Thirty years ago the movie “Ferris Buller’s Day Off” was released.
This is a classic movie of the 1980’s, for sure. It is one that while not directly sports-related had a sports theme to it – whether it was Buller’s best friend Cameron Frye (played by Alan Ruck) sporting a Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings jersey throughout the film or Buller (played by Matthew Broderick) making an amazing catch of a foul ball at a Cubs game.
And, who can forget the classic “Swing Batter, Swing” chant Buller started at the Cubs afternoon game; all Cubs games were afternoon affairs until 1988.
That got me thinking….What are some of my favorite sports-related movies of all time?
Some movies just jump out. Movies like “The Natural” starring Robert Redford, “Field of Dreams” with Kevin Costner, or “Hoosiers” featuring Gene Hackman.
And, although I like those movies, they actually don’t land on the top of my list.
I think my favorite sports-related movie of all time if “Bull Durham” another one that Costner stars in. Costner has been in quite a few baseball-related movies – hasn’t he.
Being a big baseball fan, I also love “Major League” and “Major League II” – the comedy baseball movies starring Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger. Although, they should have just stopped at two because “Major League: Back to the Minors” was forgettable, at best.
Another classic baseball movie is “A League of Their Own” about the women’s professional baseball league during World War II starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, and Madonna.
Moving away from baseball, “Slap Shot” featuring Paul Newman is a great hockey movie (don’t bother with Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice”), as is “Miracle” the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal. The 1992 movie “Mighty Ducks” is okay and suitable for children and did spawn the name of an NHL team; but, I don’t put it in my favorites category. In fact, I don’t think I would watch it even if I was browsing through channels.
On the football side, even though it features the Cleveland Browns, I really actually like “Draft Day” another Costner film….Does the man play in anything non-sports related, laughing out loud! “Remember the Titans” with Denzel Washington isn’t bad. A couple of decent comedy football movies include “The Longest Yard” (either the original or the remake), or “Water Boy,” which feature Adam Sandler in the remake of “The Longest Yard” and in the “Water Boy.” One I stay away from is “Any Given Sunday.” In fact, “Any Given Sunday” with Al Pacino was so bad it is one of the only movies I have ever wanted to leave in the middle of.
A couple of other good sports-related movies are “Tin Cup,” again with Costner, “Happy Gilmore” with Sandler, and, of course, one of my favorite comedies of all time “Caddyshack” with Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Rodney Dangerfield. “Caddyshack II” with Chase and Dan Aykroyd is decent, too, but not quite as funny as the first one.
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