The Oscar Goes To...5 Academy Award-Winning Sports Movies

The Oscars are no different than sports, there’s still a uniform (albeit a tux and a ballgown) and you still have to be a good sport even when you lose.

 

Game faces on, if the botox allows,

The Last NIght’s Game Team


1. Million Dollar Baby (2004) This movie about a middle-class female boxer who forges a life-changing bond with her trainer is tied for the most celebrated movie on our list. The movie took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actress (Hilary Swank), Best Director (Clint Eastwood) and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman). The other flick with four wins? Chariots of Fire. GIRL ON FIRE


2. Rocky (1976) We all remember the iconic line of “Yo Adrian” and Sylvester Stallone’s run up the steps, but while the actors and their lines are what we remember, the movie took home the award for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. A big fat TKO for Rocky and Adrian. WE’LL STILL NEVER EAT A RAW EGG FOR BREAKFAST


3. Jerry Maguire (1996) Tom Cruise may have yelled “show me the money” in a story about a sports agent down on his luck but Cuba Gooding Jr. showed them how it was done as he received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. OSCAR, YOU COMPLETE ME


4. Chariots of Fire (1981) In a class-focused, divided society, two runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. The movie is probably best known for its Oscar winning original music score. THE MUSIC THAT STILL INSPIRES US ALL


5. The Blind Side (2009) Sandra Bullock took home her first Oscar for her role as a pushy mom who takes in a homeless teen and helps to harness his talents to turn him into a football powerhouse. Based on a true story, the real Michael Oher became a college football sensation and an NFL (National Football League) player. DREAMS DO COME TRUE


BONUS - Since it wasn’t a full-length feature film, the honorable mention goes to Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball. The animated short took home an Oscar last year and Bryant proclaimed that his win “felt better than winning a championship.” THE TROPHY ISN’T AS COOL


DON’T SKIP TODAY'S WEDNESDAY WISDOM         

The Oscars may be on Sunday, but there’s plenty happening in the sports world today including a new, very odd nickname for a football player, a viral inspirational locker room speech and why someone almost needed a trip to the plastic surgeon’s office. READ