The longest thread ever

[billybreen]

I'm glad to see someone didn't like Hoosiers. I never liked Forest Gump. To me it was a ridiculous story without even entertainment value. A waste of 2 hours of my life, and now another 60 seconds complaining about it. Damn that movie!

I totally agree about Gump. It was just a sappy 2+ hour love letter to the Baby Boomer generation. Music was good, though.

[cf-62]

I'm just observant. I'm not one of those people who looks for inconsistencies but c'mon, it's not hard to see that there are three guys in their bright yellow warm-ups in the huddle at the end of the game. Also, when they pan to the picture of the 1952 State Champs hanging in the gym, it's really not hard to see that there are 8 players in that picture. Plus we've already had the scene where Ollie has to go in and gets to be the hero because Dennis Hopper's kid's stiches open up and that other guy fouls out. Where was number 8 then?

I'm also prooving my point that the movie hadn't successfully made me care enough about these players to keep me from noticing things like that. If I had seen it in 1986 I might feel differently about it. All sports movies follow this formula, it might have felt fresher in 1986. Now, I certainly wouldn't put it my own personal Top 10 sports movies. I know we had that vote on sports movies a few months ago, so perhaps I'm beating a dead horse, but I'll come up with 10 sports movies I think are better than Hoosiers

Bull Durham, Raging Bull, The Bad News Bears, American Flyers, Hoop Dreams, that documentary about the wheelchair rugby players, The Jericho Mile, Rocky, North Dallas Forty, and The Longest Yard (the original). That's just off the top of my head. I do notice that I've only got one basketball movie on that list, hmm, The Fist That Saved Pittsburgh? Blue Chips? Nah. Perhaps I'll give it Top 10 basketball movies. I didn't dislike it, by any means, but I did sit there itching to rewrite the script.

I've only been writing plays for about 10 years now. Before that, I'd go to the movies and just accept what went on, now, I often find myself thinking how the script could have been so much better. Sigh. And I notice bad writing when I never used to.

I think you're right about the timing of the movie -- 1986 -- making a difference in everybody's perspective. I don't think there's much wrong with your list of better movies -- you forgot Field Of Dreams (if you call it a baseball movie).

I did want to point out that your suspension of your willing suspension of disbelief wasn't just because it was "a bad movie." (See "Dreams, Field of" above).

Even looking at your movies, off the top of my head, I can come up with problems, too. For example, in the Bad News Bears, Buttermaker clears his bench in the top of the 6th -- only to then bat one of the just benched players in the bottom of the 6th. Not only is the move to play your players in the 6th inning not legally playing them in little league (the rule is 2 innings in the field or an At-Bat), but you REALLY can't put someone up to hit that isn't playing in the game.

I'm curious where Rudy falls in your list -- does it just not make it, or do you hate it, too?

Oh, and should we have a special category for The Replacements which is a simply terrible movie that you can't NOT watch when it's on -- and SO MANY QUOTES you can take from it.

[cf-62]

There are some interesting trends in the categories of sports movies -- that each one of these is heading down

First, our beloved basketball. I think one reason people love Hoosiers so much is that there just aren't any good basketball movies. When Eddie and White men can't jump" are the two best you can offer up in comedies, things are bad.

Glory Road was okay if you could get past the sanctimony -- and Coach Carter was interesting, if only for how we all know things can get out of hand.

Actually, the best basketball movie I've seen is an HBO documentary on girls high school basketball in Washington state -- The Heart of the Game. Watch it.

Compare that with the number of high quality baseball movies over time:
61*
The Natural
Bad News Bears
Bull Durham
Eight Men Out
Field of Dreams
League of their Own
Pride of the Yankees
The Sandlot

The list of tier 2 movies that are kind of cheesy but still decent blows away great basketball films

Football continues to have the best and worst of everything, giving us awful films like Gridiron Gang, Leatherheads, Game Plan, Two for the Money, Longest Yard (remake), and The Comebacks

while inspiring us with heartfelt bio-pics:
We Are Marshall
Remember the Titans
Friday Night Lights
Rudy

and peppering in some fun along the way
Waterboy
Little Giants
Varsity Blues (I just got hungry)

all while giving us the classics:
Brian's Song
Longest Yard
All the Right Moves

In hockey, I'm torn between Slapshot and Mystery, Alaska. I think Mystery is better, but it's a different era in film-making, too.

Miracle is great -- but the HBO documentaries are almost as good without the dramatic license.

While Mighty Ducks isn't necessarily a classic film, you can't argue with a movie that spawned a franchise.

Golf doesn't have much, but it has Caddyshack, probably the most quoted sports movie ever: (or is that The Replacements?)

It's in the hole
Looks good on you though
so I got that going for me
Rat farts
Doodie
Noonan
Right in the lumber yard
na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
You'll get nothing and like it

Did I miss any?

[Bostondevil]

I'm curious where Rudy falls in your list -- does it just not make it, or do you hate it, too?

