Everyone's Going To The Movies
Written by Chriso, Wednesday August 05 2009
So I'm still traveling, and from time to time there's some down time in the hotel room. And as much as I could probably continue to watch the Orioles play the Tigers, it's a tough sell to Kerri, and since she was nice enough to take me out to the ballgame for my birthday, I change the channel.
So now we're over at the HBO channel and they are playing a baseball movie. And it has me thinking about the worst sports movies ever. Now, this is not an attempt at a complete list, because the contest is over as soon as it started. The movie on the screen is the worst ever.
Ed (1996) is a movie about a monkey playing minor league baseball. It stars Joey from "Friends" (Matt LeBlanc). And I hate to say bad things about someone from my hometown, so I'll try to be as polite as possible. But the movie is not watchable. Seriously, here's a fun game. Try watching as much of it as you can. See how long you last. It's sort of like trying to hold your breath under water or playing chicken on the freeway. Also appearing in the movie is the kid who was Cockroach on the Cosby show. And the fun part was, we were sitting there going "Wait... I recognize that guy.... it's..." and it took us four guesses. And all of our guesses were wrong. But it increased our previous record of not turning off the movie.
And so Ed replaces my previous winner of worst sports movie ever, Celtic Pride(1996). Apparently, not a great year for sports movies. And I mention Celtic Pride with fond memories of being an extra in it. And not just one of the thousands in the cattle call when they opened the Boston Garden to all comers. Or one of the cardboard cutouts that made the final cut. But I was one of the paid extras that showed up for three weeks, chanting "Here we go Celtics, here we go". Actually, there were some great experiences from the movie, including playing basketball on the parquet with Daniel Stern, or when Dan Akroyd announced my name as the winner in the payday pool. But the movie was bad, at times it was offensive. It was so bad that it took away from some of those positives. So when another movie was casting extras, I passed. Unfortunately, that movie was much better, and I would have traded the extra experience.
In the idea of balance, I tried to get my mind off the bombs and think about my favorite sports movies ever. And starting at the top of the list is The Rookie (2002). I like the reality of it. The first time I saw it, I did not like the High School team, and it reminded me of one of the teams I coached that was full of talent but had a negative attitude to match. But the other story of an old minor leaguer going back and chasing his dream was very appealing. I related to his life, thinking of myself as a minor league musician. I've played some incredible shows, in some impressive music halls, but never made the Big Show. So it was easy to root for the hero. And somehow, on later views of the movie, I started to like the team in the beginning too. And one final note, if the Devil Rays insist on having a retired number, why didn't they pick Jimmy Morris instead of Wade Boggs? At least someone made a movie about Morris.
The Rookie replaced Field of Dreams (1989) on my list of top sports movies. And I like the fantasy about it. Sure, I know Joe Jackson was a lefty, not a righty. I'm just not that much of a baseball snob to care. And you know the old saying "the book is better than the movie"? Well, I enjoyed both, for different reasons. Also, parts were filmed in Boston. There's a classic shot of Oil Can Boyd, pitching for the Red Sox. Now why didn't I end up as an extra in this movie?
Again, this is not an attempt at a complete list of best and worst sports movies. Although, coming in near the top I would like to watch Hoosiers for basketball, or Miracle for hockey. But I can't . It's stuck on Ed. And I can't find the remote. Check the clock for a new record.
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2 comments
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i thought i recognized you...
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Hey - I was one of the cardboard cutouts!