The Best Sports Movies: Abdul-Jabbar

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The Best Sports Movies: Abdul-Jabbar Tested, Vecsey Approved
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a list of the best sports films, written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, turned out not to be all that bad.

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August 7, 2013, 5:23 pm 7 Comments

The Best Sports Movies: Abdul-Jabbar Tested, Vecsey Approved

By DAVID VECSEY


What is it about so-called best-of lists that riles us up so? Why do we take such offense? They are clearly harmless opinions, compiled by whomever and have no bearing on our own predilections of film, music or whatever. The whole exercise of ranking things flies in the face of art, this idea of quantification and qualification.

So why do I spend my entire Fourth of July weekend listening to the Firecracker 500, knowing that either “Stairway to Heaven” or “Hey Jude” will be No. 1, only to find myself in a red-faced rage when indeed one of them finishes first ahead of, say, I don’t know, “Freebird”? Passion. God bless it.

I braced myself for the worst this morning when I saw a tweet from Esquire magazine promoting the five best sports films as picked by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Oh, great, I thought, this could go one of two ways: It’ll either be a complete farce that includes “Game of Death” and “Airplane!” or it’ll be a complete farce and just mail in “The Natural,” “Rudy,” “Hoosiers,” “Rocky” and “Raging Bull.”

Then imagine how surprised and delighted I was to read a most reasonable and thought-out set of criteria. And while any list can be debated and arguments made for other inclusions, I was even more surprised and delighted by Abdul-Jabbar’s selections, especially considering his justifications and exceptions. I can live with his list, No. 1 to No. 5: “The Hustler,” “Hoosiers,” “Vision Quest,” “Bull Durham” and “Breaking Away.”

“We see sports films constantly preaching that winning isn’t the achievement, that perseverance, being a team player, and fair play, are the achievement,” he writes. “But where sports films go wrong is in usually finding a way to contradict themselves by telling us that once you’ve learned those lessons, you will go on to win. In that way, even many of the best sports films cheat.”

Here’s my short reaction to each of Abdul-Jabbar’s picks, plus a sentence or two on five other sports films that never, ever make these lists and need a champion.

Vecsey’s Take on Abdul-Jabbar’s Top 5

1. “The Hustler”: Movie scenes don’t get any better than when Minnesota Fats comes out of the restroom, cleaned up and ready for another round with Fast Eddie, who looks at his own disheveled shirt and says scornfully: “You look beautiful, Fats. Just like a baby. All pink and powdered up.” Jackie Gleason’s brilliant face, so manic as Ralph Kramden, is so perfectly in control that you, and Eddie, know right where this is headed.

2. “Hoosiers”: When I covered high-school basketball in the Midwest, I saw the reflection of this movie in the faces of farm kids from Manito to Kewanee and all points between. The allure of the Friday night basketball game in a rural town lives, as does its ability to heal wounds and mend fences. I’m weepy by the end of the opening scene, and it’s all downhill from there.

3. “Vision Quest”: I was a sophomore in high school when this movie came out: Linda Fiorentino as the love interest. A cameo by Madonna. And I guess there was something about wrestling, too, but I don’t remember that part.

4. “Bull Durham”: There are two movies you should never watch on network television: “Scarface” and “Bull Durham.” In the case of “Bull Durham,” there is a whole scene predicated on the use of a certain word in baseball, and without it, you’ll never understand the game. I just spent 45 minutes trying to find a clip that I could run on a family Web site, and, frankly, I have other things to do. Just go watch the movie.

5. “Breaking Away”: This was the first film I ever heard called a “sleeper,” and it certainly awoke a lot of questions about identity and our urges to exert our individuality. So many things worth mentioning, from Dennis Quaid’s heartbreaking “Mean Old Man Mike” speech to the absolutely brilliant last line, “Bonjour, Papa!” I still whistle Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 4” whenever I ride my bike through town.
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Vecsey’s Top 5 Underappreciated Sports Movies

1. “Fast Break”: Gabe Kaplan as a basketball coach who brings four ringers from New York City out to play for a small college in Nevada. It’s “Welcome Back, Kotter” meets “Hoosiers.” Sort of.

2. “Oxford Blues”: Quick, name a better sculling movie! Time’s up. Rob Lowe as the pretty-boy American turned fish out of water when he joins a rowing team at Oxford. He screws up. Meets a pretty girl. Redeems himself.

3. “Youngblood”: Rob Lowe as the pretty-boy American turned fish out of water when he joins a junior hockey team in Canada. He screws up. Meets a pretty girl. Redeems himself. The hockey scenes are ludicrous, the acting is atrocious. God, I love this movie.

4. “Tin Cup”: O.K., this does occasionally get mentioned on best-of lists (in fact, Kareem gives it an honorable mention), but in the Ron Shelton-Kevin Costner catalog, it is often overlooked. It’s “The Hustler” set on a golf course. But Roy McAvoy is much more likeable than Eddie Felson.

5. “American Flyers”: More Costner, I know, but it’s less Costner, if you know what I mean. It’s “Breaking Away” meets “Dances With Wolves.” I’m kidding. It’s more like “Breaking Away” meets “Waterworld.” No, really, it’s a great movie. I mean, like “Breaking Away” meets “The Bodyguard” great.