I'm not a Sports enthusiast at all! When the morning paper comes, I remove the Sports Section and give it to my wife who is really into Football, Baseball, and Golf. My favorite films which feature Heroes in the athletic world are "The Babe" about Babe Ruth's career (John Goodman), and "Jim Thorpe, All-American" about an American Indian (Burt Lancaster), who became America's greatest sports figure until an unfortunate incident which caused humiliation to a lifetime of Athletic Achievement. Hal
I liked "A League of Their Own" with Tom Hanks. Also the original "Rocky" with Sylvester Stallone. "Brian's Song" back in the late '70s with Billy Dee Williams and James Caan.
I liked in the Thorpe film when the king of Norway or Sweden said "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world." To which Thorpe replied, "Well, thank ya sir." If the film is accurate, Thorpe was disappointed in and couldn't understand his son's lack of athletic prowess vis-a-vis those of his own. "Why when I was his age ......" He went on to tell his wife the things he could do as a child. She went on to explain that not everyone is blessed with the same gifts. Duh. A 1937 flick, "Navy Blue And Gold" about three very different young men, with a common fondness for football, become roommates the at United States Naval Academy where they experience its rules and traditions, was an oldie that I enjoyed.
Remember the Titans was good but Hoosiers and Rudy are my favorites especially since they are based on real happenings.
I liked Gary Cooper in "The Pride of the Yankees". At the end, he said "I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth."
"A League of Their Own" is probably my favorite because it tells a little-known story of how when war took the men away to battle, the women kept baseball, an American sport alive. They weren't playing softball either.
Remember the Titans was a real story. TC Williams high school in Alexandria VA. Right up the road from where I went to high school, integration there happened during my junior year. It was a chaotic time. King had been assassinated not long beforehand.
I accidently went to Kings funeral procession. It was traveling down Ashby Street in West End Atlanta. I was going down a street that dead end right into it.So I sat at the stop sign watching it all. I wasn't 10' away.I was expecting my 1st. child born 4 months later..1000s of people walking behind the mule drawn buggy his casket laid in.