Main Pivotal Components That All Great Sports Movies Should Have

The world of sports is filled with so many thrills and above all so much passion, that it almost feels at times like we’re witnessing sports-ridden cinematic masterpieces unfolding. Let’s say you’re a football fan, you’ve made your bets on the best NFL picks against the spread, and now, all that’s left to do is settle down, relax and watch all of the action unfold. It sounds simple, right? Enjoyable as well. But then, once the action starts to unfold, a roller coaster of emotions usually ensues. From highlight-reel moments that are worthy of being in high profile action movies, dramatic turnarounds of events that can make emotions twirl from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and everything in between, when it comes to sports, the relatability factor it holds with movies is uncanny.

Of course, when thinking about sports movies, if you ask a sports fan, you’ll see that the lists of preferences can extend as wide as possible, without any real regard to the sporting discipline in display. If it’s football “Rudy“ and “Remember The Titans” will always be perennial favorites. When speaking about basketball “He Got Game”, “Above the Rim” and “White Men Can’t Jump” are classics. Baseball has “Field of Dreams and hockey has “Miracle on Ice” and a personal favorite, the “Mighty Ducks” franchise, so as you can see when it comes to sports movies, the sky is the limit. 

But what makes a sports movie great? Let’s take a look.

Underdog Stories Will Always Be Best

What’s there not to love about an underdog story? Everybody loves seeing the character who always seems like he or she won’t be able to get the job done, that then manages to come up from under all of the negative circumstances, mount up an amazing comeback and end up as the triumphant character nobody expected them to be. Look at “Rocky” for example. If any of Sylvester Stallone’s boxing-themed movies had had Rocky Balboa come out from the beginning in the dominating fashion that he showed towards the end of each movie, they wouldn’t have been a hit, because, at the end of the day, it’s easier to relate with an underdog than it is to relate to a hero.

The underdog characteristics of characters make them feel like they can be more approachable in real life and in a way, easier to understand. Not everyone has been blessed with the chance to have a perfect life, perfect sporting career, and perfect scenarios automatically playing around their lives, so of course, instead of finding relatability with the jocks or usual hero style characters, people usually tend to cheer on the underdogs. In movies, just like in real life, when you see “David” taking down “Goliath”, you automatically are going to feel a bigger sense of happiness and even accomplishment, which is why having underdog characters in sports movies be the main leads will always make the movie that much better.

The Passion That Lives Within Sports Needs To Be Transmitted

One of the main hooks that attract fans to sports is the level of passion and feelings that go into every event that goes on. You could be watching a simple pickup basketball game at a park or you could be watching the Super Bowl that the one thing that will always be the main attraction point from an emotional point of view is how the action unfolds. When you see athletes give it their all and perform at a level where it feels like they’re playing for their lives will make everybody feel automatically engaged. This is something that the movie industry has learned to tap into perfectly when it comes to sports movies.

Take the scene in “Rudy” where Rudy is finally let in on the field with the rest of the Fighting Irish football team. Especially taking into account that he goes in for the last couple of plays of his final Notre Dame game in his career while having an actual recollection of what happened when you see it on the perennial sports movie favorite when that moment happens, fans all around either want to cry, cheer and even jump into the field with the player. Those kinds of emotions are lived by sports fans on an almost constant basis, which means that to make a good sports movie, you need those moments to happen. All great sports movies have that one scene, or collection of scenes where fans are not only drawn but they are almost made feel like they were a part of the scene as well. Just like in real sports, when you hit the right emotional notes, everything takes a turn for incredible positive heights.