Five Best Inspirational Sports Films

Anyone who saw the recent Super Bowl will know just how mad Americans are about sport. They love betting on it too with record figures recorded last year. A trip to the movies is also popular, so let’s look at the five best inspirational sports films.

Rocky II

Battling against the odds is always a good theme for a sports movie. That’s the case in ‘Rocky II,’ released in 1979. The first movie had seen the down-and-out boxer Rocky Balboa get a word title shot from Apollo Creed and no one expects him to last very long. He went the distance and while he lost the fight, Rocky won our hearts.

Betting on boxing is incredibly popular in the US. Can you imagine how many dollars would have been placed on Creed v Balboa II? This time Rocky does win the fight and there wasn’t a dry eye in the cinema when he knocks the champion out in the last round.

Four more movies were made, followed by the two ‘Creed’ movies. Rocky continues to fight battles that surely, he can’t win but does. No one can fail to be inspired by Rocky.

Sports betting in the US has spread across the country in the past three years. A US Supreme Court Judge ruling allowed individual states to decide on whether to legalize gambling. Many states have since done that as the US gambling industry continues to expand.

Millions of dollars are being wagered, particularly in New York. Now Americans can place bets on their favourite NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLS teams. Those who are new to all of this might think it’s difficult to place bets. Reading a handy guide on how to bet with FanDuel can soon eliminate any problems.

Seabiscuit

Here’s another movie where the underdog becomes a winner, except this one actually happened. Seabiscuit was in no way expected to become a champion racehorse. The opinion was that he was too small, lazy and simply unmanageable.

Again, therefore it’s a story about winning against the odds. Seabiscuit starts getting wins but this isn’t all about a horse. There’s also a jockey who is partially blind and then suffers a leg injury. He’s not the only one with a bad leg as Seabiscuit also suffers an injury.

When it comes to the Santa Anita Stakes it’s a real rollercoaster ride. Those betting on him (and Americans love a trip to a racetrack) were getting ready to tear up their tickets as he was way behind early on. You can hear the cheers in the cinema as Seabiscuit rallies and ends up winning the race.

Champions

Whereas ‘Seabiscuit’ seems to be more about the horse, this 1984 movie places more emphasis on the jockey. Again, it’s based on a true story and shows how Bob Champion recovered from cancer to ride Aldaniti to success in the 1981 Grand National.

Aldaniti had also had injury problems, so for him to win the greatest steeplechase in the world was a massive achievement. The Grand National is a race that is bet on worldwide. You can expect many a dollar to be placed on the 2022 race in April.

John Hurt is brilliant as Bob Champion and this movie again inspires those with major problems to fight on and achieve their dreams. As with the Rocky movies, there is a fantastic soundtrack that can’t fail to get your heart beating that little bit faster. 

Miracle

The 1980 Winter Olympics ice hockey tournament was fully expected to be won by the Soviet Union. The US had a young team of amateurs and surely there was no chance they could win the gold medal.

Five of the previous six Winter Olympic Games had seen the Soviet Union win the ice-hockey gold medal. They had top professionals in their team but what is called the ‘miracle on ice’ happened. The cheers when the US team win the gold medal almost take off the roof of the cinema. Now 42 years later, Americans bet plenty of dollars on the National Hockey League.

Chariots of Fire

Another movie that sees the odds overturned. We’re back at the Olympics but this time it’s the 1924 Summer Games. Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams haven’t just got top American athletes to get past. Abrahams faces prejudice and discrimination, while the devout Christian Liddell refuses to run on a Sunday. Throw in a Vangelis soundtrack and this will have you cheering the athletes onto gold medal glory.