My Top 5 Sports Movies of All-Time
#5 — Karate Kid
The Netflix show Cobra Kai has recently reignited my childhood love for this movie. I took karate classes as a child, so I quickly learned how the sport required intense focus and discipline. The main characters — Mr. Miyagi and Daniel Son — are a diverse and easy to like mentor-mentee pairing. The movie’s combo of comedy and action are also tough to beat.
#4 — Remember the Titans
This movie featured legendary actor Denzel Washington at his best. He was a barrier-breaking football coach who had to lead a newly integrated school in the South. I loved how he used a Christ-like approach to unify his Black and White players through the sport. The movie had many memorable dramatic and comedic moments.
#3 — He Got Game
I grew up trying to shoot like Ray Allen. His shooting motion was flawless and he didn’t harass my favorite player, MJ, like Reggie Miller. I grew up in Dayton, OH — an urban city known for pro ball players like Dwight Anderson, Ron Harper, John Paxson, Norris Cole, Daquan Cook, Derrick Brown, and Chris Wright. I saw the dangers of drugs, fast money, womanizing, and exploitation. I saw how local sports heros were worshipped like Ray Allen’s role as Jesus Shuttlesworth. I understood the tense relationship between Ray Allen’s character and his father — played by Denzel Washington.
#2 — The Little Giants
Although I never played organized football, it was my favorite sport to play in the neighborhood. I was a Cowboys fan as a kid, but I found myself rooting against them in the movie. I was a smaller kid, so I had to prove doubters wrong via sports like the overlooked players on the little Giants team. I also remember competing against more affluent teams who had access to better uniforms and equipment. I liked how the Giants used creativity, comedy, and teamwork to challenge age-old stereotypes. Lastly, it was cool to see future hall of famers from the NFL in the film, which took place in my homestate of Ohio.
#1 — The Sandlot
As I’ve previously said, I excelled at youth baseball and my teams were racially diverse, so the movie was very relatable to me. The devices the team desiged to retrieve their homerun balls from a large dog appealed to me too (I later majored in mechanical engineering). I appreciated the Black and Brown characters —a Hispanic boy named Benny, a Black boy named Kenny, and a Black man named Mr. Mertle. The kids’ diverse baseball team and misguided fear of Mr. Mertle — a kind and generous former major league baseball player — provided life lessons on prejudice and race. On a more lighthearted note, one of my favorite lines from the movie still appears on t-shirts to this day, “you’re killing me Smalls!”
Movies just outside of my top 5: Above the Rim & Any Given Sunday
— Leroy Long III, PhD
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