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If you’re like me, you have humiliating memories of being an awkward, inept, and completely uncoordinated T-ball player who dreamed on stardom — if only the rest of the weirdos on the team could pull it together. I naturally had those delusions of grandeur from watching movies that featured bands of misfits and outsiders who came together, despite their lack of athletic ability and talent, and somehow managed to prove everyone wrong — and learned something about themselves in the process, of course. These are the inspirational sports movies for people who hate inspirational movies: comedies that prove even the underdogs can pick themselves up after falling flat on their faces.
'Wildcats' (1986)
Goldie Hawn plays Molly, a high school track coach and daughter of a football great who applies — and gets — the open job of football coach. Even though she knows next to nothing about the sport (and receives plenty of flack for being a woman in a man’s job), she whips the young men into shape and leads them to the city championship. [Where to stream Wildcats]
'Whip-it' (2009)
Roller derby is a surprising team sport — and one of the most brutal ones. In short, you wouldn’t want to mess around with any of these girls, who would leave you flat on your ass do circles around you by the time you know what hit you. In Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, Ellen Page plays a roller derby novice who trades in her debutante dress for roller skates — and finds true companionship in her lovably awkward teammates. [Where to stream Whip-It]
'The Longest Yard' (1974)
When pro quarterback Paul “Wrecking” Crewe (Burt Reynolds) is sentenced to 18 months in prison, the sadistic warden (is there any other kind?) recognizes an exciting prospect: he wants the athlete to coach the guards’ football team. Crewe refuses, and in retaliation forms a team of unlikely inmate athletes to go head-to-head against the warden and his guards. [Where to stream The Longest Yard]
'The Sandlot' (1993)
OK, they may not be competing against other teams, but this band of weirdos and misfits have plenty of adventures together in between their pick-up baseball games — particularly during a quest to retrieve a Babe Ruth-signed baseball from a terrifyingly massive dog known as The Beast. [Where to stream The Sandlot]
'Major League' (1989)
When a former Vegas showgirl inherits the Cleveland Indians after the death of her millionaire husband, she purposefully assembles a roster of terrible players so that she can lower the attendance and move the team down to Miami. But when the Indians catch onto her plan, they come together and give it their all in an effort to win the division title and keep their team in their beloved Cleveland. [Where to stream Major League]
'A League of Their Own' (1992)
“Girls! Playing baseball?!” One would think that would be the crux on this lighthearted drama, based on the true story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which existed from 1943 to 1954. And while the real-life league did use the gender of its athletes as a bit of a novelty to sell tickets, Penny Marshall’s film, starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, and Madonna, is a sweet and empowering film that has had fans cheering for two decades. [Where to stream A League of Their Own]
'Cool Runnings' (1993)
Four Olympic hopefuls from Jamaica find a surprising sport in which to compete — bobsledding. Teaming up with a disgraced Olympic coach (the always hilarious John Candy), the foursome head to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, where they face plenty of ridicule as well as earn fame for their underdog status. [Where to stream Cool Runnings]
'Ladybugs' (1992)
When Chester (Rodney Dangerfield) begrudgingly agrees to coach a girls soccer team that’s sponsored by his company, he’ll do anything to make sure they win — including throwing a wig on his fiancée’s son and putting him on the team’s roster. Featuring Jackée Harry as Chester’s assistant coach, Julie, and Jonathan Brandis as the team’s star player, Matthew (AKA Martha), Ladybugs is a weird ’90s gem and a cult classic. [Where to stream Ladybugs]
'The Mighty Ducks' (1992)
When Minneapolis lawyer Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) is picked up for drunk driving, he’s delivered a humiliating community service sentence: he has to coach a local PeeWee hockey team. And, naturally, they’re awful. But with some ingenuity — and harnessing their surprisingly random and diverse skills — the Mighty Ducks eventually soar across the ice in a feel-good sports comedy. [Where to stream The Mighty Ducks]
'The Bad News Bears' (1976)
This comedy examines the dark nature of little league baseball — complete with a group of foul-mouthed, aggressive, and sometimes scary kids aiming to take the local championship under the lead of their alcoholic, washed-up, minor-league veteran named Morris Buttermaker (played perfectly by Walter Matthau). Every movie about a band of misfit athletes who bind together to achieve the impossible owes a debt to this surprising and hilarious classic. [Where to stream The Bad News Bears]
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