Prep for your Post-Olympics Fix

Soon, the Olympics will be over and the disturbingly addicted among us (read: me) will be faced with a dearth of sports drama (for, like, a week, until the NFL season starts).

To get you through that horrible two sportsless weeks, without having to resort to watching actual MLB regular-season games on tv, I give you...

Jen's Top Post-Olympics Sports Flicks

Olympics-Themed Flicks

Chariots of Fire
Admittedly, more of a cultured period piece than your typical rah-rah sports pic. But it does have one of the best sports movie scores ever (second, I'd say, to The Natural), plus Brits running barefoot on the beach, God, gold medals and a triumph over anti-semitism. How can you say no?

Cool Runnings
It's the Jamaican Bobsled team! Coached by John Candy! Consider it the silly antidote to all that Academy-Award-winning running twaddle above.

Murderball
Okay, it's technically the Paralympics, but these guys kick ass in non-technical, holy-crap kind of way.

Winter Sports

Men With Brooms
Without question, the finest mainstream movie about curling ever made. Possibly the only one, true, but very fine nonetheless. Of all the movies on this list, this one gives me the hardest case of the giggles. I can't help myself. Plus, it has the Tragically Hip, curling. Truly Canadianly awesome.

The Cutting Edge
Toe pick!

Slap Shot
Once again, I'm Canadian. They take away my citizenship if I don't list this one.

Baseball Movies (note: way more interesting than actual baseball games)

The Natural
Total and complete sap. Irresistible, root for the underdog, music swelling, grand-slam home run, wonderboy sap. You know you love it.

Bull Durham
Takes the piss out of all the aforementioned sap. My favourite sports movie, bar none.

Major League
Totally, completely stupid. Which is rather what makes it so awesome, no?

Football Flicks

Jerry Maguire
My love for Cameron Crowe outweighs my natural desire to avoid Tom Cruise. Fast forward over Renee Zellweger.

Friday Night Lights
A somewhat bleak perspective on the lives of Texas high school football, but mighty compelling anyway.

Lucas
Tears are shed. Lessons are learned. Sniff.

And, um. Wow, football movies are pretty bad aren't they? But for some mindless fun: The Replacements (Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever.), The Longest Yard (the Sandler version, for the stunt casting alone), Invincible (yeah, the guy's gonna make the team or they wouldn't have made a movie about him. Still, better than you think it'll be).

A Chick Flick too?

Bend it Like Beckham
You betcha.