Some of the greatest movies ever made have been based in the world of sports. These movies captivate audiences and give viewers cheerful memories of their favorite games.  

            We Are Marshall

            The first ever dip into the sports culture for director McG proved to be a successful journey. This movie is filled with experienced actors like Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox, the movie reaches out with an in-depth, real life story that is true to football and small town colleges.

            Based on the 1970 Marshall University football team, the film follows the tragic story of the plane crash that killed almost the entire team. The story then picks up during the University’s decision whether to keep the football program or to drop it.

            After much consideration, the school keeps the football program and hires new head coach Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey), who must find an entirely new team and please a very harsh crowd and very tough opponents.

             Audiences enjoy the real life underdog story that audiences believe in and stand behind.

            Although most of the town was behind it, not everyone was so supportive of the new program. Many parents and friends of lost players put up a large objection to the new team, so much so that it swayed the decision of the athletic director of Marshall. In the end, though, it all came together for coach Lengyel and the 1970 Thundering Herd.

            “My favorite part of the movie is the triumph of the hero, or in this case the entire team,” Troy Jeramus, senior, said. “The music is majestic and it sends shivers down your spine.”

Field of Dreams

            In the history of baseball movies, there is a great deal of tough competition; however, this movie has withstood the test of time as one of the greatest movies ever made.

            One of the most iconic lines ever written opens this movie as “the voice” speaks to Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner): “If you build it, he will come.”

            This film follows the life of an everyday farmer as he struggles with a mid-life crisis and trying to make his life worth something.

            The character Ray Kinsella is a fictional character but there is much truth to the film. The movie was based on the book Shoeless Joe Jackson comes to Iowa by W.P. Kinsella. And the character Terrance Mann (James Earl Jones) is based on author J.D. Salinger, who is best known for his novel Catcher in the Rye.  Along the way Kinsella builds a baseball field to host players of the 1919 White Sox who were expelled from baseball forever, easing their longtime pain.

            Although this movie is based on a wonderful dream, there is a real field. The field is in the middle of a family-owned farm in Dyersville, Iowa. The field is open to the public most of the year and puts individuals right in the middle of their favorite movie.

In the end, the baseball field brings Ray and his father closer together, making this the perfect father-son movie.

            Most men can relate to the long afternoons of playing catch in the yard with their dad which brings back incredible emotions.

“This movie makes me so happy,” Jeramus said. “It usually brings tears to my eyes because of the immense joy it brings.”