In honor of the Seahawks’ win, I’ve compiled a list of 12 sports movies that deserve to be celebrated—some because they’re awesome and others because they’re high crimes against art. May we never forget these films and may we never forget Super Bowl XLVIII.
*Disclaimer: at least a third of these are Disney Channel Original Movies.
Cool Runnings
“Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time!”
Right on Track
Remember Beverley Mitchell? Lucy Camden from “7th Heaven?” Well, I sure didn’t.
Mitchell played one of two sisters—Brie Larson was the other—who prove a bunch of sexist men wrong and win national junior drag racing titles.
FEMINISM.
Seabiscuit
HORSES.
Switching Goals
A quintessential Mary-Kate and Ashley straight-to-VHS movie, “Switching Goals” is about—surprise!—two twins who play soccer sometimes.
And that’s pretty much it.
Bend it Like Beckham
Starring Keira Knightley and Johnathan Rhys Meyers before they were famous, “Bend it Like Beckham” is the single greatest movie about soccer—excuse me, football—ever made.
Jessminder Bharma wants to play soccer like David Beckham, but her orthodox Sikh parents don’t approve of her aspirations.
Despite her parents’ traditionalism, she overcomes wide cultural barriers to become the best female footballer in the league.
It’s soccer and Bollywood in one—and it’s fabulous.
Johnny Tsunami
When Johnny Tsunami moves from Hawaii to Vermont, he feels like a fish out of water. But things start looking up when he realizes he’s a rad snowboarder, dude. Mad props.
A League of Their Own
If you are a woman and haven’t seen “A League of Their Own,” you need to just stop what you’re doing, buy some ice cream and settle in. Like, really. Madonna’s in it.
Double Teamed!
Two beautiful blonde twins try to balance basketball, boys and starring in the school play. Tough life.
The Lords of Dogtown
In 9th grade, I watched this movie 13 times.
Radio
Total sob fest.
Love and Basketball
Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy and girl become famous professional basketball players and bump into each other again.
Typical.
Motorcrossed
“Motorcrossed” follows teen Andi Carson who poses as her brother in a major motorcross competition when he breaks his leg. But things get complicated when she falls for a fellow competitor.
Basically, it’s “A Twelfth Night” on motorbikes.
Blue Crush
Because we should have a surfing movie in here somewhere.