If your family is like ours, movie night is now every single night, but it can be hard to find something that everyone agrees to watch.
We’ve had a lot of disputes and concessions around here. Some movies are too sappy, some are too cheesy, and for our teenagers, some are just BORRRRINGGGG.
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But one thing everyone can agree on is a great sports movie. You know the kind, where you watch an athlete work so hard that you can’t help but root for him to win? Or, when a town gives up on the home team, but then along comes a coach that turns the entire program around? Or a down-on-her-luck girl who overcomes every obstacle so even people who hate sports love her.
Here are ten of my very opinionated family’s favorite sports flicks. We’ve already watched most of these at least once–and no one is complaining.
The Blindside: 17-year-old Michael Oher was denied a stable upbringing and devoid of an education. As he was one-step away from falling into a different life, Leigh Anne Tuohy and her family take him into their home. Tuohy taps into the best of Oher and unearths a football star, but he must overcome some obstacles first. Bullock’s Oscar-winning turn will touch your heart.
McFarland USA: Disney does it again, with this poignant tale of a down-on-his-luck football coach who has to move his family to a small migrant town because it’s the only job he can get. He notices some hidden talents amongst his students and starts the school’s first cross country team.
Greater: A true story of Arkansa Razorbacks walk-on offensive lineman Brandon Burlsworth. Devoutly Christian and ridiculed for his portly appearance, Burlsworth defies the odds to make the Razorbacks squad and become the greatest walk-on story of all time–and he did it his way.
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Miracle: A chance to relive one of the greatest moments in U.S. Olympic history when a player-turned-coach leads a group of college kids to the gold medal.
A League of Their Own: “There’s no crying in baseball!” This comedy is based on the short-lived exploits of the All-American Girls Baseball league.
Invincible: More geared to an older audience, this movie highlights the story of Vince Papali, a 30-something Philadelphia native who wins a spot playing for the Eagles–and gives the team new, much-needed heart.
Remember the Titans: Based on the true story of how one African American coach broke down racial barriers to bring together a newly integrated school in Alexandria, Virginia.
Eddie the Eagle: Inspired by true events, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards is an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stops believing in himself even as an entire nation counted him out.
The Cutting Edge: an oldie but a goodie. Action and romance are combined when a self-centered ex-hockey star and a spoiled, prima donna figure skater become unlikely partners in pursuit of Olypic gold.
Hoosiers: A tale of redemption, Hoosiers tells the true story of a group of underdogs who become champions. Set in the 1950s, Hoosiers is about a hard-luck, unemployed college basketball coach (Gene Hackman) who gets a chance to coach a small-town Indiana high-school basketball team.
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