The 10 worst sport movies ever made

This story was published: 5 hours ago April 20, 2014 12:44AM

USUALLY sports movies are created to inspire us and in many cases tell the story of some truly awe-inspiring athletic moments … and then there are these.

It’s not that there can’t be good sports comedies, but in many cases good intentions go by the wayside in lieu of a cheap laugh. Even sports dramas can cross a line by being too heavy-handed and run the risk of losing audiences.

It’s a fine line, and one some companies have mastered, which is why usually when you see the Disney name on a sports film, you know it will be quality (Remember the Titans, Miracle, etc.). In other cases, it’s the actors who lend credibility to the project, with Kevin Costner being a prime example.

Let’s be honest, Costner’s made some real bombs in his career, but he knows how to do two styles right: sports movies and westerns. In his new movie, Draft Day, he plays the general manager of football team negotiating his way through the yearly NFL draft. In honour of Mr. Costner’s return to the genre, we thought it would be fun to look back at some of sport’s worst films — and be thankful at least someone still makes films simply for the love of the game.

The Legend of Bagger Vance:

Before WWI, Rannulph Junuh had a perfect golf swing, but the ravages of battle have striped him of his innocence and his love for the the game.

Directed by Robert Redford and with a cast including Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron and an uncredited role by the late, great Jack Lemmon, this shouldn’t have been as bad as it was! The movie focused on a down-on-his-luck golfer looking to get his swing back thanks to his caddy, but it was long, slow and boring — which led to dismal reviews and a low total at the box office. Something was always slightly off about this movie and audiences quickly recognised it.

Ready To Rumble:

Two dimwit sewage workers watch their hero, WCW wrestler Jimmy King, get screwed out of the World title by wrestler Diamond Dallas Page and evil WCW owner Titus Sinclair.

It’s a shame the only mainstream scripted film about pro wrestling during its prime was this one. Real-life wrestling fan David Arquette fronted this comedy along with Scott Cann — the two played slackers who fight back when an unscrupulous wrestling promoter unfairly ousts one of his most popular performers. It featured cameos from all sorts of top WCW superstars, and during the promotion Arquette even briefly became WCW champion. Not exactly the best way to legitimise your brand … it was no wonder the company eventually folded and was bought by rival WWE.

Blades Of Glory:

Blades of Glory is pure hilarity, a gold medal comedy winner staring comic superstar Will Ferrell (Talladega Nights) and John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite).

Both Will Ferrell and Jon Heder have made some good movies, but those are overshadowed by the bad ones, and this was one of them. The two played rival ice skaters who get each other banned from the sport, but find a loophole where they can come back ... as partners. It was a carbon copy of similar films we’ve seen the leads in before, and, as with real-life copies you get a duller version with each duplication. Yes, it was a box office hit because audiences were willing to buy into the over-the-top schtick, but that doesn’t mean we have to encourage it here.

Ed:

Matt LeBlanc plays Jack Deuce Cooper, a talented baseball pitcher.

We didn’t really target films with animals playing sports on this list, because those are more family-friendly pics, rather than true sports movies. However, we felt obligated to include Ed because it is one of the most well-known animal-playing-sports pics that was just a complete flop. Ed made just $6 million and came a few years into Matt LeBlanc’s run on Friends. It basically derailed the actor’s film career at a time when he was experimenting with branching out to more mainstream roles. Outside of the equally poorly received Lost In Space, LeBlanc didn’t have too many more film roles, but that’s OK — because his turn on Episodes is genius. Stick to TV Joey, stick to TV.

The Waterboy:

A waterboy for a college football team discovers he has a unique tackling ability and becomes a member of the team.

Nothing can top the total disaster that was Adam Sandler in Jack & Jill, but that doesn’t mean a few can’t come close. The Waterboy was a one-trick pony that did well because it was just another of Sandler’s goofy characters, which at the time were very profitable. Of course, profitability and quality are two entirely different things. Nobody walked into Waterboy with any expectations; they just wanted to see Sandler’s schtick. It started off fine, but the longer it went, the longer it felt. It was like watching a spoof of Rudy, except you felt kind of awkward the whole time.

