Top 5 sports movies: a sports writer’s picks

Andrew Neururer
Staff Writer

The Oscars recently took place and none of the nominations or winners were a sports movie, but it got us thinking of a few top sports movies of all-time. There were a lot of considerations for this list, but only five were able to come out. 

Moneyball

In baseball, the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies are a few teams that come to mind when it comes to money and attraction. The Oakland Athletics are not one of those teams on that list. 

Moneyball comes to mind as a top-five sports money because it’s amazing how the organization was able to win games with the resources they were given. With the help of the number crunching genius of Jonah Hill, he and Brad Pitt were able to come up with a system to field players that were able to win games. 

The Blind Side

The Blind Side was one of the bigger movies that has came out in recent years. Michael Oher was a person who faced adversity growing up and was able to overcome that to eventually play in the NFL.

Growing up in a crime-riddled area and living from couch to couch, Oher didn’t have anything handed to him. Once the Touhy family took him in, Oher started to find his potential and greatness within the idea that he could be an NFL player. The movie has a lot of highs and lows, but overall the movie finishes with Oher graduating college and being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round. 

We are Marshall

Marshall University went through a tragedy in 1970 when the football team’s plane crashed, killing 75 players and staff members. Instead of giving up, the University President Donald Dedmon decides to keep the program intact.

Through the help of walk-ons and other players, the program was able to play on. It was a lengthy process, but the team was able to win their first game against Xavier University in it’s first home game of the season. 

Miracle

There may be a little bias here with “Miracle” having Minnesota ties. Winning the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics was the result, but they had to overcome the Soviet Union team who was the favorite to win the whole thing. Hockey in Minnesota, along with a lot of other ties makes this movie a lock in a top-five list. 

Invincible

There are walk-on opportunities for things like the NBA G League and college sports. Not a lot of people can walk-on and play professional football. Vince Papale, played by Mark Walhberg, tries out for the Philadelphia Eagles.

There were hiccups in the road, but eventually he was able to wear an Eagles jersey when it was all said and done. It’s an inspirational story, showing that if someone works hard for something, they can achieve those goals – a little cliché but it’s a good point, nonetheless.  

Other considerations: Rocky III, Space Jam, Coach Carter, Varsity Blues, Friday Night Lights

Feature photo courtesy of the Associated Press.