One of the more interesting sports debates of all time is: What is the greatest sports movie ever made? Hoosiers, The Longest Yard, Rocky, Raging Bull, Cinderella Man, The Natural, Field of Dreams, Caddyshack, Slapshot and yes, even Talladega Nights all have their merit.
But what makes a great sports movie? Is it the plot? A hero's plight against insurmountable odds? Which is better, a depiction of actual events or fictional story-telling? In many sports films, one individual is often relied upon to extract the most out of his team. It is often these key characters within the film that determine its greatness and longevity.
Sportschump.net has chosen to celebrate the greatest coaches in sports film history. The list is based not only on the quality of the movie and the acting therein, but also how the character — with the odds stacked against him — did so much with so little. After all, that's the definition of a coach, isn't it? To teach and maximize his athletes' potential?
Well, these five did just that. By doing so, these actors not only made their film more memorable, but blessed us with acting performances for the ages.
This article appears in Aug 5-11, 2009.