My Personal Favorite Moment In Sports Movie History

Sports movies tend to be very formulaic even though the formula still works in sports from football to gymnastics to golf. It is hard to do anything novel or new because it is all ground people have already made movies about. Spots movies tend to fall into one of a handful of categories:

1) The lovable loser wins big against all the odds. This is the Rocky movies, at least the first two and is perhaps the most common.

2) Sports movies about something other than sports: I call this the Field of Dreams movie. Field of Dreams is a great movie and it contains a lot of baseball but it really isn't about baseball.

3) The team version of number 1 or the Bad News Bears movie.

4) The lewd comedy sports movie, for example Slap Stick and Caddyshack.

All sports movies contain a little of 1/3 and a little of 2. The against all odds winner is especially common, from the Karate Kid (which is kind of sketchy when viewed with jaded eyes today) to Rudy  which is just a great movie to Miracle detailing the defeat of the evil empire's hockey team (Rocky III with hockey sticks and better acting).

For my money the first Rocky movie is by far the best. As a kid I liked Rocky III and Rocky IV much more than I and II because they were more action packed and had the big theme thing going on. What red-blooded American man didn't want to see Rocky pummel the cartoonish Ivan Drago? Now as I am a lot older and arguably modestly wiser I kind of appreciate what is going on and the humanity on display in spite of the over-the-top violence of boxing in the first two movies. As a side-note, I don't care who you are or how tough you are, the beating Rocky takes in Rocky III and IV would kill someone.

Part of what makes the first Rocky movie great is that Rocky doesn't "win" at the end. Apollo Creed keeps the title in a split decision. It sets up the second movie beautifully and Rocky II is one of the best sequels of all time, not The Empire Strikes Back good (the all time best sequel ever) but still great. It is just a all time great movie. In the second Rocky film the scene at the end when he wins (spoiler alert!) and says "Yo Adrian, I did it!" is still a tear jerker and spine chiller but it is not as good as late in the first fight. Likewise when Rocky is in the meat cooler and punching the hanging side of beef, his trainer Duke (played by Tony Burton and appearing in every Rocky film along with with Stallone and the guy who plays Paulie, Burt Young. I didn't know that before tonight). As Apollo is working out marketing arrangements and is completely disinterested in the fight, Duke is watching the TV and seeing the south paw challenger Rocky cracking ribs on sides of beef. His face gets more and more troubled, another great example of acting without saying a word. You can watch it here. Another great scene. Not my favorite though. This is my favorite.

I will tell you what happens and then you can decide for yourself starting at 5:20 in the clip below. After a long bout where Apollo dominates but can't knock Rocky out, he finally lands what should have been the knockout blow. He goes to his corner with his arms upraised. This was supposed to be an exhibition, nothing serious and Apollo (and everyone else including Rocky) expected it to be over quickly. The champ is wearing a fancy outfit, Rocky is wearing a cheap robe with a sponsor name on the back. Another favorite interplay happens as Rocky and Mick get ready to walk out. Mick asks about the sponsor name on the back of the robe and Rocky tells Mick that his brother-in-law gets paid and Rocky gets to keep the robe. Mick just replies "shrewd" which cracks me up. It is the polished boxer versus the fighter. Anyway here is the clip:


Rocky, down on the mat. His friend and trainer Mickey is urging him to stay down in his raspy voice: "Down, down, stay down!". He proved his point, just stay down and take the loss. There is no shame in losing to the champ. Of course Rocky doesn't stay down and struggles to his feet. Apollo (played masterfully by Carl Weathers, in stark contrast to his work in Predator) turns with his hands still in the air but he slowly drops them as he stares in shocked disbelief that Rocky is getting up yet again. Then to top it off, Rocky urges him on "come on" and as the announcer says he can't believe it, neither can Apollo. Carl Weathers doesn't say a word but that scene is just masterfully done. You can see him go from relieved triumph to resigned disbelief. As the fight ends Rocky is pummeling Apollo but Apollo wins the decision and both men at the end say there will be no rematch which of course means that a rematch is assured. Carl Weathers is great in this movie, even better than Stallone.

