Final poll!! Which is the greatest sports movie of all time? [Archive]

TillyGalore

10-04-2007, 12:13 PM

I'm going to have to think about this one. My picks, which I realize I need to narrow down to one, are:

Rudy
League of Their Own
Rocky I
Chariots of Fire

I like these particular movies as at the end of them - no matter how many times I've watched the movie - I'm inspired to accomplish whatever dream/goal I have at that time.

bjornolf

10-04-2007, 12:43 PM

bjornolf

10-04-2007, 12:44 PM

I should have said among others. My uncle coached almost 60 future major leaguers in his day.

JasonEvans

10-04-2007, 12:46 PM

TillyGalore

10-04-2007, 01:08 PM

I had so much trouble picking, I decided to vote for A League of Their Own (or Thier Own, as Jason spells it). I went with family duty. My uncle was involved with both that and Field of Dreams. He was the technical advisor for Field of Dreams, but he was the coach for A League of Their Own. He wasn't an actor in the movie, he was the actual coach. He ran a camp to teach all the women how to play baseball, not just pretend to play baseball for a movie. He told me that Geena Davis was one of the most natural athletes he ever coached, and that she did those things in the movie having never held a glove, bat, or baseball before that camp. That's saying something, considering that he coached Mark McGwire, Tom Seaver, Dave Kingman, and Randy Johnson. Anyway, I figured Field of Dreams would get more votes that League of Their Own, so I want with that one.

I got goosebumps reading this post.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Geena lands in a split and catches the ball. And the one where she catches the ball behind her.

The other day on one of the sports radio stations they played the "there's no crying in baseball" scene. I often quote/paraphrase that line.

Leaning towards LOTO, though the others are not very far behind.

juise

10-04-2007, 01:23 PM

I went with Hoosiers because Remember the Titans didn't make the cut. I was looking for a movie that was really centered around a sport, featured a good deal of in-game action and does a good job handling off-court/field issues.

If you asked me which of those movies I would most want to watch on a given night, I would choose Caddyshack in a heartbeat. However, I don't really consider it a "sports" movie. It's a comedy set at a golf course. When the peak of athletic competition in the film involves Rodney Dangerfield, you have to second guess the "sports movie" designation. :)

EarlJam

10-04-2007, 01:53 PM

This is a nightmare.

I'm deciding between Hoosiers, Field of Dreams and The Natural. I get major-league goosebumps at the end of each of those. I thik I cry every time I watch Field of Dreams. This is not easy.

--Jason "Bull Durham, Caddyshack, and Hoop Dreams just barely missed the 'Jason is considering me for his final vote' cut" Evans

Well, the good news is these are all winners. Seems like you can have a winner per sport. That is, #1 Hoops movie is Hoosiers; #1 Football movie is Rudy; #1 Baseball movie is Field of Dreams; #1 Darts movie is Bullseye - All up in It; and so on.

It's all about perspective.

-EarlJam,

juise

10-04-2007, 02:16 PM

Well, the good news is these are all winners. Seems like you can have a winner per sport. That is, #1 Hoops movie is Hoosiers; #1 Football movie is Rudy; #1 Baseball movie is Field of Dreams; #1 Darts movie is Bullseye - All up in It; and so on.

It's all about perspective.

-EarlJam,

This reminds me of the ESPN commercial where they ask the caddies what the best and worst movies about caddies are (Caddyshack and Caddyshack 2, respectively).

Jfrosh

10-04-2007, 02:35 PM

This is a nightmare.

I'm deciding between Hoosiers, Field of Dreams and The Natural. I get major-league goosebumps at the end of each of those. I thik I cry every time I watch Field of Dreams. This is not easy.

--Jason "Bull Durham, Caddyshack, and Hoop Dreams just barely missed the 'Jason is considering me for his final vote' cut" Evans

Those are my final 3 as well. My just barely making the cut also included Rocky. I think I've got to go with Hoosiers. It is one of those (like we had in another thread) that I have to watch if I see it on.

captmojo

10-04-2007, 04:41 PM

...and ever played "catch" with them.....Well, you know my vote.

The Gordog

10-04-2007, 05:07 PM

...and ever played "catch" with them.....Well, you know my vote.

Well, I'm in that camp, but I voted for the movie that makes me laugh and feel good about right now, living in the moment -- the other Costner film:

Crash Davis: Relax, all right? Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: [to himself] What's this guy know about pitching? If he's so good how come he's been in the minors for the last ten years? If he's so good how come Annie wants me instead of him?
Crash Davis: Oh, hey, and another thing, Meat. You don't know $%&^, all right? If you wanna make it to the bigs, you'll listen to me. Annie only wants you so she can boss you around, got it? So relax! Let's have some fun out here! This game's fun, OK? Fun goddamnit. And don't hold the ball so hard, OK? It's an egg. Hold it like an egg.

