (All 6) – The Rocky double trilogy, as I like to call it, is what great sports movies are all about. It shows how the 
determination of one man can conquer mountains, such as Ivan Drago, even though it may logically seem impossible. Rocky is such an inspirational collection of movies that he is actually treated like a real person. There is a statue of him, which is used in his third movie, located in Philadelphia and is considered a landmark. Another place that has gained a ton of exposure from the movie is the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is known for its many steps that Rocky runs up during his training. Because there were 6 movies, the viewer gets to follow Rocky’s life from a young fighter to an older father who still has the heart of a champion through it all. It’s that development of character over such a long period of time that makes Rocky my favorite sports movie(s) of all time. (Rocky 4 is my favorite one if any of you were wondering)
Filed under: Top 10
