I was aimlessly browsing ESPN.com’s Page 2, when I came across a link to their “Top 20 Sports Movies of All-Time” – this is a list I’ve looked at before, probably numerous times, and I was a tad disappointed in it now that I’ve “matured” a few more years.

It inspired me to deliver my own personal …I was aimlessly browsing ESPN.com’s Page 2, when I came across a link to their “Top 20 Sports Movies of All-Time” – this is a list I’ve looked at before, probably numerous times, and I was a tad disappointed in it now that I’ve “matured” a few more years.

It inspired me to deliver my own personal favorites. I don’t consider myself a movie buff, and I haven’t seen all the essentials to compile a “best of” list. Classics I’m embarrassed I have yet to see and definitely will: Raging Bull, The Natural, The Hustler and The Longest Yard. But I have seen “Bull Durham,” which is No. 1 on almost all major “best sports movies” lists, and didn’t like it. Didn’t hate it, but didn’t like it. Yet whoever voted for it as the No. 1 sports movie ever made, I have a big-time issue with. Just had to make that known. So here it goes.

Honorable mention: Remember the Titans, Jerry Maguire, Rocky, He Got Game, Rookie of the Year, Little Giants

5. Rudy

Notre Dame haters, chill out. This movie isn’t for you – you either hate or haven’t seen it, I get it. But for everyone else, this is a truly enjoyable and, dare I say, mystical flick. For those of you who are privy to the multitude of historical inaccuracies, and there are plenty, I implore you to look beyond them. It’s based on a true story but not Rudy’s life to a ‘T’. It’s just the story of one undersized, everyday guy that spends his every waking moment proving he belongs at one of the most storied and prestigious programs in college football, all the while proving the haters wrong. If this movie teaches you one thing, it’s this: don’t hate on Rudy. He’s a tad tenacious.

4. Field of Dreams

This Kevin Costner-led flick uses baseball as a metaphor for the complexity of life. Sound weird? It’s about to get weirder.

I can’t describe the genre in any way other than “realistic fantasy,” since you know deep down how far-fetched the premise is but can’t help but ignore that feeling and enjoy what’s unfolding in front of you. I’m not an old man or real adult by any means, but I recognize the innocence of this movie and how enjoyable it is to return to it. If you’re lucky enough to be able to, have a catch with your dad after watching this.

3. Hoosiers

Screams one word: inspirational. Hoosiers follows a small-town Indiana basketball team in 1954, as coach Norman Dale, played phenomenally by Gene Hackman, takes a ragtag group of kids (with one sharp-shooting exception) into the state playoffs.

I won’t spoil how far they get, but I’ll say this: they don’t lose in the first round. Oh, and there are no recruitment violations to speak of. It’s just a classic plot: we meet the coach, coach meets the team, we meet the team, we meet their parents, we see everybody struggling, we see the team overcoming enormous odds to gain glory. But darned if these filmmakers didn’t do it perfectly. Oh, and Hackman: give it to Chitwood. He’ll make it.

2. The Sandlot

Hands down my favorite movie as a kid. The thing is, I’m 20-years-old now, and I still enjoy it as much as I did back then. Watching the transformation of Scotty Smalls from a dorky out-of-towner to one of the boys and Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez pickling the Beast and spoiled little leaguers couldn’t be more enjoyable. The supporting cast in this movie truly kicks it to a different level. If you’ve ever been a kid and you’ve ever heard of baseball, you can relate, and you should see this. It’s an absolute classic. And for the record, you bob for apples in the toilet … and you like it.

1. Hoop Dreams

A nearly three-hour documentary following two hopeful hoop stars from eighth grade to freshman year of college. The teenagers, William Gates and Arthur Agee, begin at St. Joseph’s (our Demetri McCamey’s former stomping grounds) in Westchester, Ill., for head coach Gene Pingatore. It has been royally dissed on “best sports movie” lists, but I truly believe this is the best sports movie ever made, and one of our most esteemed alumni, Roger Ebert, agrees. Ebert ranked Hoop Dreams the best movie, overall, of the 1990s. I’m going to venture a guess and say you haven’t seen Hoop Dreams. I watched it again yesterday and, because of its length, I watched it in two installments but it’s about as engrossing as a film can be.

Trust Ebert & Mayor on this. You’re not a true basketball fan until you see it. (Note: Watch for No. 34 from Gordon Tech with the hardcore flat-top that knocks St. Joe’s out of the playoffs in back-to-back years – that’s Tommy Kleinschmidt, a family friend).

Sports are real-life drama, with new plot lines every day, and tying them into film is as obvious a combination as PB&J.; Compile your list today. And on that rhyme, I’m out.

Rich Mayor is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]