Sports Movies

A few entries ago I briefly touched on how "Friday Night Lights" was a pretty gosh-darn good sports movie. And this is true.

However, that's all it was. A very good, technically superb, SPORTS movie chronicling one high school team's football season.

"Miracle" on the other hand is far more than just a sports movie. Not only is it about hockey (which I find more dynamic and interesting to watch than football) but it is about the triumph of human will and spirit over talent alone.

The best "sports" movies are the ones that are about more than just the game. They make us realize how comraderie and hard work can bring out the best in us. And they show how human emotions and relationships are affected (and sometimes suffer) by devoting oneself so much to one ultimate final race, game, or performance. And they often touch upon real-life issues or events. "Miracle" is just such a movie, and it is made all the more astounding because we know that what actually took place in the film really happened in real life.

Personally, I think sometime they ought to do a movie about the 1976 US women's swim team against the East German swim team. The East German team DOMINATED the Olympics, but it was suspected that they were using steroids. However none of this could be backed up at the time, and many accusing teams were simply called sore losers. Yet one US girl even went into the locker room while the East German women were there, and assumed that "men had been let into the locker room" because of the East Germans' unnaturally deep voices.

Yet when it came down to it in the 4x100 relay, the US team managed to beat the East German team and get the gold. It was not because the US team was physically stronger or better. It was because they put the most heart and energy into their race, and worked the best as a team. Later, after the Berlin wall fell, it was proven that the East German team really WAS using steroids, and (I believe) they were stripped of their gold medals for all their other races. Yet even when the East Germans WERE pumped full of drugs, the US team still came together and pulled through in the relay.

Besides, I can't think of any swimming movies out there at the moment, and I find swimming to be a pretty neat sport, though I could be biased. And "Swimfan" which doesn't count.

And you really should check out "Miracle" too. Aside from being a great movie, Kurt Russell gives a great performance. His best since "The Thing" (ha!).