[The rest redacted. IMDB says: "The compilation of all content on this site is the exclusive property of IMDb and protected by U.S. and international copyright laws."]

DevilAlumna

10-04-2007, 06:43 PM

Definite no for me - these movies were too dry/adult when they first came out, and even when they come around as reruns, I just can't get into them:
Chariots of Fire
The Natural
Hoop Dreams

Good, but...:
Bad News Bears (Original) - Buttermaker rules, but the rest of the movie is just a little silly; no lasting impressions beyond some quotes.
Rudy - good but predictable. Plus, I don't like ND football.
Caddyshack - good, (bill murray - great!) but no lasting impact beyond a chuckle and a fondness for dancing gophers.

Great, but....:
A League of Their Own - just a fabulous movie about an interesting topic in a very challenging era for women. Would make my top 5 list, but we have to narrow down.
Rocky I - if it were about any sport besides boxing....

Leaving:
Hoosiers - this movie has it all in spades -- great plot, good sports action, compelling in every regard. But for me, it just lacks that little extra spark, that something personal that hits me in the gut and makes me love it.

Field of Dreams - We have Kevin Costner, not playing ball, but pontificating on its greatness instead. James Earl Jones and Ray Liotta and Doc are the real stars of this movie, in terms of how they're affected by the sport of baseball. But, in a minor nitpick, there is very little actual ball played.

Bull Durham - We get Kevin Costner again, but this time actually playing ball, letting Susan Sarandon do most of the pontificating. Love and life (and lollygagging) over the course of one minor league season. "And for one extraordinary June and July, the Durham Bulls began playing baseball with joy and verve and poetry."

I go for the hometown favorite -- my vote goes for hitting the bull and winning a steak.

dukemomLA

10-04-2007, 07:27 PM

If Raging Bull had made the cut, that probably would have been my choice.

Of all these movies Bull Durham and Caddyshack and League of Their Own are the ones I watch more often than not.

However as the "Greatest Sports Movie" I had to go with Hoosiers.

Indoor66

10-04-2007, 07:35 PM

"League" would win if Jason hadn't misspelled it! :(

juise

10-04-2007, 07:44 PM

It's going down to the wire between Hoosiers and Bull Durham... the board's sport of choice (presumably) pitted against a story set in a familiar place.

OZZIE4DUKE

10-04-2007, 08:42 PM

I voted for Rudy. Pure guts and determination and one man beating the odds.

Second choice was Field of Dreams, third was A League of Their Own.

Lavabe

10-04-2007, 10:15 PM

I'll be the oddball and go with the first sports film to win an Oscar for Best Picture:

ADRIENNE!!

The sound, the editing, the character acting, the sheer power, and of course the image of the Art Museum.

And the fanfare.

I'm a child of the 70's. I'm going to go out in the morning and run some. I just wish I had Burgess Meredith yelling at me!:D
Cheers,
Lavabe

JBDuke

10-04-2007, 11:55 PM

I ended up voting for "Bull Durham". I love several of the films on this list, so it wasn't an easy call, but for me, "Bull Durham" meets all the criteria of being a great film AND a great sports film.

It's a complete film - hard to find a weakness about it. It gives an authentic portrayal of its sport, and treats its sport with reverence. It avoids most sports-movie cliches. It has a compelling story but a languid pace - which I think mirrors baseball perfectly. It is both hilarious and sad - slapstick and poignant. It is firmly grounded in reality.

Runner-up, for me, was "Rocky".

After that - "Hoosiers", "Chariots of Fire", "The Natural", "Hoop Dreams", "Rudy", and "Field of Dreams"

allenmurray

10-05-2007, 12:43 AM

Given that Bull Durham is the best movie ever, how can it not logically be the best sports movie ever?

dkbaseball

10-05-2007, 01:36 AM

he coached Mark McGwire, Tom Seaver, Dave Kingman, and Randy Johnson.

Was he Rod Dedeaux's pitching coach at USC? (Mac and Sky pitched a bit in college.)

JasonEvans

10-05-2007, 10:30 AM

WOW!! With 59 votes in, it is still too close to call between Bull Durham, Hoosiers, and Field of Dreams.

I am gonna keep this poll open for a while longer, to get more votes and maybe find a definitive winner...

Plus, I still have not decided what I am voting for ;)

--Jason "I may haev to go back and watch a few of these on DVD this weekend to make up my mind" Evans

TillyGalore

10-05-2007, 10:52 AM

I sort of felt all along it would be Rudy for me but wanted to really think about it before I voted.

Nobody, but his best friend, believed Rudy could play for ND. He didn't have the grades to get in and didn't have the talent to play. To use a baseball term, he had two strikes against him.

