It was decided quicker than Petey sprinting down a football field. Actually, every round was quick. No one argued. No one had to defend it. It was a given.

You’ve all been waiting to see it as the last movie standing all week. You may have even questioned why we were even doing this whole bracket. The winner was so indisputable. It’s what we consider the film of our childhood — we viewed it every year in middle school, especially on substitute teacher days. It’s what we quoted during recess and lunch.

It’s the team name you had when you played football in your backyard. It’s where you learned how to tell a mama joke. It’s when you learned that skin color makes no difference at all, anyone can be your brother (“see the family resemblance?”).

It is the “Rocky” of our generation. 

Though it was completely snubbed for any Academy Awards — Come on, guys. No Denzel Washington for best actor? — it was the underdog story for the 9-year-olds who didn’t know about segregation, the power of sports or great acting.

That is why “Remember the Titans” is The Daily Illini sports staff’s pick for No. 1 sports movie. 

From multiple motivational speeches to a devastating car accident — spoiler alert not even necessary. If you haven’t seen the movie, stop reading this column and watch it — to an issue that sparked multiple sports movies after it.

“Remember the Titans” is the ultimate sports film. There are lines like “Sometimes life is hard for no reason at all” and “You make sure they remember, FOREVER, the night they played the Titans!”

It’s about football, but it isn’t. It’s about segregation, but it isn’t. It’s about winning, but it isn’t. You feel something every time you walk away from this movie. A feeling deeper than your foot falling asleep or popcorn stuck in your teeth or the relief of peeing after a two-hour movie. You don’t get that feeling from wannabes like “Bull Durham” or “Space Jam.” This is the film for every viewer, not just the sports fans.

Not to mention, Ryan Gosling’s in it before he became Ryan Gosling: America’s heartthrob. Plus, you get the honor of watching now-slutty Hayden Panettiere be a young woman. She’s an example that anyone, not just the guys, can like football.

More importantly, it is a film that has iconic scenes, iconic quotes and iconic characters. There is no scene that gives me bigger chills than watching the Rev take the hand-off — the guy has been injured the whole season! — and run for a touchdown as Denzel basically jumps on the back of Coach Yoast. I cry when I watch Gerry Bertier stretch his arms in victory in his hospital bed, and if you don’t, you have no soul. By the film’s end, you feel changed. You’re not quite sure how, but you feel like a better person.

You just can’t make that stuff up — well, actually they did, but we don’t have to get into that. If you want to know the differences between the real-life events compared with the film, feel free to check out ESPN’s comparison online.

But that is not what is being argued here. 

This was a great film. For once, Disney hit all of the right notes. From drama to comedy to the issue of race to the pressures of winning: “Remember the Titans” is an accomplishment. There isn’t much more to say about it, otherwise I’d start being repetitive and that’s not allowed in journalism.

Its competitor is a worthy opponent, known to many as the best sports movie of all-time. “Rocky” is no doubt a classic. But the Titans are winners and Rocky, well, he lost. 

“Rocky” does bring up many of the same elements as “Remember the Titans.” Yet it was not the movie that taught this generation morals, but “Remember the Titans” did. 

“Rocky” is considered the ultimate story for an underdog, but it’s not our underdog story. He fought the good fight, and his effort will be remembered (ha, get it?) but he’s just not the best.

Adrian and Rocky have had their time at the top, but for this generation the crown is for the film that taught us everything. And since its release in 2000, no film has been able to beat it.

It will be a movie all of us will show to our kids. They will end up seeing films like “Rocky” and “Field of Dreams,” but “Remember the Titans” will be the one we talk about.

Not to mention, how many times have you seen “Rocky” compared with how many times you’ve seen “Remember the Titans”? That’s what I thought. 

Samantha is a senior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @sammiekiesel.