Words of Wisdom.

As mentioned earlier in the year, I love to watch sport movies because they can be inspiring to a lot of audiences especially to the minds of younger adolescents. What makes the sport movie worthwhile besides the adrenaline of the action is the quotes that come from the movie that are inspirational besides just being plain AWSOME. Inspirational quotes from sport movies give the movie that extra boost in what inspires kids and could teach them moral values.Here are some quotes that I love to hear when I watch sport movies...

1. "Heroes get remembered, legends never die"- Art LaFleur as Babe Ruth in The Sandlot.

This was a great movie watching as kid that followed nine boys who played baseball on their old beat up looking sandlot field. It was a summer film and these kids did nothing but play baseball all summer long. However, when a ball signed by Babe Ruth is hit over the fence of a neighbor with a supposedly killer dog their summer of baseball turns into a thriller as they do everything in their power to get the ball back. When all seems lost, the leader of the group, Ben Rodriquez, has a dream that Babe Ruth visits him and tells him to jump over the fence to retrieve the ball and says this quote that inspires him to do just that.

2. Death Crawl from "Facing the Giants"

I couldn't come up with the words to describe this scene, but when you watch this scene you can very well be inspired as I was. This is the story of Grant Taylor who is going through a tough time in the community. Not succeeding at being the greatest coach, the parents and student are through with his coaching and want him replaced. He is struggling financially, and him and his wife are struggling to have a kid. In this particular scene he teaches his players especially his captain the importance of giving all you got and not giving up until you can go as far as you can go. There is no telling how far you will go, but give everything your best and hardest and don't quit.

3. Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gaines halftime speech in "Friday Night Lights"

I love this scene from Friday Night Lights because it can describe a moment from experiences I had on the field playing football in high school. When our team made it to the semi-finals in the state tournament, we were losing pretty bad at halftime and we came away losing 66-8. We played a rough but great team, but at halftime our coach told us almost exactly what Billy Bob Thornton told his players in this scene. From our coach he said "Being perfect is not what we accomplished this year, it's how you all can look into your teammates eyes and tell each and everyone of them that you did your best and didn't let them down. Being perfect is how we accomplished where we came this year by playing as a team, a family."

4. Denzel Washington as Coach Boone in "Remember the Titans"

Save the best for last I always say. Probably my favorite sports movie of all time and my favorite inspirational speech of all time comes from Denzel Washington as Coach Boone in Remember the Titans. Throughout the beginning there was problems with the team as African Americans joined the once all White titans team. There was much discrimination and fighting in the movie until Coach Boone takes them on a run to the site of the Battle of Gettysburg and makes his famous speech about coming together and playing as one. My most favorite line in the history of motivational speeches as to be when he says "If we don't come together, right now on this hollow ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. I don't care if you like each other or not, but you will respect each other and maybe...I don't know maybe we'll learn to play this game like men." I can't tell you how much this movie amazes me every time I watch it how they overcame their differences and learned how to play together.

Pulling off a sports movie

As an avid sports sports fan, every time a sports movie comes out I have to go see it. Whether the movie be about golf, baseball, hockey, basketball, etc., I must see it. I finally got to see the most recent blockbuster sports film to come out, Moneyball, on Friday night. While the performances were awesome (Brad Pitt kills it as Billy Beane), I couldn't help but come out of the movie disappointed. The main problem with the film is that while it is based on the book, it is also based on the 2002 Oakland Athletics 2002 season. While it may have appeared to make sense to a regular movie goer, there were so many holes in the story. Several key players were left out of the movie and many of the motives and and key plot points that drive the story line simply didn't happen.

This is what poses the main issue for sports films that are based on true stories, the outcome is already decided. Whenever I go into a sports movie, if it's based on a true story, I always know the end. It makes the film less exciting for me because I want it to look and feel just like the real thing did. An example of this is the film Miracle. The movie is about the 1980 USA mens hockey team that beat the USSR in the Lake Placid olympics. While the movie was good, I didn't get the excitement I was looking for because I already knew the final result.

One of my other favorite sports films is Eight Men Out, the story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, better known as the Black Sox. Eight members of the team famously took bribes from Chicago gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series and were promptly banned from baseball the following year. Another main problem with sports films is finding actors who are athletic enough to play professional athletes. This is an example of a film that does a marvelous job at simulating game action.

Maybe I take sports films a little to seriously because of my fandom and attention to detail when it comes to the quality of what I am seeing related to sports films, but thats probably why my favorite sports movie doesn't take itself to seriously.

My favorite sports movie of all time is the Sandlot. It's the classic story of the new kid on the block that finds friends through the game of baseball and the magical sandlot where they play. Yes it's corny and silly but the movie is heartwarming and a true classic for any baseball fan .

The Sandlot

So I watched The Sandlot the other night. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. I had a different experience watching it this time though. For the first time ever, I watched it from a video perspective. There were so many little things I had never noticed before. At some points there are obvious voiceovers. At other points, "natural sound" is thrown in but it doesn't sound natural. Also, the fourth of july scene is pretty ridiculous with the fireworks. In short, I still love the movie but I now realize some of its flaws which I never saw before. In a way, it makes the movie even more endearing.