But that didn't stop him from doing everything he could to achieve his dream. I love his "I'm going to give it my all attitude" to fulfill his dreams. He worked hard in the classroom and on the field and did get to play for ND. Rudy has been a big inspiration for me in the challenges I have chosen to take on in life. Thus I have to root for Rudy.

Plus he only had a couple of votes and I tend to root for the underdog - unless they are playing my team, or if Carowhina is the underdog.

Schwarz

10-05-2007, 11:23 AM

I am gonna keep this poll open for a while longer, to get more votes and maybe find a definitive winner...

After voting through most of the polls, I have come to the conclusion that there can be no definitive winner.

My top 5 sports movies are:
Hoosiers
Field of Dreams
Rocky
Caddyshack
Raging Bull

Picking the best from these 5 depends on my mood, so it is not always the same answer.

YmoBeThere

10-05-2007, 01:02 PM

Agreed with you Schwarz, mood determined my answer to this poll.

riverside6

10-05-2007, 01:58 PM

If the top 3 remain this close, I think there should be a new poll posted with just these 3.

allenmurray

10-05-2007, 02:31 PM

That might be interesting. On the other hand, what would led you to believe that the but the 24 votes that went to the movies wouldn't be evenly distgributed among the top three?

riverside6

10-05-2007, 02:39 PM

That might be interesting. On the other hand, what would led you to believe that the but the 24 votes that went to the movies wouldn't be evenly distgributed among the top three?
Could be, but right now after 63 votes the top 3 are separated by just 2 votes. I'd be curious to see how the other 40% of voters would be split.

It would be interesting, that's for sure. Honestly, I didn't vote for any of the three, I went with Rudy. I'd likely change my vote to Field of Dreams which would tie it for the lead.

JasonEvans

10-05-2007, 03:31 PM

After much thought and debate, I went with the movie that sums up sports best for me.

To me, sports is about a connection. I feel connected to the game I am watching and the team I root for. I especially feel connected to friends and family who watch the same events and root for the same teams. Think about it -- the thing that brings all of us here is sports. Our relationships now revolve around more than sports and many of us know things about each other that are in no way related to sports, but it all comes back to our love of sports... and especially one specific team.

So, I looked for the movie that capture that connection better than any other. And that is when my choice became easy.

Field of Dreams

I must say, the comments many have written about Bull Durham reminded me of how great that film is and I almost pulled it from 4th place in my vote up to first. You guys made a great case for it. It is probably the best written script of any of the movies in this poll.

I also chose Field of Dreams because I kept on finding there was little that separated The Natural and Hoosiers from each other. They are both about lovable underdogs who triumph against difficult odds with honesty and doing things "the right way." Sure, that is a simplistic view of each story and there are lots of things that makes them different from each other, but I just could not pick one over the other (though that score from The Natural almost tilted things for me).

--Jason "you think this poll was fun, wait until you see what I crack out next!!" Evans

Windsor

10-05-2007, 06:02 PM

"I believe in the soul, the dawn, the evening,
the small of a woman's back, the hanging
curveball, high fibre, good scotch, that
the novels of Susan Sonntag are self-indulgent,
over-rated crap. I believe that Lee Harvey
Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to
be a Constitutional amendment outlawing
astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe
in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography,
opening your presents Christmas morning rather
than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow,
deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days."
--Crash Davis, _Bull Durham_

Bull Durham....I had to vote for Bull Durham (although I really like some of others - Field of Dreams makes me cry and was a very close second)

OZZIE4DUKE

10-05-2007, 06:04 PM

Honestly, I didn't vote for any of the three, I went with Rudy. I'd likely change my vote to Field of Dreams which would tie it for the lead.

Well now we know who the three are that voted for Rudy - you, me and Tilly.

Like I said, I'd vote for Field of Dreams next and that would put it in the lead.

TillyGalore

10-05-2007, 06:19 PM

Well now we know who the three are that voted for Rudy - you, me and Tilly.

Great minds think alike. :D

bjornolf

10-06-2007, 09:37 AM

Was he Rod Dedeaux's pitching coach at USC? (Mac and Sky pitched a bit in college.)

I don't really understand the question. Oh, wait, I didn't say who my uncle was, did I? My uncle was Rod Dedeaux, who I still think should be in Cooperstown for his overall contributions to the game of baseball, but then I'm probably biased. Ah, well. <sigh>

bjornolf

10-06-2007, 10:00 AM

I'm a Victory Cigar? What the heck does that mean? Is this another Monica reference? Come on, guys, give it up already! :p

micah75

10-06-2007, 11:09 AM

I'll be the oddball and go with the first sports film to win an Oscar for Best Picture:

ADRIENNE!!

The sound, the editing, the character acting, the sheer power, and of course the image of the Art Museum.

Another great scene from Rocky:

Sylvester Stallone: "I gotta go now, but, uh, don't you leave town, huh?... Wish me luck. I'm gonna need it."

