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There are a lot of football movies that are okay but no really great (think Brian’s Song, The Longest Yard, Heaven Can Wait) there are also a couple that are probably great movies but they just never did it for me (Rudy, Knute Rockney All American). Remember the Titans gets the nod because it transcends sports in a way that the other football movies do not. A truly great sports movie must transcend the sport.

10. Field of Dreams

My favorite moment in the movie is when Karin falls off the bleachers and chokes on her hotdog; this forces Doc Archibald to decide if will once again choose to be a doctor rather than a ballplayer. To me this moment affirms that the doctor made the right decision in his younger days. It’s wonderful to be able to play baseball and it’s wondeful to have that dream, but it is a far greater thing to be a healer. For some reason this moment has given me comfort when I have doubted my calling as a pastor.

9. Chariots of Fire

As a kid I hated this movie. It felt sooooo long and moved sooooo slow and was sooooo boring. As an adult I appreciate it a lot more. We are all called to use the gifts which God has blessed us with; but we are called to use them to serve God first. It is a dangerous thing to use our God given gifts in a manner contrary to God’s will.

8. The Hustler

I’m a sucker for a good pool movie and the music in this one combined with the great performances by Jackie Gleason, Paul Newman, and George C Scott make it the best of the bunch. However, the dark exploration of self-destruction probably means you shouldn’t watch this one if your feeling a little blue.

7. Raging Bull

Speaking of self-destruction… (side note: Raging Bull 2 is scheduled to come out next year…that just makes me sad.)

6. Bull Durham

Bull Durham is the second of five baseball movies on this list (yes I know baseball is over represented but baseball is probably the easiest sport to capture on film). The story of one man’s ascendance to the pinacle of his sport set against another man’s descent to the end of his career. The scene that best captures baseball is when the team is having a meeting at the pitchers mound because the pitcher can’t breath through his eyelids, the outfielder needs a live chicken to take the curse of his glove, and no one can figure out what to get the third baseman for his wedding. The coach comes out to see what’s going on and suggests that candlesticks always make a nice gift.

5. Hoosiers

Every time I watch Hoosiers I’m suprised at what a good movie it is. I think this movie is the opposite of self-destruction. Everyone is going through the long slow process of getting over their destructive behaviors and becoming better human beings. Whenever I have to speak in front of a really big group I think back to the scene in Hinkle Field House when Coach Dale measures the basket to show the boys that even though the arena is bigger, the court is still the same. For me even if the crowd is bigger, the message stays the same.

4. Pride of the Yankees

Gary Cooper taught me that life is not fair. Sometimes bad things happen for absolutely no good reason. What matters in life is how we respond to our unique circumstances.

3. League of Their Own

This is by far Madonna’s best movie.

2. Mystery, Alaska

This movie captures how sports has the potential to bring people together as well as the potential to destroy people. The town of Mystery gets the chance to prove that their hockey team can compete with anyone. If they fail, the town will never be the same. (Spoiler!!!)The greatest thing about this movie is that they don’t win. But even though they don’t win they do not fail.

1. The Natural

What is there to say about the quintessential sports movie. The natural is the story of a man whose youthful potential is destroyed, but who is able to recapture what he could have been. The movie of the natural is the story of a man who narrowly escapes self-destruction. The book is the story of a man who continues to make the same mistakes and in the end loses. The movie is great because Roy Hobbs summons one final burst of energy and ends his short and star-crossed career with one final homerun. This is the way we wished life was. The book is great because Roy Hobbs who all is life has made the same mistake over and over strikes out. This is the way life tends to be.

Honorable Mentions: The Sandlot (which should be on this list but I wouldn’t know which other baseball movie to remove) Cars (which may move on to this list some day), and Caddyshack (which has great moments but just doesn’t make it for me as a great movie)

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