Hollywood takes the red carpet this weekend for the Academy Awards. What does this have to do with sports you ask? Well for one, Kobe Bryant is nominated for an Oscar. That and unlike most of the Oscar nominated movies, these are ones you’ve actually seen.
Pass the popcorn,
The Last Night’s Game
The Top 5 Oscar Winning Sports Movies(in no particular order)
Chariots of Fire (1981) In a class-focused, divided society, two runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. The movie is probably best known for its Oscar winning original music score.
The Blind Side (2009) Sandra Bullock took home her first Oscar for her role as a pushy mom who takes in a homeless teen and helps to harness his talents to turn him into a football powerhouse. Based on a true story, the real Michael Oher became a college football sensation and an NFL (National Football League) player.
Rocky (1976) We all remember the iconic line of “Yo Adrian” and Sylvester Stallone’s run up the steps, but while the actors and their lines are what we remember, the movie took home the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing awards. A big fat TKO for Rocky and Adrian.
Jerry Maguire (1996) Tom Cruise may have yelled “show me the money” in a story about a sports agent down on his luck but Cuba Gooding Jr. showed them how it was done as he received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Oscar, you complete me.
Million Dollar Baby (2004) This movie about a middle-class female boxer who forges a life changing bond with her trainer is tied for the most celebrated movie on our list. The movie took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actress (Hilary Swank), Best Director (Clint Eastwood), Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman). The other flick with four wins? Chariots of Fire.
Honorable mentions of sports films that were nominated but didn’t win: Moneyball, Field of Dreams and Hoosiers.
Intermission break
While you map out your movie marathon, here are the top three things everyone is buzzing about in sports today including which mom is the greatest of all time (besides yours of course), why the claws are coming out in the NFL and what epic thing Ellen is doing to support a group of gold medal winners. READ