Talia Shire as Adrian: "Good luck."

Stallone: "Say, Adrian. You don't think this robe is too baggy, ya know?"

Shire: "Good luck."

Stallone: "Don't leave town."

micah75

10-06-2007, 11:19 AM

I'm a Victory Cigar? What the heck does that mean? Is this another Monica reference? Come on, guys, give it up already! :p

There's no smoking in my household, so I can't light it up. Maybe I'll stuff it somewhere where the sun don't shine? Nah. Maybe this is meant to spur us on to the next level at 75, where we reach "benchwarmer" status. I'm feeling spurred, so forgive me if I start firing off a few meaningless one-liners. Don't like projecting an image of me smoking anything with tobacco in it. For all you young kids out there...

JasonEvans

10-06-2007, 03:21 PM

I can't believe how close this is with so many votes cast. Perhaps we should have a one-on-one or maybe a three-on-three faceoff to really determine the champ. 3 films have set themselves apart from the rest.

--Jason

YmoBeThere

10-06-2007, 03:45 PM

Don't like projecting an image of me smoking anything with tobacco in it. For all you young kids out there...

Hmmm, what would you be smoking if not tobacco?:p

I vote for a three way playoff as I can have a voice again. My 1 of 2 votes for Hoop Dreams now appears to be wasted in the greater scheme. Sort of like voting for the Libertarian Party candidate in a Presidential election(no fan of the current group running the party, too protectionist). Wait, this is a discussion for the Public Policy forum.

cspan37421

10-06-2007, 03:48 PM

I voted for The Natural, but just watched it yesterday, after having voted. I also saw Eight Men Out, and Field of Dreams again, first time in a long time, and of the 3 I now feel The Natural is the least great of the three films. Field of Dreams would now be my choice if I could change my vote, but oh well. When I was 20 or so when it came out, I didn't even get that in the phrase "if you build it, he will come" , the "he" is not Shoeless Joe. It took the most recent viewing to really understand that. My heavy weight on prior opinion kept me from catching that the first time I saw it. The extras from the DVD reinforced who the "he" is, and it really moved me.

JasonEvans

10-06-2007, 04:12 PM

My 1 of 2 votes for Hoop Dreams now appears to be wasted in the greater scheme.

1 of 2 votes?!?!? can you explain how you got 2 votes?

--Jason

YmoBeThere

10-06-2007, 04:15 PM

Meant that I was one of two voters....

JasonEvans

10-06-2007, 04:15 PM

1 of 2 votes?!?!? can you explain how you got 2 votes?

--Jason

Duuuh-- I'm an idiot. I just realized you meant you were 1 of 2 people to vote for that film.

YmoBeThere

10-06-2007, 04:18 PM

It took the most recent viewing to really understand that.

The "great" literature I read many years ago makes much more sense now with age, experience, and re-reading. If there is another poll, I know which movie will get my vote this time.

dukemomLA

10-07-2007, 04:20 AM

I agree. You should do a poll of the top 3!! Hopefully there will be even MORE people who vote. Thanks for a GREAT poll.

cspan37421

10-07-2007, 09:37 AM

The "great" literature I read many years ago makes much more sense now with age, experience, and re-reading. If there is another poll, I know which movie will get my vote this time.

I totally agree. Some (or most) of the great literature is wasted on the young, the inexperienced, the naive.

Gary

10-07-2007, 06:04 PM

Gotta go with HOOSIERS. It's not even close for me. But if I did go with a second and third pick it'd be "CHARIOTS OF FIRE" and then "ROCKY."

FOD never did anything for me, in part because I'm not a Cosner fan and in part because it just had a "new-age" feel to me that I didn't care for.

Gary

micah75

10-07-2007, 08:13 PM

For anyone interested:

Field of Dreams airs tonight at 8PM (EST) on AMC

and

Bad News Bears airs at the same time on TCM.

77devil

10-07-2007, 10:07 PM

I'm watching Bad News Bears and laughing a lot. Field of Dreams is just too pretentious. I know it's an allegory but tonight I prefer having fun.

dkbaseball

10-08-2007, 02:45 AM

My uncle was Rod Dedeaux, who I still think should be in Cooperstown for his overall contributions to the game of baseball, but then I'm probably biased. Ah, well. <sigh>

Probably so, though he was the first coach selected for the new college baseball HOF. Rod really got around, and apparently had a pretty good time wherever he went. In early February, 1970, he was a consultant for the Panamanian national team, and saw me strike out 15 of them for a Canal Zone team. The guy sitting next to him said he was ready to offer me a scholarship to USC, but it never materialized. Guess he figured he already had enough, since he proceeded to win the next five NCAA championships, and I completed my career at Duke. He has almost the same stature in college baseball coaching that John Wooden does in basketball. I'm appreciating his work right now watching Field of Dreams.