Celtic Pride:

Crowd-pleasing Hollywood stars score big-time laughs in this outrageous comedy about team spirit gone way out-of-bounds!

Boston sports fans are crazy, but in all fairness, so are New York sports fans — which makes this film scary, because somewhere, two idiots have probably actually contemplated living out this movie’s storyline. Dan Aykroyd and Daniel Stern played two Celtics fans that kidnap the star player (Damon Wayans) on the opposing team ahead of the NBA championships. What could possibly go wrong? Here’s the best part, though: The film was written by Colin Quinn and Judd Apatow. Not their finest hours.

Kicking and Screaming:

Will Ferrell stars as a junior soccer coach who takes on his supercoach dad, all for little league glory.

As mentioned before, Will Ferrell is not a bad actor, and when given good material, he can be hilarious … but nothing about Kicking and Screaming was good. Ferrell tends to run the gauntlet from playing a completely over-the-top character like Ron Burgundy in Anchorman to a meek and timid wimp like he is here. Of course, he does best in that borderline middle ground — think Old School and Everything Must Go. Kicking had Ferrell in a Little Giants-like situation where he was coaching a little league soccer team where he was completely unqualified, but did it anyway to win the approval of his jerk of a father (Robert Duvall). It was re-treading on past material and just not that interesting — but not worse than his turn in Bewitched, which opened a few months later. Not a high bar, though.

BASEketball:

South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker deliver their unique brand of baseball/basketball, the epic game that is; BASEketball.



Following established success with South Park, series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone thought going in front of the camera on a big-screen flick was the next logical step. It was not. The movie was based on a game the pair devised, and was basically a joke that was probably good for five minutes of screen time but ended up running for just over an hour and a half. The idea of combining baseball and basketball would probably be more fun to play than it would be to watch someone play, but after seeing how predictably bad the movie was, audiences were so turned off that many likely couldn’t even bring themselves to watch actual sports the same way for some time.

The Ringer:

A young guy's only option to erase a really bad debt is to rig the Special Olympics by posing as a contestant.


A morally bankrupt slacker enters the Special Olympics as a ringer in order to pay back a debt. Who thought this was a good idea again? Making this situation even more bizarre was that the actual Special Olympics supported the project. According to an AP story, the organisation thought the film “would humanise their athletes and add a new cachet of cool to their organisation.” The article then went on to quote an executive who said, “If a guy like that can become friends with a person with Down syndrome, man, that’s amazing.”

I got nothing …

The Benchwarmers:


A trio of guys try and make up for missed opportunities in childhood by forming a three-player baseball team to compete against standard children baseball squads.

Just watch the trailer. If you can’t tell why it made our list, we are seriously questioning your taste in … well, life. David Spade, Jon Heder and Rob Schneider headlined the comedy about three older men who are given the chance to be the sports heroes they never got be as kids; by forming a three-person team and challenging little league squads. It was just as painful to watch as it sounds — plus David Spade sported what looked like a bowl cut crossed with a wig made out of Cousin It from The Addams Family. Yikes.

This article originally appeared on AskMen.
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/the-10-worst-sport-movies-ever-made/story-e6frfmvr-1226890009966

Escape To Victory (just for the players), Finding Eric, Remember The Titans, Any Given Sunday.

Thought that one about the Munich Air Disaster was appallingly made.

im surprised Air Bud wasn't added to the worst sports list :lol:

The missus dragged me to see this piece of crapulent junk called "Wimbledon" some years ago.

Urghhh that was dross.

Not once in the whole film did Wayne Arthurs appear, therefore it's a shit film considering it's name.

BASEketball was alright imo.

The psych outs were epic.

What the fuck.

So wrong.

You what mate!

So bad it was brilliant.

I'd like to add The Natural with Robert Redford.

Remember The Titans is the best sporting movie ever made. End of discussion.

Watch "The Miracle Of Bern" which tells the story of Germany's 1954 World Cup win through the eyes of a kid as well as a couple of the players.

They recreate the games and goals exactly how they were.

Space Jam, The Mighty Ducks, Remember the Titans. I also love the remake of The longest yard, purely for its quotability.

