Sports Movie Rankings

With the US Open crowning its new champions, football season starting to bombard us with its inescapable presence, and baseball heading into its month-long play-off race, sports has been on the mind as of late. Kacey over at Pop Culture Crazy was in the same mindset when she decided to poll as many people as she could to come up with a Sports Movie Ranking. She asked people to send in their top/favorite 5 sports films and to rank them. She received over 50 submissions with over 90 different films. Check out her great site for the full results including the Top 25 as well as her methodology.

Below are the five films I submitted for the poll as ranked by me. How they were ranked in the final Sports Movie Ranking is in parenthesis:

1. BRING IT ON (#3)

As soon as I heard about the sports film poll, this was the first and second film I thought of. So many people think cheer-leading is not a sport, but I still remember just being in awe at the level of athleticism displayed in the film. Of course the film is more than just a cheerleading film. It's incredibly fun, addictively quotable, and the trio of Dunst, Dushku, and Union is just the best. A few years ago, I briefly talked about the film during it's 10th year anniversary.

2. WIMBLEDON (#16)

If you know me at all, then you know that tennis is my absolute favorite sport. So putting this on my list was a no-brainer even though its presence is less about its quality and more about how few tennis films there actually are. With that said, I saw this on opening weekend and even got a poster of it. Dunst (she's my sporting muse apparently) and Bettany had fun chemistry with each other. So while this is more a guilty pleasure, I don't really care, especially since this is also the very first film I saw with James McAvoy.

3. SUMMER STORM (Unranked)

This German film about rowing teams preparing for a rowing regatta is a must-see especially if you like to watch good gay films. It's sexy, gorgeously shot, and just an affecting coming-of-age coming-out film.

4. WHIP IT (#7)

The year this film came out I dubbed it "like Juno but not annoying." It was fun and energetic and in the heart of it was Page kicking ass in roller derby with Wiig and Barrymore. How could anyone say no to that? Saw it at a special screening and was rewarded with swag, a shirt that says Whip It: Be Your Own Hero. I still cherish it so.

5. MILLION DOLLAR BABY (#25)

I was one of the few people rooting for this film during the Oscars over The Aviator and I don't regret it one bit after all of these years. Eastwood's aesthetics matched this particular story and with Swank's Oscar-winning powerhouse performance, it was clear cut for me. Her death scene is still one of the saddest for me.

Wow, my list began quite happily then ended in such a depressing way. That sounds about right. Looking over my list now, it's not really surprising that the majority of them are girl-led and the two that aren't directly speaks to my interests (tennis and pretty gay boys). A few of the other films I considered included A Knight's Tale (jousting fun!), The Cutting Edge (Romeo and Juliet on ice!), and Space Jam (fly you fools!). Then there's the trio of The Mighty Ducks, Angels in the Outfield, and Remember the Titans with young Joshua Jackson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ryan Gosling starring respectively.

Again, don't forget to go to Pop Culture Crazy to see the full list of Top 25 Sports Films (as polled) as well as other cool stuff.