5 Most Influential Sports Movies

1. Varsity Blues This movie is the equivalent of Sandlot to me except in the teen years. It was my life to a T. Where I grew up Football was only second to religion (1st in many opinions). It was the way of life, and the pressure was immense. What do you get when you have a bunch of kids who have the world's pressure on them to perform and they develop the attitude of a moderately successful athlete? I'll tell you. You get trouble. You get wild. You get stories that should never be told. Looking back on it this movie may have had a little bit of a negative influence on me as a player since I always took issue with authority (Head Coach). If I had to describe my relationship with him to you I'd just say look at Kilmer and Billy Bob's relationship. Although I've admitted that my authority issue may have affected me negatively it is still worth noting that my Head Coach was as similar to Kilmer as humanly possible. We faced many of the same issues as a team. Philosophical differences. The feeling that the coach had more personal goals in mind than he had team oriented goals is a dark mindset for a team that is supposed to be following him. Another level of impact would be the partying. Some parents may say this was a negative influence. I beg to differ. I have enough fun high school memories to supply a town's worth of teenagers. For that I owe at least some ounce of a thanks to Varsity Blues. Much like The Sandlot taught me how to have fun as a kid, Varsity Blues taught me the same as a teenager. Sinking boats, getting arrested, cussing the cops out, raising hell, legendary pranks, and very wild women. I regret nothing. Emotionally this movie nails it on the head. I watch and I instantly begin to reminisce. This quickly turns to butterflies in my stomach, and then to sadness as I realize I can never go back. I laughed. I got angry. I got excited. And then...yes then...I cried. THAT'S RIGHT. I CRIED OKAY! Flash back to my last football game and you will see full blown waterworks. Watching their last game brings back those same emotions. When Billy Bob runs that ball in and that sweet sweet music plays so elegantly I can not help it. I absolutely can not help it. The love for the game was too strong. I will never forget those days. They were the best days of my life. I guess I'll never get rid of those Varsity Blues. Have a movie or movies to add to the list? Feel differently about any of those listed? Feel like I nailed it? Leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.