I can watch that scene over and over. This isn't a deep or controversial post, just something I was thinking about after watching Rocky last night. What say you, do you have a different favorite scene in a sports movie?

Brady Hoke and the Win At All Costs Culture

I pay very little attention to sports these days, a marked difference from the days when watching sports, talking sports, engaging in fantasy sports, etc. dominated my thoughts. I still keep an eye on the teams I used to follow, especially the University of Michigan which has been in a free-fall for the last few years, culminating in the firing of Brady Hoke after yet another loss to Ohio State. Mitch Albom wrote a piece on the firing of Hoke for the Detroit Free Press and said something very troubling.

A news conference was held Tuesday afternoon, three days after the final game of U-M's season, a bad loss to Ohio State. Here's what we learned that we already knew: that Hoke is a good man, that he is a classy man, that he instilled important values.

And that he lost too many football games.

Hoke is a great guy and instilled important value, often to young men who haven't heard these values taught anywhere else. None of that matters because Michigan didn't win enough. That is what is wrong what is wrong with sports in general and college football in particular. It is in large part why I don't watch sports anymore and barely follow them outside of social media, and why I am seriously concerned about the impact of sports on our culture.

We pay lip-service to the "values" that sports are supposed to instill in young men and women. That idea is a farce. In sports at virtually every level the bottom line is the bottom line. Just win baby. We don't care what kind of person an athlete or coach is as long as they win games. Tim Tebow, overt religion aside, is out of the NFL because even though he appears to be a great guy and role model, he doesn't win enough. Meanwhile the professional sports leagues are full of guys who are out and out criminals, drug users and cheats, serial fornicators and violence prone modern gladiators who exist to amuse us. All we care about is winning and there is so much money involved that there are always going to be those who will look the other way at malfeasance because a player can knock down three pointers or hits quarterbacks like a freight train or shoots ten under par.

Win no matter what. It doesn't matter if they guys who graduate (or don't, who cares) are borderline animals as long as the alumni are happy. It doesn't matter if athletes are crippled later in life because they destroyed their bodies for our entertainment or if they are so messed up from concussions and steroids that they take their own lives. All that matters is the "W" instead of the "L". These aren't values we should cherish nor are they values when should accept even while making pious noises about the importance of "values". They certainly are not values we should want to pass on to our kids and doubly so for those who take the name of Christ.

I know Brady Hoke had to go, he was clearly over his head at Michigan and losing to Ohio State year after year is not going to get it done. I also know that he is probably a pretty decent guy and coach and will get another job. Likewise Michigan will hire a big name coach and is more likely than ever to hire someone with a dubious ethics as long as they win. More than anything I know that we need to talk about the hold that sports has on our society and culture, especially in the church. The values that are really dominant in sports are not the values we should teach our kids but until the money dries up little is going to change.

Good luck Brady, I wish you well.

My apologies to Detroit fans

Let me apologize. On Friday April 13th I made a Major Announcement, namely that I was changing loyalty from the Indians and Browns to the Tigers and Lions. Going into the day on April 13th the Tigers were 5-1 and looking like legit contenders to win it all. Since my announcement? The Tigers have gone 12-17 and look like they couldn't hit a t-ball. I guess this was predictable as is the fact that the Indians are in first place with a team of nobodies and cast-offs. Oh well, as they say it is a long season, a marathon and not a sprint, etc. With Verlander at the top of the pitching staff and Miggy and Prince eventually getting it together I am sure they will be fine. I better hope so or my house might get egged by hordes of angry Detroiters.

The reaction of every Red Sox fan last night

A great story from the sports world

There was a high school sports report that I really liked. It had to do with a female high school wrestler in Iowa winning in the state tourney for the first time ever.

