Best Sports Movies to Watch While Quarantined

As fellow IMHer Patrick noted in his recent article, COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. The pandemic has forced a majority of the sports world to come to a halt (thank God for NFL Free Agency), millions of families to quarantine themselves within the confinements of their homes, countless people to lose their jobs and so much more. High Schools are no longer filled with the gossip of teenagers, Disney is no longer home to three-hour lines, and lifelong fans no longer pack Madison Square Garden in hopes of a scarce Knicks win. It has turned into a scene unlike one we've ever seen before; it feels like something more appropriate for a science fiction trilogy.

Speaking of movies, right now is a great time to watch one! Sports and movies have gone hand and hand for a long time, as both allow us to experience a vast range of emotions. And with all the time we have on our hands, these movies allow us to escape from our cray reality for a few hours. From The Sandlot to The Waterboy, IMH presents our picks for the best sports movies of all time:

Patrick Dallahan:

5. The Sandlot, 1993

"When Scottie Smalls (Thomas Guiry) moves to a new neighborhood, he manages to make friends with a group of kids who play baseball at the sandlot. Together they go on a series of funny and touching adventures. The boys run into trouble when Smalls borrows a ball from his stepdad that gets hit over a fence."

4. Creed 2, 2018 (84% on Rotten Tomatoes)

"In 1985, Russian boxer Ivan Drago killed former U.S. champion Apollo Creed in a tragic match that stunned the world. Against the wishes of trainer Rocky Balboa, Apollo's son Adonis Johnson accepts a challenge from Drago's son -- another dangerous fighter. Under guidance from Rocky, Adonis trains for the showdown of his life -- a date with destiny that soon becomes his obsession. Now, Johnson and Balboa must confront their shared legacy as the past comes back to haunt each man."

3. Creed, 2015 (95% on Rotten Tomatoes)

"Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) never knew his famous father, boxing champion Apollo Creed, who died before Adonis was born. However, boxing is in his blood, so he seeks out Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and asks the retired champ to be his trainer. Rocky sees much of Apollo in Adonis, and agrees to mentor him, even as he battles an opponent deadlier than any in the ring. With Rocky's help, Adonis soon gets a title shot, but whether he has the true heart of a fighter remains to be seen."

2. Invincible , 2006

"Lifelong football fan Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) sees his wildest dreams come true when he becomes a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. While teaching at his high-school alma mater in Pennsylvania, the 30-year-old gets a chance to try out for his favorite team and, except for kickers, becomes the oldest rookie in NFL history who never played football in college."

1. Miracle, 2004 (81% on Rotten Tomatoes)

"When college coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe, the heavily-favored Soviet team. As the U.S. squad tries to overcome insurmountable odds and win the gold medal, the team becomes a microcosm for American patriotism during the Cold War."

Jake Klein:

5. Hoosiers, 1986 (89% on Rotten Tomatoes)

"Failed college coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to direct the basketball program at a high school in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher (Barbara Hershey) persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter (Dennis Hopper), a notorious alcoholic."

4. Moneyball, 2011 (94% on Rotten Tomatoes)

"Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), general manager of the Oakland A's, one day has an epiphany: Baseball's conventional wisdom is all wrong. Faced with a tight budget, Beane must reinvent his team by outsmarting the richer ball clubs. Joining forces with Ivy League graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), Beane prepares to challenge old-school traditions. He recruits bargain-bin players whom the scouts have labeled as flawed, but have game-winning potential. Based on the book by Michael Lewis."

3. Rookie of the Year, 1993

"A freak accident causes 12-year-old Little League player Henry (Thomas Ian Nicholas) to become such a powerful and accurate pitcher that the Chicago Cubs sign the junior high student to a contract. Unprepared for such a high-pressure environment, Henry falters until aging fastballer Chet Steadman (Gary Busey) takes him under his wing and teaches him how to play in the big leagues. Meanwhile, his mother's venal boyfriend (Bruce Altman) tries to sell Henry's contract to a hated opposing team."

2. Little Big League, 1994

"When his grandfather (Jason Robards) dies, 12-year-old Billy (Luke Edwards) suddenly becomes the heir to the Minnesota Twins baseball team. It's a dream come true for the baseball fan, who believes he can get the Twins out of their current slump by managing them personally. Of course, managing a pro baseball team is a lot of work, and some of the players aren't crazy about taking orders from a pre-teen, but Billy's honest approach and love for the game could be just what the Twins need."

1. Field of Dreams, 1989 (86% on Rotten Tomatoes)

"When Iowa farmer Ray (Kevin Costner) hears a mysterious voice one night in his cornfield saying "If you build it, he will come," he feels the need to act. Despite taunts of lunacy, Ray builds a baseball diamond on his land, supported by his wife, Annie (Amy Madigan). Afterward, the ghosts of great players start emerging from the crops to play ball, led by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. But, as Ray learns, this field of dreams is about much more than bringing former baseball greats out to play."

Ryan Martin:

T-5: The Waterboy, 1998

"Raised by his overprotective mother, Helen (Kathy Bates), Bobby Boucher Jr. (Adam Sandler) is the water boy for a successful college football team coached by Red Beaulieu (Jerry Reed). When Beaulieu fires Bobby, he takes up the same position for a losing rival team, led by despairing Coach Klein (Henry Winkler). After witnessing Bobby beat up a player who teased him too much, Klein adds him to the roster as a linebacker. Soon, Klein's players are championship contenders."

T-5: The Bad News Bears, 1976

"Hard-drinking, ex-minor-league hopeful Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) grumpily agrees to coach a Little League team at the behest of lawyer-councilman Bob Whitewood (Ben Piazza), who has a vendetta against the league for excluding his marginally talented son from play. After failing with his new team of misfits, Buttermaker enlists feisty and gifted pitcher Amanda Whurlitzer (Tatum O'Neal) to lead the charge -- but can he find the luck and patience to whip these outcasts into shape?"

4. A League of Their Own, 1992

"As America's stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest, funded by publicity-hungry candy maker Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall). Competitive sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty) spar with each other, scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) and grumpy has-been coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) on their way to fame. Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell co-star as two of the sisters' teammates."

3. Bull Durham, 1988 (97% on Rotten Tomatoes)

"In Durham, N.C., the Bulls minor league baseball team has one asset no other can claim: a poetry-loving groupie named Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon). As the team's season begins, Annie selects brash new recruit Ebby Calvin Laloosh (Tim Robbins), whom she christens "Nuke," to inspire with the religion of baseball. Nuke also receives guidance from veteran player Crash Davis (Kevin Costner), who settles Nuke's erratic pitching and teaches him to follow the catcher's lead."

2. The Blind Side, 2009

"Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless black teen, has drifted in and out of the school system for years. Then Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her husband, Sean (Tim McGraw), take him in. The Tuohys eventually become Michael's legal guardians, transforming both his life and theirs. Michael's tremendous size and protective instincts make him a formidable force on the gridiron, and with help from his new family and devoted tutor, he realizes his potential as a student and football player."

1. Remember the Titans, 2000

"In Virginia, high school football is a way of life, an institution revered, each game celebrated more lavishly than Christmas, each playoff distinguished more grandly than any national holiday. And with such recognition, comes powerful emotions. In 1971 high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the local school board was forced to integrate an all black school with an all white school, the very foundation of football's great tradition was put to the test."

We hoped this helped with the boredom of not having any live sports to watch!

PLEASE STAY AT HOME AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND FOLLOW ALL OF THE GOVERNMENT'S SUGGESTED AND MANDATED PROTOCOLS. REMEMBER, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT YOU, AND YOU COULD BE PUTTING OTHERS AT RISK.