5 Inspirational Sports Movies You Should Check Out

by Kevin Faber

Not everyone can play sports but everyone can enjoy a good sports movie. The challenges involved in athletics can be viewed as metaphors for larger human struggles that people face on a day-to-day basis. This makes these stories relatable even for those who do not participate in sports. Sports movies can also be inspiring because they are often based on a true story, illustrating how real people can rise above adversity in their chosen arena, whether athletic or otherwise.

These aren't necessarily the most popular sports movies, but they're films with inspirational messages that should not be overlooked due to relative obscurity.

1. Pride

Set in the 1970s, Pride is based on the true story of the first all African-American swimming team in Philadelphia. This is made possible through the efforts of a former competitive swimmer and a janitor who, despite the pool cost involved, renovate an abandoned swimming facility. The two mentor the young swimmers, teaching them how to overcome challenges and meet adversity in sports and in life, while faced with interference from city officials and sometimes violence.

2. Wimbledon

While Wimbledon is a real sporting event, this movie that shares its name with it and centers around it is entirely a work of fiction. Nevertheless, it is a sweet love story about a talented but not outstanding tennis player who plans to retire after one last Wimbledon, which he qualified for in a wild card with a low seed. While there, he meets a young female competitor, and their burgeoning relationship motivates him to improve his performance. Nevertheless, her father is not pleased with the relationship, fearing that it will prove a distraction that will cause his daughter's rising star to plummet.

3. Cool Runnings

Though based on a true story, most of the events of Cool Runnings are fictional. In reality, the first Jamaican bobsled team were met with mild amusement rather than open hostility when they made their debut at the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, and they did not carry their bobsled on their shoulders after their terrifying crash but pushed it along the remainder of the track. Cool Runnings, therefore, is more of an allegory about the importance of being true to oneself even in the face of pressure to conform. It conveys this message with a light, comedic touch that is accessible and appropriate even for relatively young viewers.

4. Eddie the Eagle

The Jamaican bobsled team members were not the only underdogs at the 1988 Olympics. Michael Edwards, called Eddie by his friends and eventually known as Eddie the Eagle, became the first ski jumper to represent Great Britain at the Olympics in 60 years despite having limited experience competing in the sport at the time.

Due to its climate, Great Britain typically doesn't have a significant presence at the Winter Olympics. It usually has only a few competitors in a handful of events, and slots in the most popular sports go quickly. Having been passed over for the Olympic downhill ski team, Eddie took advantage of a loophole that allowed him to become the sole competitor for Great Britain in the ski jump. He came in dead last and prompted a change in the rules that closed the loophole, but he won the hearts of fellow competitors, event organizers, and spectators around the world for his perseverance. This movie tells his remarkable story.

5. Soul Surfer

Bethany Hamilton is a real-life Hawaiian surfer who, as a teenager, was attacked by a shark and lost one of her arms as a result. Soul Surfer is the story of how she returned to surfing after overcoming the fear and having to re-learn not only riding the waves but just about every other life function as well.

A recurring theme in many of these movies is that winning is not the most important thing. Rather, it is just having the courage and determination needed to overcome the obstacles that stand in one's way. That is a lesson that is applicable to everyone, athletic or otherwise.