Sports movies that I don't hate

I am not a sports person, never have been, never will be. There is not an athletic bone in my body, and with the exception of Superbowl and the Olympics no sports are watched in my household. Not surprisingly if you don't like sports to begin with, it's kind of hard to like sports movies. I have been told stories about seeing into the soul of a game and I know people whose religion is baseball, but that doesn't mean I "get it." Heck even if you do love sports and are very passionate about them, it doesn't mean that you nessicarily like sports movies. The plots are pretty predictable, the main team almost always wins, and the characters don't very too much from film to film.

All the same there are some sports movies that I actually like and here is a list of them.

In the world of Hockey movies, nothing in my mind comes close to the kids classic "The Mighty Ducks." The tale of a lawyer with a drinking problem forced to do community service working with a kids hockey team. The story had potential to be very preachy and sentimental, and while it did have it's moments "The Mighty Ducks" was a highly entertaining and often comic movie. I think what really makes the movie is the team itself, the little back stories and quirks for all the kids. In a lot of sports films it's all about the coach and maybe two big players, while there are clear leads I would consider Mighty Ducks more of an ensemble piece. It's also one of the few movies where the sequel was better then the original I "D2 The Mighty Ducks" was more fun then the origional.

In general kids sports films are the way to go. Call it nostalgia but I will take the annexation of Puerto Rico and the antics of The Icebox over any serious sports moviem, any day of the week. "Little Giants" was another cute kids movie about a ragtag team brought together to face off against the tough guys. The dialouge is clever, the coaches are played by Rick Moranis (of Honey I Shrunk the kids and Little Shop of Horror fame) and Ed O'Neil (Al Bundy), the kids do a great job. Really what I like most is how it departs from most sports movies. The underdog does not triumph from hard work; they cheat like crazy, get away with it, and still come out as heroes in the end. "Little Giants" spoke to the unathletic nerds, I may not be able to catch a ball but I could put glue on my hands or outsmart a bloodthirsty jock.

Do not fear not all of my choices are kids films. Although I would like to say for the record that The Sandlot was awesome as were the Bad News Bears. Although compeditive martial arts is not a typical sports film "Sidekicks" with Chuck Norris, was awesome in the cheesy over the top way Chuck Norris movies tend to be. "Angels in the Outfield" is a very cute movie, see if you can spot Matthew McConaughey and Adrian Brody in the team.

In my mind the other good sports movies are ones that don't nessicarily rely on sports games to create the drama. It's not just about winning the big game, it's about personal drama, historic situations, or simply finding out who you are.

"Breaking Away" is a wonderfull film about a young man who is obsessed with Bicycle racing. It takes place in the American midwest in the time before Lance Armstrong, when racing was only a big deal Europe. At the tie the biggest and best competition in the world was the Italian racing team. The main character is obsessed with Italy and spends his days speaking in a fake Italian accent, learning to speak Italian, and listening to opera. His parents have dificulty dealing with his fascination with all things Italian, but they are hilarious. the main characters three best friends also are cause for some hilarity and some more tender moments. You get to see a very young Dennis Quaid. And yes kids this is the first movie I have recomended (at least in this post) that won an oscar, so it's not just my opinion here.

My other favorite sports movie is actually a documentary, but don't let that scare you away. "The Endless Summer" follows a group of surfers as they go around the world in search of waves, and avoiding being caught anywhere resembling the winter. There are great action shots of surfing, amazing locations, and the entire film is held together by a very humerous narrorator.