"Pick Me Out a Winner, Bobby"

When I was a sophomore in college, I was required to take a Sports Sociology class as part of my major curriculum.

Apparently to the teacher, sports sociology = watching sports movies and writing reviews on them.

(Yes, I know you're jealous that I had a class where all I did was watch sports movies. Pick a better major next time, mmkay?)

During the course of the semester, we watched Hoosiers, Eight Men Out, Hoop Dreams, The Program, a documentary on Jerry Tarkanian at Fresno State called Between the Madness, and possibly Jerry Maguire (I honestly don't remember when and where I've watched Jerry Maguire, since I've seen it a lot. I figure it's a good bet I watched it in this class).

So the other day I happened to be playing a Sporcle game where you had to name the baseball movie by the screen capture. Two things you should know about this fact:

1. Sporcle is pretty much the most awesome website EVER. If you ever want to procrastinate at work, I recommend it (err....not that I do it, in case my boss happens to be reading this. Hi Monica! *waves*).
2. I missed a good five or six of the movies. That's pretty sad. (But to be fair, would any of YOU be able to guess Bang the Drum Slowly or 61? Shut up, you would not.)

This got me to thinking about great sports movies, and more importantly, what I consider to be a great sports movie. Clearly, judging by my Sporcle score, I haven't seen a whole lot of them. However, I do have a few that are my go-to classics.

Now, before I share my top five movies, let me preface the list with this disclaimer: The Natural, Bull Durham, A League of Their Own, Rocky, Major League, Rudy, Brian's Song, Seabiscuit, Remember the Titans, Slap Shot, Days of Thunder, and Field of Dreams....all those movies ranked constantly as the tops in sports films? Yeah, they didn't make my list. It's not to say that I haven't seen them (although, I haven't seen a bunch of those named...not gonna lie) or don't like them, it's just that I've picked out five movies that I can sit and watch again and again. Endurance is key.

OK....here goes:

#5.....The Cutting Edge.  Beautiful and snotty figure skater meets hottie injured hockey player. They hate each other, but you know it's just a matter of time before they hook up. And win the Olympics! (with the Pamchenko Twist, no less...although, let's be real....there's no way that move is anywhere close to being possible to do). Also? How much do the words "toe pick" seep into your brain after watching it?

#4....Love and Basketball. The hoops skillz! The soundtrack! Omar Epps's abs! Seriously, what's not to like in this awesome girl vs. boy love drama about making it as a cager? And those other basketball movies? They're no Spaulding.

#3....The Blind Side. There's a reason Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress Oscar for this movie. It's brilliant....and it's real life, no less. Plus....guys? Quinton Aaron, who played Michael Orr, made me cry in pretty much every scene. Even when he wasn't talking. He was that amazeballs.

#2....Bend it Like Beckham. Before they made it big as TV and movie stars, Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley (respectively) were kicking it up as female footballers in this 2002 Indie flick. The cultural aspect (Indian girl going against her family's wishes), the friendship aspect (at one point Knightley's mother suspects them of having a lesbian relationship), and some good old fashioned soccer ridiculousness make this a must-see. It doesn't hurt that Jonathan Rhys Meyers and his hottie hot Irish accent also star in the film.

and finally.....

#1....Ice Castles. This is probably the first sports movie I ever saw, and I love it to this day. We owned it on a beta disc, and no lie... I wanted to BE Lynn-Holly Johnson (minus the whole blind part), date Robby Benson and skate around an ice rink to the Ice Castles theme getting flowers thrown at me. Who am I kidding...I still do.

*Honorable mentions go out to For the Love of the Game, D2: The Mighty Ducks, The Program, The Replacements, and Coach Carter.

So sports movie buffs....what films do you agree with me on? What are your fav sports films and why? Let me know!

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