Top Ten Tuesday: Patriotic Sports Movie Moments

With the Fourth of July this week, we wanted to rank the top ten patriotic moments in sports movies—from scenes in The Sandlot to Miracle.

 

10. Football in the Rain, Invincible (2006)

There are no American flags in the background or any opponents to defeat, but the subtle scene in Invincible where Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) plays a backyard pickup game with his lifelong friends (at night and in the pouring rain) is about as American as it gets. Sure, the Eagles coaches probably would have been mad about a player risking injury (there are even a couple tackles where Papale looks like he’s almost injured), but the scene exemplified playing for the love of the game and friendship, which are two core values that have unfortunately become less important to many athletes in 2019.

 

9. Ricky Bobby Beats Jean Girard, Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) was able to get his “swagger” back following an epic downfall thanks to Susan (Amy Adams) making him realize that he’s a racecar driver, but heading into the Talladega 500, his odds still looked long against the undefeated French legend Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen). However, help from former teammate Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) with a slingshot helped Ricky get within reach of Girard while taking out the rest of the cars, and when the two remaining drivers also crashed, a footrace saw the man with two first names come out victorious even though “it was completely illegal and in no way will count.” The American flag on the screen faded over a celebrating Ricky showed he did it for not only himself, but also to show the U.S. is the best.

 

8. Breaking the Color Barrier, Remember The Titans (2000)

Instead of the United States taking on Russia, France, or someone else, Remember The Titans is basically America versus itself, as Coach Boone (Denzel Washington) and Coach Yoast (Will Patton) are able to rally their racially integrated team together at a time when racial tensions were high. The key moment comes in the Regional Championship Game when Yoast sacrifices his Hall of Fame induction by telling the rigged referees that he will go to the press, leading to the Titans getting a fair game and winning against the all-white school—which showed America is stronger together.

 

7. “Living in America”, Rocky IV (1985)

The fight itself was obviously heartbreaking as Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) was killed by Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), but what was supposed to be an exhibition featured perhaps the greatest ring entrance—real or fictional—in sports history. It was clear since Rocky that Apollo had a flare for the dramatics, and he pulled out all the stops prior to his bout against the powerful Soviet star, including American legend James Brown signing “Living in America” as “The Master of Disaster” was lowered to the ring.

 

6. Ducks Fly Together, D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)

In the sequel to The Mighty Ducks, Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) and the young Team USA Hockey squad lose their way during the Junior Goodwill Games, but everyone is able to refocus heading into the final period against the favored Iceland team (who was up by three goals) thanks to the “Ducks Fly Together” talk in the locker room. Everyone going back out onto the ice with the classic jerseys was a boost for the crowd as the Ducks flew together to victory.

 

5. Really Thin Pancakes Scene, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

The introduction of Jean Girard in Talladega Nights is hilariously over-the-top, but still somehow realistic because of the relatable American pride shown by Ricky Bobby, Cal Haughton Jr. (John C Reilly), and the rest of the guys. Of course, the first instinct is to fight the Frenchman, and it ends up with Ricky getting pinned to the pool table and refusing to say “I love Crepes” as everyone discusses whether or not he should give in or just let Girard break his arm. Ricky’s patriotism—“You don’t understand because you don’t understand liberty. You don’t understand freedom. So you put a crack in my arm like the crack in the Liberty Bell. You hear me?”—leads to Girard keeping his word.

 

4. Fireworks Scene, The Sandlot (1993)

The Sandlot is the textbook summer movie, and the Fourth of July scene is perfectly done—from the narration, to the imagery, to the overall theme. As adult Smalls says, most of the kids stop to look at the firework-lit sky because for them baseball was “just a game,” but for Benny, “baseball was life.” And we see that play out after Benny hits a bomb and simply rounds the bases in the background while everyone has their back turned to look at the spectacle above them.

 

3. Herb Brooks Speech, Miracle (2004)

Herb Brooks (or in the movie’s case, Kurt Russell) did this real-life moment justice:

 

 

2. “Miracle on Ice”, Miracle (2004)

The end result of Brooks’ iconic speech was Team USA shocking the world and beating the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics, and the movie version does an excellent job putting the moment on the screen: viewers see the clock ticking down as Al Michaels makes the call with players, coaches, and fans anticipating a victory that is eventually signaled by the words, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” It’s impossible not to get chills.

 

1. Rocky Beats Drago, Rocky IV (1985)

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) faces Ivan Drago in the Soviet Union following Apollo Creed’s death, and through pure heart and determination (plus an awesome training montage), “The Italian Stallion” is able to defeat the seemingly superhuman force. Some of the foreign crowd pulls for Balboa as the fight progresses, and Rocky’s movie-ending speech was made to bring two countries at war together—which is something Americans today could probably listen to and learn from instead of being so politically divided.