I didn’t like it because I think it is swell that a girl is wrestling in the state tourney. I find that highly inappropriate. I liked it because of the reason she won. The young woman, Cassy Herkelman, won when her opponent Joel Northrup, the fifth seed at 103 pounds who came in third in the state tourney as a freshman last year elected to forfeit the match. Here is why:

Northrup, a sophomore at Linn-Mar (Iowa) High, cited his personal faith as the motivating force for his forfeit. The withdrawal ensures he can finish no higher than third at the tournament, which follows his third-place finish in the 103-pound classification as a freshman.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan [Black] and their accomplishments," Northrup said in a statement given to the media following his official forfeit. "However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times.

"As a matter of conscience and faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa."

That is praiseworthy indeed. In a world where personal accomplishment trumps many values, this is a wonderful stand by this young man. I wrestled in high school and getting to the state tourney is a dream and lifelong goal for many of these young men. To willingly forfeit against an opponent as a matter of conscience takes an incredible display of conviction. Wrestling is a violent and close contact sport and Joel is precisely right that it is highly inappropriate for boys and girls to be wrestling against one another. I hope he wins out in the tournament and gets to compete for third place. As a sophomore he will have two more years to pursue a state championship but at least for this year his convictions triumphed over his ambition and for that I applaud him and his family.

A great article you should read today

Manute Bol was a freakishly tall specimen, even in the NBA, standing 7’ 7” tall and looked like he weighed about 125 lbs. I remember watching him play back when I still watched the NBA and recall how odd he looked on the court but man it had to be hard to shoot over him. He died recently and most people remember him as a curious anomaly, a super tall guy in a league of tall guys. He is also remembered as a humanitarian but as an editorial today points out what drove Manute Bol was a radical Christian faith.

Bol reportedly gave most of his fortune, estimated at $6 million, to aid Sudanese refugees. As one twitter feed aptly put it: "Most NBA cats go broke on cars, jewelry & groupies. Manute Bol went broke building hospitals."

When his fortune dried up, Bol raised more money for charity by doing what most athletes would find humiliating: He turned himself into a humorous spectacle. Bol was hired, for example, as a horse jockey, hockey player and celebrity boxer. Some Americans simply found amusement in the absurdity of him on a horse or skates. And who could deny the comic potential of Bol boxing William "the Refrigerator" Perry, the 335-pound former defensive linemen of the Chicago Bears?

Bol agreed to be a clown. But he was not willing to be mocked for his own personal gain as so many reality-television stars are. Bol let himself be ridiculed on behalf of suffering strangers in the Sudan; he was a fool for Christ.

During his final years, Bol suffered more than mere mockery in the service of others. While he was doing relief work in the Sudan, he contracted a painful skin disease that ultimately contributed to his death.

I think that is amazing. Bol gave away everything, wealth unimaginable to most Sudanese folks and even most Americans. No one would have begrudged him living the good life in America with his wealth. Instead he used his wealth to help others, he turned the gift he had been given and used it to enrich others instead of himself. I don’t know a thing about Manute Bol’s theology but I know that the way he lived his life puts me to shame.

Finally this…

It is of little surprise, then, that the sort of radical Christianity exemplified by Bol is rarely understood by sports journalists. For all its interest in the intimate details of players' lives, the media has long been tone deaf to the way devout Christianity profoundly shapes some of them.

I would agree that it is of little surprise that this sort of radical Christianity (which is not so much radical as it is simply Biblical) is not understood by sports journalists. I am deeply troubled that it is not understood by very many Christians.

Homeschool and sports

Tonight is the NCAA BCS National Championship game between 12-1 Florida and 12-1 Oklahoma. Set aside the sports questions for a second, like are these the best two teams in the country, what about undefeated 13-0 Utah, why don’t we have a playoff system? What is cool for me is that the starting quarterback for Florida and last years Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow, comes from a homeschooling family. There is an interesting article linked by the Home School Legal Defense Association from The Oklahoman about homeschooled kids and sports. Oklahoma does not allow homeschooled students to participate in public school sports. Florida does, and because of that Tim Tebow had the opportunity to play on a public school team in Florda, and in turn go to the University of Florida and play football, win the Heisman trophy and someday make a whole lot of money as an NFL quarterback. So is it unfair that kids in 26 states cannot play on public school teams while kids in 24 states can?

