Top 20 Inspirational Sports Movies

Hoosiers

You can't forget the scene: After getting to the state finals, the rural high school basketball team walks on the court where they will play and are instantly overwhelmed by the hugeness of it all. Coach Norman Dale surveys his team, and then pulls out a tape and measures the distance from the net to the floor. It's the same as in their gym at home. The tension lets up and the kids are ready to conquer Goliath.

In 1986, David Anspaugh's Oscar-nominated "Hoosiers" played all the clichés of the classic underdog sports movie: the unorthodox coach (Gene Hackman), his brilliant but drunken assistant (Dennis Hopper), the teacher (Barbara Hershey) trying to stop the best player from going out for the team, the doubting players who conquered their fears. Inspired by a true story, "Hoosiers" had a predictable outcome, but nevertheless I was a kid mesmerized and inspired by their victory. And I'm sure I wasn't the only one who cried.
--Dilshad Ali