Sports bring people together (and sometimes tear each other apart) and movies with happy or thought-provoking endings reveal how important the games are in life. My favorite sports movies focus on football and golf with a majority set on the course even though I hate watching the game in real life.
Remember the Titans is a classic because of its post-segregation era story about black and white players coming together to defy the odds. The movie features a handful of extremely successful actors including the great Denzel Washington and baby Hayden Panettiere. My favorite part of the movie is when the team debuts their dance routine to “We are the Titans”, but Gary announcing that Julius was his brother breaks my heart every time.
Happy Gilmore was my first exposure to the great world of cuss words and five year old me running around the house yelling “Happy you suck, you jackass” always made my parents choke with laughter much to my sister’s dismay. Adam Sandler’s performance as a dumb hockey player-turned-golfer never fails to make me laugh, especially when he beats up Bob Barker on the golf course.
Bagger Vance is one of my favorite Will Smith movies of all time. Smith plays a mysterious caddy who transforms Matt Damon’s character’s golf game as he becomes a better man. The little boy who followed Bagger around eventually becomes Damon’s caddy as Bagger Vance walks off into the sunset. Ugh, I’m tearing up just thinking about it.
Special mentions: The Greatest Game Ever Played, and Disney classics: Motocrossed, Double Teamed, Air Bud, Ice Princess (I hate myself for naming all of these).
