The Best Sports Movies Ever Made

For many of us, our passion for sports goes beyond playing and watching games live. We live and breathe our favourite competitions, consuming as much content as we possibly can to feel connected.

One common way to do this is to watch sports movies. Some of these are based on the stranger-than-fiction true stories that play out on the pitch, while others are works of fiction that take inspiration from real sport.

There are hundreds of sports-related movies out there, but here are some of the best to add to your watchlist.

Bend it Like Beckham

Released in 2002, Bend It Like Beckham is a comedy about women who want to play football. While a work of fiction, the film accurately depicts many of the challenges that female footballers have trying to play the sport they love.

Bend It Like Beckham is easily one of the top soccer movies ever made and is just as poignant today, two decades later, as it was when it first appeared in cinemas.

Senna

Senna (2010) is a documentary movie about the Brazilian racing driver, Ayrton Senna. Using archival video clips and new interviews, it chronicles his rise through the ranks of motorsport until he reached Formula 1.

It delves deep into the personal relationships Senna had with his team, rivals, and others in the sport. It is these that are often remembered the most today, particularly his intense feud with Alain Prost.

Senna also depicts the Brazilian’s tragic and untimely death in 1994 and the deep emotional scar it left on the whole of Formula 1.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, Dodgeball (2004) is a hilarious fictional comedy about a group of gym goers that learn their local workout spot is at risk of being purchased by a national chain.

To help save it, they enter a dodgeball tournament, leading to hysterical twists and turns, as well as plenty of slap-stick from the characters taking balls to the face left right and centre.

Rocky

Rocky (1976) was always going to make this list. This classic underdog sports movie follows a small-time amateur boxer who, despite having had little success in his career, goes up against a heavyweight boxing champion.

Unlike many cheesy sports films where the underdogs predictably overcome adversity to win in the end, Rocky isn’t quite like that.

It’s better than that, showing that hard work, effort, and a great ethic can help you grow as a person, even if you fall slightly short of your target.

Following the success of the original, there have been plenty of sequels, including 2016’s Creed, but nothing compares to the first.