Stuck at home while Mother Nature is dropping a whole lot of snow outside? That’s okay. Take time to catch up on some great sports movies instead. You can find these choices online at some of the paid sites like Netflix and Hulu and others at free sites, such as Crackle, PopcornFlix, SnagFilms and, yes, even YouTube.
Rudy: This is an inspirational true story about Daniel “Rudy” Reuttiger, who wanted to play football at the University of Notre Dame, but was facing many obstacles. Released in 1993, it’s a great movie starring Sean Astin and directed by David Anspaugh. Definitely a movie you can watch with your kids.
Ali: Will Smith just made waves with his fantastic performance in Concussion, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe, but snubbed for an Oscar nod. It wasn’t his first sports movie performance. Smith portrayed the legendary boxer Mohammad Ali during a ten-year period, starting in 1964, when he won the title from Sonny Listen, converted his faith, was banished from boxing and fought back to reclaim the title when he destroyed George Foreman in 1974. There’s a lot of political history in this movie for that time period as well, but it’s also cool to watch the Fresh Prince nail this performance of Ali, for which he earned an Oscar nomination.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game: Take me back to the classics too with this 1949 film that stars the legendary Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. The Wolves find out that they have been inherited by a woman. It’s a sports movie/romantic comedy. This is definitely a cuddle on the couch, feel-good movie.
A League of Their Own: “There’s no crying in baseball!” Who can forget that line? The extremely talented Penny Marshall (you may know her as Laverne from Laverne & Shirley) knocked one out of the park when she directed this 1992 movie that starred Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna and other celebs. The story revolves around two sisters who join a women’s professional baseball league. Great flick.
Sports Jeopardy: If you love Jeopardy, but wish they had more sports questions, you can binge watch Sports Jeopardy with Dan Patrick on Crackle. Make it a fun family night to see who can answer the most questions. Maybe who loses should be forced to go out and shovel (okay, that’s not fair, but make it fun!).
Brian’s Song: Get the tissues ready, because if you do not cry while watching this movie, you have a heart of stone. Seriously, it is one of the best, most riveting movies that was ever made. It will suck you in and touch your heartstrings. Terrifically acted by James Caan and Billy Dee Williams, this 1971 movie is a great tale of sports, of course, but friendship as well.
Documentaries: If you’re more into documentaries, you don’t want to miss Unbeaten on SnagFilms. It’s an inspirational documentary from filmmaker Steven C. Barber that follows 31 paraplegics for six ways as they experience the 267-mile course known as ‘Sadler’s Alaska Challenge.’ Absolutely incredible. You can also tune into any of the 30 for 30 movies. Whether you watch The U, Broke, or Of Miracles and Men, you won’t be disappointed. Crackle also has a documentary short, 4th and Goal, that was shot over the course of six years. Six players try to get into the NFL and the movie follows them through the 2003 championship season.
Breakaway: Long before his DirecTV commercials, Rob Lowe was in Breakaway, a great hockey motion picture where a Canadian hockey player struggles against traditional family values and discrimination from other hockey players.
Air Bud: Want to keep the kids entertained? Some of these movies are great for kids too, but the Air Bud movies and even the Popular Mechanics for Kids series on PopcornFlix are some great choices.
Of course, if you’re a WWE fan, this Sunday is the Royal Rumble event, so you can always pop the popcorn and gather around the WWE Network to watch one man fight 29 others to try and retain his championship belt.
There’s so much more than what I’ve listed here that you can find on TV or on the Internet. Don’t let Mother Nature get you down. Put your feet up and relax!