Any movie with Adam Sandler in it is not fit to be mentioned with the likes of Space Jam and RTT.

I disagree, Cool Runnings is.

Cool Runnings

Classic underdog story, yes. But RTT also explored themes of racial segregation in america and the civil rights movement's impact on young people. It was a sports movie, but it wasn't about sport.

We Were Marshal.

Tugs dem heartstrings.

-PB

Caddy shack is my favourite, timeless.

Happy Gilmore?

"Suck my white ass, ball!"

What? I liked Remember The Titans.

Golf isn't a sport...:lol:

Forgot Cool Runnings, awesome bit of fun.

Tennis: You hit the ball away with a racquet, it comes flying back at you. Sport.
Football: You kick the ball away, it comes flying back at you. Sport.
Cricket: You throw the ball or hit it away with a bat, it comes flying back at you. Sport.
Golf: You hit the ball away, you go and find the ball, and then you hit it away again. Not a sport.

If running isn't involved, it isn't a sport. Running from the paparazzi doesn't count.

It's basically billiards on a very large table.

Try telling dudes that Darts isn't a sport haha.

-PB

They might glass me with that schooner they're holding.

Oh the acting was appalling, apart from Michael Caine of course. And you could drive a truck through the plot.

But seeing Pele, Deyna, Moore, Ardilez, and others was well worth it. Haven't seen it in at least 20 years.

If I can be drunk and play it, it's not a sport either :lol: Darts, billiards, bowling...not sports.

Beer pong is a sport, thankyou very much. :lol:

Marked down as an exhibition sport at he 2020 Olympics.

My definition:

If you don't break into a sweat it's not a sport.

Golf, darts, monopoly, chess, curling etc - not a sport. (A skilled recreational activity taking possibly years to master - my wordy yes, but a sport? No.)




Edited by munrubenmuz: 21/4/2014 11:57:17 PM

How can you not call curling a sport?!? It's f*cking brutal on your body!

The sport of Janitors and Maids the world over.

American flyers
Tin cup
Necessary roughness
Field of dreams

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Mate, I'm breaking into sweats over the Chess highlights. Jeez, they must be sweating buckets with that pressure.

And you don't call Darts a sport? Bloody hell, it's a better atmosphere than Wembley!
[youtube]cEgdQbSWTQ4[/youtube]

and you better not fucking start on the snooker!!!

[youtube]epu_Y1WdAqU[/youtube]
Simply riveting stuff!!!

Guys, I am seriously disappoint.

How has no one mentioned Mike Bassett: England Manager yet?

BASEketball was fantastic (as a comedy).

Also recommend 42 for anyone who is interested, the story of the first negro player to play in the MLB in the US.


"Goal! The dream begins" was enjoyable.
Goal 2 was ho-hum.
Goal 3 was "WTF did I just watch?"



Edited by petszk: 22/4/2014 10:16:56 AM

Darts + Chase the Sun = OI OI OI

-PB

Forgot a little gem from twenty years ago - White Men Can't Jump.

No one mentioned Coach Carter yet? Had Samuel L Jackson in it starring as a basketball coach

There aren't too many movies in this thread that I haven't loved tbh :lol:

The articles opinion of BASEketball is ridiculously shit IMO - I loved it!

Remember the Titans really is one of the best sports movies ever.

We Are Marshall was pretty good -P"L"B, good call.

Mighty Ducks was unreal, will stick with me forever.

I loved Invictus.

Had some great :lol: at Semi-Pro

Enjoyed the Goal movies but yeah the third one was just rubbish!

Mighty Ducks will always be a favourite of mine, best series as a kid and even still today!

We Are Marshall was great to see how they overcame (somewhat) what happened to get back on the field.

Mystery Alaska was one I liked too, quite a few good laughs in that one, haha.

Mighty Ducks, Happy Gilmore, Coach Carter, Baseketball, The Karate Kid, Space Jam are the best sports movies I can think of off the top of my head.

Angels in the Outfield, Ed, Little Big League and Little Giants are all great

I got to see that late last year. So good!

I forgot about The Sandlot, that's another classic

The sixth man is a good one too. Has a couple a Wayans in it.