Sports Movies

With football in the throes of the off season, and hockey winding down (I don't watch hockey--I just put that in there for Buck), I've been getting my sports fix from watching movies. I thought I'd share some of my favorites. Now, keep in mind that there are a lot of movies I haven't seen yet, and some I just didn't like. This list is by no means exhaustive. It's just a few of my favorites.

Now, I don't watch hockey, but there are a couple of hockey movies I liked. In honor of the Hockey championship series (what's that called again?), I thought I'd start with them.


Mystery, Alaska-- In the town of Mystery, Alaska, in the winter there is only one thing to do. Play hockey. Every Saturday, the residents gather to play hockey and socialize at their small pond across from the school. The Saturday Game has been a tradition in the town for several generations. It has evolved to the point that the city council actually decides who gets to play, and on which team. All this changes when one resident of the town gets a job with a major sports magazine. He writes an article on the town and its tradition of the hockey game. Before they know it, the residents of the town have been set up to play an exhibition game against the New York Rangers. The outcome of that game changes the town forever. WARNING! This is NOT a family friendly movie! It could have been, had the writers not been so prolific with the f-bomb, and if they'd left out the affair which was totally irrelevant to the plot anyway. If you can overlook that, it is a good movie. I enjoyed watching it.

Miracle--My favorite of the hockey movies I've seen, Miracle is the true story of the 1980 Gold Medalist Olympic Hockey team. No spoilers in this review, since we know how it ends anyway. What makes it a good movie is watching how the players come together. How they move from being just a bunch of hockey players to being a hockey team. The "Who do you play for?" scene is absolutely stunning. It ranks right up there with the Do You Believe In Miracles? scene. Almost... Yes, its' a Disney movie and is rated PG, but don't let that stop you. It's worth the watch.

Next time: Baseball movies.