Moneyball and Real Steel are two current sports movies that inspire  us in unusual ways: Moneyball with numbers and Real Steel with robots. While we love our robots, we’re always looking for great team sports films to view with our crew on road trips. Here are a few of our favorites.
Miracle
Forget about uniting a team. How about an entire nation? What makes Miracle so inspirational is that it stays true to one of the greatest underdog stories in history—the U.S. Hockey Team beating the Soviets and the Fins to capture the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Looking for chills? Check out Coach Brooks’s half-time speech.
Remember the Titans
This powerful film, set during the civil rights era (1960s), stars Denzel Washington as Coach Herman Boone, who works to bring his racially-segregated team together so they can chase the state championship. Watch for one of our favorite scenes in the movie: Coach Boone’s Gettysburg speech.
D2: The Mighty Ducks
Quack. Quack. Quack. In D2, Emilio Estevez as Coach Gordon Bombay and his Team USA battle Iceland while giving us quotes like “cake eater” and “knuckle puck time.” Remember, Ducks fly together!
Coach Carter
Let’s face it—Samuel L. Jackson is intimidating. In Coach Carter, he plays no-nonsense basketball coach Ken Carter, who helps a group of inner-city players reach the next level. This film moves beyond the court to reveal the pressures of school, social life and athletics that young athletes face every day. Although Jackson is the star of the movie, one of his players, Timo Cruz (Rick Gonzalez), takes the spotlight during its most powerful scene when he recites Marianne Williamson’s poem, “Our Deepest Fear.”
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
An instant playground classic, this film culminates with Peter La Fleur and Average Joe’s Gymnasium taking on White Goodman and his band of gym rats in a $50,000 dodgeball tournament. The movie is set up for success by its stellar ensemble cast, which includes Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and Jason Bateman, plus cameos by Chuck Norris, Lance Armstrong and David Hasselhoff. Although it’s not as inspirational as Miracle or Remember the Titans, Dodgeball makes up for its lack of goosebumps with wrenches.
If you haven’t seen any of these classics with your team, check them out on your next trip. Did your favorite team sports movie make the list? Let us know on Facebook.
Photo:  pigskinroundball.org