I by no means meant that list was my Top 10 sports movies, just 10 I could think of that were, to me, better than Hoosiers. Rudy and Field of Dreams go on that list too. Murderball, that's the name of that wheelchair rugby movie! Oh great, now I don't have to go look it up.

In The Bad News Bears, I would never notice a rule violation because, well, it's Little League, I don't know the rules in minute detail. I think, but I'm not sure, they bat around regardless of who is playing in the field, or that could just be Farm League. Two of mine are Little League age but I spend the games chasing my three year old around the playground.

[Bostondevil]

I had to come back to my favorite neighborhood pub for a beer. Ahh, thanks. And I don't as a rule drink beer. (Hence my absence from the Ymmm, Beer thread.)

I've been home alone with the three year old this week. It's been tiring and I'm beyond exhausted but that's not why I'm here at 9:30pm on a Saturday night (Loser!). No, I'm here because I was just reading the latest round of complaints from my fellow playwrights on this email list I belong to. Playwrights, in general, are a bunch of arrogant pricks who think they are a lot more talented than most of them actually are. I wrote out an opposing view to post but then resisted. I hope the mere writing of it will be enough to get it out of my system. I need to just not read the emails for awhile, I think. For the record, in my experience, I am not like most playwrights. Will the moderators let me say arrogant prick?

[devildeac]

I had to come back to my favorite neighborhood pub for a beer. Ahh, thanks. And I don't as a rule drink beer. (Hence my absence from the Ymmm, Beer thread.)

I've been home alone with the three year old this week. It's been tiring and I'm beyond exhausted but that's not why I'm here at 9:30pm on a Saturday night (Loser!). No, I'm here because I was just reading the latest round of complaints from my fellow playwrights on this email list I belong to. Playwrights, in general, are a bunch of arrogant pricks who think they are a lot more talented than most of them actually are. I wrote out an opposing view to post but then resisted. I hope the mere writing of it will be enough to get it out of my system. I need to just not read the emails for awhile, I think. For the record, in my experience, I am not like most playwrights. Will the moderators let me say arrogant prick?

I think they just did-. (remember one of George Carlin's routines [I think] when he says, "you can prick your finger but you can't finger your p****.")

[billybreen]

I'm on an Amtrak train 10 minutes away from Penn Station right now. The view of Manhattan at night before the train heads underground is spectacular. I love this trip.

[YmoBeThere]

I prefer the view of flying into Vegas at night...but have seen a similar view to what you were seeing and agree it is a pretty good one.

[Bostondevil]

I don't know if I think it's all that pretty but the regular rectangles of light you see flying into Chicago at night are fascinating.

[billybreen]

I prefer the view of flying into Vegas at night...but have seen a similar view to what you were seeing and agree it is a pretty good one.

Vegas is a spectacular sight, but I don't really like being there. New York is doubly nice because I'm always happy to arrive.

[DevilAlumna]

Golf doesn't have much, but it has Caddyshack, probably the most quoted sports movie ever: (or is that The Replacements?)

It's in the hole
Looks good on you though
so I got that going for me
Rat farts
Doodie
Noonan
Right in the lumber yard
na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
You'll get nothing and like it

Did I miss any?

Well, you left off the "Bull Durham" of golf, aka "Tin Cup," which has a few quotes of its own.

Sounded better than 'clank'
everyone knows he hates old people and kids... and dogs

But for Caddyshack, how could you forget:

You don't keep score? Then how do you compare yourself to other golfers?
By height.
Cinderella story
How 'bout a Fresca, hmmm? Hmmm?
Freeze, gopher!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Did I miss any?

Be the ball

[devildeac]

creeping toward #3000-who will it be-BB or BD?

IIRC, from Caddyshack-"what is this, dance of the dead?"-describing the scene from the dance at the country club. I actually like "nice hat (?)-looks good on you though" and have used that phrase MANY times over the years about various less than fashionable articles of clothing.

[YmoBeThere]

creeping toward #3000-who will it be-BB or BD?

Well, we could force the issue...or I could go on devildeac spree and get it past there all by myself.

[devildeac]

Well, we could force the issue...or I could go on devildeac spree and get it past there all by myself.

that would not surprise me either

[YmoBeThere]

Didn't you miss one emoticon? You don't want to drop that average.

[devildeac]

Didn't you miss one emoticon? You don't want to drop that average.

THANKS for the reminder. #2997, I believe. I will NOT be the one to post #3000. Not even gonna try. Just not right (think I got the maximum with this post)

[Bostondevil]

Ok folks, here's the deal.

[Bostondevil]

I have decided.

[Bostondevil]

It's going to be me and what a better way to make post Y3K than with statistics.

We've been at this for 227 days. There are 82 different posters represented in this thread, 27 of them only once. We have discussed 1078 topics. I have the dubious record of posting here way more than anywhere else. And I started knitting the first scarf today. When I finish the first three, I'll come up with a new contest for another. Don't hold your breath though.

Congrats and here's to the next 3000!