#384 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday June 22)
Good morning,
BEST SPORTS MOVIES
Rodney Freeman suggests there a list of “all-time favorite” sports movie for each sport. Here, then, are some of my picks for favorites:
Baseball (true story), 42, what Jackie Robinson had to endure and those who stood with, and against, his emergence
Baseball (history), Eight Men Out, a great telling of the story of the 1919 Black Sox scandal and wonderful evocation of the turn of the last century
Baseball (fiction), The Natural, great story, great metaphor, wonderful acting. When Glenn Close, the girl in white, stands up with Robert Redford at bat, it’s priceless, and Bull Durham (a classic of baseball, romance, a rising career and a career reduced to mentorship)
Baseball (comedy), Major League, “just a bit outside.” I dare you not to laugh out loud.
Baseball (wartime), A League of Their Own, a dramatization/comedy of the women’s leagues during WWII, with Tom Hanks, Rosie O’Donnell, Geena Davis and Madonna
Baseball (management/strategy), Moneyball, how analytics entered the game with Billy Beane and the As.
College Football, Rudy. He was told he was too small to play. He wasn’t—if only for a brief time. Great story of Notre Dame football.
Football (ravages of the game), Concussion. Made me realize that fans are, in a sense, enablers of disease. Well done.
Basketball, Hoosiers, He Got Game
High school football, Friday Night Lights. Not just football, but coming of age, teachers that matter, a town’s attachment to the team. And the TV series is even better.
Football, The Longest Yard, Brian’s Song (“I love Brian Piccolo…”)
Tennis, King Richard
Horse Racing, Seabiscuit
Golf, Tin Cup, The Greatest Game Ever Played
Golf (comedy), Caddieshack (Happy Gilmore gets honorable mention)
Ice Skating, Blades of Glory (not really “about” ice skating, but a great Will Ferrell comedy)
A few notes: Yes, baseball has more great movies. I know I’m partial, but I think the game lends itself to storytelling. While there’s a lot of great stuff in Field of Dreams, neither the movie nor the book really makes sense of the whole thing. That said, the father/son story and “let’s have a catch” and the story of Dr. Moonlight Graham (played by Burt Lancaster) make the movie a classic.
I’ve never seen Space Jam, which some say was great. Pride of the Yankees, the story of Lou Gehrig, remains a favorite and a tear jerker… Football honorable mentions: Remember the Titans, Invincible and Draft Day.
ADDITIONAL GRAMMAR COMMENTARY
Jay Allen commented on my complaint regarding the incorrect usage of the term “literally,” when people mean “figuratively.” He says something worse is when people start a sentence with “honestly” or “let me be honest with you,” suggesting they were dishonest up to that point. How right he is!
Have a great day,
Glenn
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