Why are we watching this again???

So this is inspired by a phrase my wife utters often. And why does she say this? Because I like sports movies... A lot. They're fun to watch. They're inspirational. They let you share in a great triumph, an underdog story, or occasionally a failure.  Most importantly, they fill the time between football seasons and keep my wife from alternately sighing and chuckling behind my back as I frantically check sports channels for replays of games that were good. (I swear I'm working on it.)

Its hard to talk to any sports fan (or movie fan for that matter) without the topic of greatest sports movies of all time coming up. So what I thought I would do is give you a list of my favorites. This is not a list saying these are the greatest movies. It's my personal favorites. If you don't like my list I encourage you to start a blog of your own...that I will not read...because I have more interesting things to do than read an Internet blog about sports. (That sounded better in my head)

Without further ado....my top sports movies (by sport):

Golf:    The Greatest Game Ever Played
That's right, I'm starting with golf.  Golf is boring and pointless...and a little elitist.  (Oh and I'm awful at it)  But this is a great movie.  If you haven't seen it, its worth the 2 hours.

Soccer: Shaolin Soccer
I also don't really like soccer, but this movie out of Hong Kong in 2001 combined martial arts and Soccer.  Oh and Comedy.  It's hilarious.  A warning though, my wife hates it..but she hates all foreign films.

Tennis:
I don't watch real Tennis.  Why would I watch a scripted movie about tennis????

High School Basketball: Finding Forrester
Reading this, you're thinking two things:
1)  This is barely about basketball at all
2)  Not Hoosiers???? Are you Insane???

Both valid points.  It's not Hoosiers, and its only loosely connected to basketball.  My response?  Two words....Sean Connery.

College Basketball: Glory Road
This one wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  Its one of those stories that despite it's Hollywood embellishments is almost too good to be true.

NBA:
I honestly couldn't come up with one.  And I refuse to say Eddie or Celtic Pride.

Boxing:  Cinderella Man
I know...its not Rocky...but its an amazing movie about a tough time

Wrestling: The Wrestler
Despite all the adult situations, still a good, if not sad, movie.

Hockey: Mystery, Alaska
This one was a hard one.  It came down to my choice and Miracle, but in the end I fell in love with Mystery first, so it wins by default.

High School Football: Remember the Titans
There was no competition here.  If you don't love this movie, go back to Mother Russia you Communist.

College Football:  We are Marshall
Despite Matthew McConaughey's best efforts this is a great movie.  If you don't get goosebumps/choked up when they cheer "WE ARE...MARSHALL!!!", then you have no heart.

And in case you were wondering how close I was to choosing to "Rudy", I wasn't.  Rudy is just awful.

NFL: Invincible
Another underdog story.  But it has it all.  Great music, great football, great filming, and of course the guy gets the girl he deserves.  If you haven't seen it, go see it.

Baseball: Sandlot/Moneyball
Well, it happened.  I was determined to not have a tie, but I just couldn't decide.  I also couldn't break Sandlot into its own category, because that wouldn't have been fair to Bad News Bears.  The Sandlot is a great movie that should hopefully remind all kids of something they loved of their childhoods.  Moneyball shows what happens when statisticians get involved in baseball.  Can't argue with either of those.


It looks like a lot of my movies are underdog stories, but isn't that what makes sports so much fun?

Well that's my list.  You have 4 months until football starts to watch them so get cracking!!! 

Let me leave you with this montage of sports movies I stumbled across:

Link for mobile

- A Sports Fanatic

Stockholm Syndrome...

Anyone who knows me, knows what I think of sports.  Some would say I enjoy them...those people apparently don't know me very well.  Obsession would be a better word.  Undying devotion perhaps.  I tend to think of my love of sports as one step below my love for my family.  My wife would probably dispute the order though....No matter.

Why do I love sports so much?  Is it an addiction?  Maybe.  I tend to think of it more of a disease.  Hence the name of my blog...For anyone who doesn't know, stockholm syndrome is defined as:

" a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors"
 

I hated sports growing up.  HATED.  I didn't enjoy playing them very much.  I hated running, swimming etc.  I attended the Friday night football games in high school only because everyone else did.  (Insert obligatory sheep reference here) 

So how did I come to love sports??  Simple.  I went to college.  Specifically Texas A&M.  For those who aren't familiar with the Aggies, we are the most dedicated football fans in the nation.  (Yes I'm biased.  Get over it)  We attend football games in the Texas heat, and for my entire time there...we sucked.  But we kept going.  Here's the thing though.  I loved it.  85,000 people got together once a week to cheer for their team for a full game whether we thought we would win or not (even though we always hoped).  Being part of the yelling (Aggies don't cheer), lamenting at our losses (there were more than you would expect), and celebrating (we did beat a #1 team while I was there), is an amazing feeling.  Its addicting.  And so began my addiction.  When football season ended, I watched Aggie basketball, then baseball.  The next year, A&M football wasn't enough.  I started watching the NFL.  Then came interest in all of college football.  Then came Fantasy Football.  (greatest invention ever)

So, wait,  this sounds more like an addiction then stockholm syndrome.  But in the end it all comes back to the Aggies.  Whether they are good or bad, I watch.  Win or lose, I watch.  High or Low expectations, I watch.  They in fact hold me hostage despite letting me down every week.  They do just enough to raise my hopes before crushing them (See 2011 season).  I wasn't like this before they got a hold of me.  Now I live and breathe Texas A&M, and do it proudly.

One might ask, "Doesn't that just make you a diehard fan?" 

And you know what...you're right.  That's what I am.  I guess there isn't much of a difference in the world of sports.




Here's a taste of the intro they play at A&M home games. Watch it and then tell me I'm crazy.

 

-A Sports Fanatic