The results are in, and the LAMB has picked its Top 10 Sports Movies (for background on this, click here). There were a total of 25 voters, with their votes spread out amongst 102 films.
Surpisingly, this marks the second time (out of four Top 10 lists) where the film that received the most first-place votes failed to finish in first place. However, last time, it finished in the runner-up spot (The Big Lebowski to Monty Python and the Holy Grail), whereas here the film that pulled off that feat finished 5th! Also of note is that the film in question also placed 4th in the Comedy list (it places 5th here). Weird, wild stuff indeed.
Here are your winners (1st place votes in parentheses):
10. The Natural – 41 points from 7 voters (1)
9. Breaking Away – 44 points from 7 voters (1)
8. Hoosiers – 49 points from 11 voters (0)
7. (tie) Slap Shot – 59 points from 9 voters (2)
7. (tie) Rocky – 59 points from 8 voters (1)
5. Caddyshack – 69 points from 8 voters (5)
4. Rudy – 70 points from 11 votes (1)
3. Field of Dreams – 84 points from 13 votes (0)
2. Raging Bull – 85 points from 11 votes (1)
1. Bull Durham – 91 points from 12 votes (2)
So…how many did you vote for? If you’d like to see yours and all the other votes, scroll down. I’ve added a post with all of them, but have dated it prior to this post so it won’t clutter the page.
Others receiving 1st-place votes: Battlefield Baseball, Hoop Dreams, Major League, Personal Best, Pride of the Yankees, The Hustler, The Karate Kid Part II (!?!?), The Longest Yard, The Sandlot (2), and When We Were Kings.
For this last poll, I put the power of “Which genre is next?” in the voters’ hands. Their top selection? Westerns, with 4 votes. The poll is already up, and will be for two weeks – be sure to read the instructions. Go vote now so I don’t have to hassle you later! Thanks.
Fletch… was The Bad News Bears a close 11th place? I saw that it got the same amount of mentions as The Natural, but I didn’t look at the ranking and stuff. Just curious.
WALTER MATHAU, BITCHES!!!
Yes it was, Fox. It finished one point behind The Natural for 11th place.
I actually had it in a tie with Slap Shot before (at the last minute) I noticed two votes for it that I hadn’t previously seen, as they had it listed as Slapshot. Unfortunately, this ain’t an exact science.
I might have to use the entire 2 weeks to figure out my top 10 westerns. Hell, just whittling it town to 10 will be hard enough; ranking those will be nigh impossible.
How could Rocky not win? I still shed a tear or two watching it…
Gah… yet again I shall have to sit out. If there’s anything that I don’t care for as much as sports, it’s westerns.
Okay, so that’s not true (I really dislike sports). The only western I’ve ever liked was the 3:10 to Yuma remake (and it’s the only one I, personally, own). Though I must like westerns to some degree, because a huge chunk of one of my previous books was western. Either way, I don’t know enough about westerns to participate in this next one, either.
Ack! I blame myself for putting this off. With my votes Rocky and Major League could have moved up to more deserving spots.
I won’t let you down with the Westerns.
General – no vote, no say!
Nick – it’s weird. I’d say I like westerns in general, but I haven’t seen hardly any of them. I guess this goes back to that whole “Fletch doesn’t care much for older films” thing, seeing as how now there’s maybe one western a year. Still, I really need to see the classics anyway. I’ll have to abstain this time around…
Wayne – see comment for the General above. Get on it!
Hi
I think these sports movies have great competition and I don’t know which is won?
Yes, Fletch, i do have to wonder about your dislike for older films? I’d be interested to see an article by you on this issue. What is it about them that puts you off? I’m curious. It sounds like you view seeing them as homework. Are you a child of the 1980s?
This leads me to note that almost all the movies cited on this list were made in the 80s. Only three are 70s movies (and Breaking Away came out in the late summer of 79, I believe, and that is close enough to 1980 to me). I mean, where is THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES, for god’s sake? It even had Babe Ruth playing himself in it!!! What could be more sporty than this? How about CHAMPION or THE SET UP (the latter was another movie I forgot about that would have made my list had I given it more thought. I’m gonna really think about the Westerns this time around and not just jump in with the first titles that hit me off the top of my head). Or KNUTE ROCKNE, or BODY AND SOUL, or JIM THORPE–ALL AMERICAN, or THE FRESHMAN? I know they didn’t make my list, but I saw almost no one mention even once ANY of these titles on their ten best lists. Are almost all pre-ratings code movies just considered shit now by those who were born post-STAR WARS?
Wrote it a few months ago, Dean. Check it out here.
I was born in 1976, and yes, I do view them as homework, pretty much.
And, for the record, 4 of the films listed are from the 70s, and there is but one from post-1990 (Rudy).
I guess this is a silly and shameless self plug, but I ran-down my favorite westerns from the last 10 years if anyone wants to watch recent westerns: http://moviesetal.blogspot.com/2008/06/ten-best-westerns-of-last-ten-years-pt_06.html
Beyond that list, some older movies that aren’t really “classic” westerns include:
Unforgiven
The Wild Bunch
Silverado
Dances with Wolves
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Lonesome Dove
All of thos are from the last 20 years, except for Butch and Wild Bunch, which I promise you are totally fun and will not feel in the slightest bit like homework. If you watch a good chunk of those movies and still don’t like Westerns, you never will. But if you do like them, you might come back to the “classics” with a new eye.
Your poll isn’t working OR it didn’t like my Western choices. It rejected my entry.