I have kind of a mixed response. First, I love sports. LOVE ‘EM! Second, my kids don’t. So it isn’t a huge deal for me personally, at least not at this point, because my kids would rather read than toss the pigskin around. But it is a valid issue and there are a couple of sides to that issue. On the one side, you can see where the schools are coming from. These kids don’t go to the school but they want full access to the extracurricular activities? Well then come during the day and you can have whatever access you want! If the kid doesn’t go to school there, the school doesn’t get state funding for that pupil. Plus there is the danger of people shopping for athletic programs so their kids can play sports at the best sports schools without having to attend classes there. On the other hand, homeschool families live in school districts and pay taxes to those school districts and get virtually no benefit from them. It would be different if homeschool or private school parents got vouchers for their property taxes so that if they didn’t utilize the school, they could keep the tax dollars.

I guess where I come down on the issue is this (and I know you are dying to find out what I think): when we choose to separate ourselves from the public school system, we do so voluntarily and fully aware that it means that we will not have some of the opportunities that public school kids do (field trips, organizations, clubs. etc.) but that the opportunities for a broader and better educational experience in a Christian home setting far outweigh the downside. We would like our kids to be involved the in the FFA as my wife and I both were in high school, but barring that we can still have our kids involved in 4-H. We have options. We make some sacrifices because we believe that the positives of homeschooling far outweigh any disadvantages.

This part of the article was troubling…

Austin Brown made the varsity football team as a freshman, was elected treasurer of his class and earned straight As his first semester in high school.

His mother wishes things were different.

"Although our son is doing well in public school, we desire to homeschool him,” Gina Brown said. "We miss our quality time together as a family.”

Gina and Vann Brown homeschooled their oldest son for years. When he started kindergarten and struggled, they decided to give home education a try. But when Austin started eighth grade in tiny Glencoe, Ala., he went to public school because he wanted to play football. There were no other options in rural Alabama.

I don’t want to criticize these parents for their choices, heck I get irate when people throw their two cents in regarding the education choices we have made for our kids, but if you are that committed to homeschooling, then homeschool your child! I get that he loves football, but in the grand scheme of things he could be involved with other sports opportunities. There is AAU basketball, wrestling, etc. The vast majority of high school athletes do not go on to become Tim Tebow, and even if they did that shouldn’t override the rationale to homeschool. My kids love videogames but I am not going to let them play videogames all day instead of doing schoolwork. Which is more important, playing a couple years of high school football and getting a varsity jacket that will collect dust for decades, or the lifelong impact of an education that is Christ honoring? I find myself agreeing with Chris Davis of Homeschool SportsNet…

This homeschool push into public school sports worries Chris Davis. He is the guru of homeschool sports, overseeing the national Web site for Homeschool SportsNet.

"I’m for any homeschooler that can participate in any way that they can as long as they don’t upset the apple cart,” Davis said.

He points to the struggle for homeschooling that has raged in many states.

"Then to have a few come back and complain?” he said. "To me, it’s a little dangerous.”

Very true. The struggle has been going on for a long time to make it legal for parents to homeschool their kids and that struggle is ongoing, and now some people are going back to the schools demanding to be let back in on their own terms? Let Caesar have his schools and his sports teams. We should seek ways to be involved in sports and other activities that do not compromise our core beliefs. The internet makes that a lot easier, so let’s band together and support one another and use our activities as a way to show other parents the benefits of homeschooling, instead of seeking to regain entrance on our own terms to the state schools.

(Brief correction, the championship game is TONIGHT, Thursday the 8th, not Wednesday. That is what happens when you don't get cable or braodcast TV...)