From monsters dunking basketballs to humans going for a simple lay-up, sports movies can have a very shifted reality compared to what the sport is really about. Though some believe sports movies are realistic and others think they do not correlate to the real thing, sports movies can be informative for people unfamiliar with sports.
A fun, lighthearted sports movie, “Space Jam,” was made by Warner Bros., starring basketball legend Michael Jordan. Space Jam is about Jordan teaming up with Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes to win a high-stakes basketball game against aliens, the Monsters, who want to kidnap the cartoon characters for their amusement park on Moron Mountain. This story is a high-quality example of how movies can still give a good look into the sport without having to be realistic. Jamarious Britt, a Junior on the FHC varsity basketball team, has three years of high school playing experience under his belt, for two of which he has been a starter on our varsity basketball team. He’s well-versed in the sport of basketball and knows very well what it’s like playing the actual sport.
“The season has been going good so far, and we’re definitely off to a good start. We obviously have a lot to work on but we are slowly putting pieces together and building off of it,” Britt said. “There are quite a lot of differences in ‘Space Jam’, like when Michael Jordan dunks it from half court, or when someone sucks the powers out of a player; that obviously would not happen in real life.”
As for giving basketball a look that can inspire people to start playing, “Space Jam” does an amazing job. Though there are ways it is different, having superstar basketball players who viewers idolize adds authenticity and a sense of realism to the movie. “Miracle,” by Gavin O’Connor, is portrayed even more realistically. It is an incredible, true story about the 1980 U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey team. A group of college amateurs won against the dominant Soviet Union, boosting the morale of Americans during the Cold War and eventually leading them to win a gold medal, which inspired thousands of hockey players around the world. This film is an outstanding example of how movies can portray the real sport with class and excellence. Carson Bextumueller, a junior who plays hockey at FHC, is very familiar with the movie. Bextumueller has been on the team for three years now and knows what it is like to play competitively. He has seen Miracle multiple times, and it is one of his all-time favorite hockey movies.
“It’s a pretty good movie, and it’s pretty accurate of what hockey is and the behind-the-scenes struggles. It shows a lot of what you need, like grit, and it’s definitely [a movie] that shows the true side of hockey,” Bextumueller said. “I believe everyone should watch it. It’s what made me fall in love with the sport, really, and it shows the work you are really going to have to put in. ”
Whether one likes sports movies or not, they are a great way to get someone familiar with the sport.
