What’s up guys? Welcome back to Day seven of the sports movies brackets on Sportcodex. Today we will be looking at the matchups of seeds 25-28 vs seeds 40-37. Before we get into that, let’s take a quick look at the results of yesterdays matchups.
Much like yesterday’s matchups, we have three one-sided affairs, including our first clean sweep. We also had our first need for a tiebreaker, which went to the higher seed. This may suck for that underdog but it was the only way I could think of sorting it, plus plenty of underdogs have gone through already.
Speaking of underdogs, the 44th seed White Men Can’t Jump spanked the 21st seeded Friday Night Lights, getting 90% of the votes, which would’ve been the biggest win of the entire bracket if it wasn’t for another matchup in this lot.
The 43rd seeded Happy Gilmore swept the 22nd seed Major League, and I get it. Happy Gilmore is amazing. I feel bad for Major League though which is also really good.
The next matchup was our first tiebreaker between the 23rd seed Remember The Titans and the 42nd seed Dodgeball. Dodgeball unfortunately misses out due to being the lower seed.
Finally, another underdog goes through with the 41st seeded Coach Carter taking out the 24th seed 42, by getting 85% of the votes.
Time for today’s matchups.
25. He Got Game vs 40. Invictus
He Got Game is a 1998 basketball drama directed by Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X) and stars Denzel Washington, Ray Allen and Rosario Dawson. It tells the story of the estranged relationship between high school basketball superstar Jesus Shuttlesworth and his convict father Jake, who can get a shorter sentence if Jesus commits to the prison warden’s Alma Mater.
Invictus is a 2009 true story directed by Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino) and stars Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman. It is set during the 1995 Rugby World Cup and how South African President Nelson Mandela tried to unite a country still reeling from the effects of Apartheid, through sport, specifically rugby.
He Got Game features an average RT score of 82%, compared to Invictus which has an average RT score of 75.5%. Both films were equally loved by critics and audiences, with little variance between each of their respective scores. I can’t personally speak on the quality of Invictus as I haven’t seen it, but I wonder if it shows the whole “South Africa poisoning the All Blacks” thing. Bet it doesn’t.
26. A League Of Their Own vs 39. The Blind Side
A League Of Their Own is a 1992 baseball comedy directed by Penny Marshall (Big, Awakenings) and stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna. It tells the story about a female pro baseball league that opens due to their being a lack of male athletes who were all drafted into WWII.
The Blind Side is the kinda true story from 2009 directed by John Lee Hancock (The Founder, The Little Things) and stars Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and Quinton Aaron. It tells the “true story” of former Baltimore Ravens offensive linesman Michael Oher and his rise from homeless teen to NFL star.
A League of their Own has an average RT score of 81.5%, compared to The Blind Side which has an average RT score of 75.5%, being another film to fall victim to a low critic’s score. I feel that may be to the drama that appeared after this came out about just how true it is, including Michael Oher saying the character portrayed by Sandra Bullock being “a bit of a racist.”
27. Eddie The Eagle vs 38. Goon
Eddie The Eagle is a true story from 2015 directed by Dexter Fletcher (Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman) and stars Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman and Christopher Walken. It tells the true story of Michael “Eddie” Edwards, an unlikely British ski-jumper who was. along with his coach, the only person that believed in himself in his battle for Olympic success at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Goon is a 2011 comedy directed by Michael Dowse (Stuber, What If?) and stars Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel and Liev Schreiber. It follows Doug Glatt, a hockey player whose only talent is fighting. He becomes a fan favourite and is enjoying his status as the league “Goon”, that is until another tough guy sets his sights on him.
Eddie The Eagle has an average RT score of 81.5%, compared to Goon, which has an average RT score of 76%. Interestingly, the latter has a higher critics score and is not very well-liked by the audience; the opposite of most of these lower seeds.
28. Jerry Maguire vs 37. The Sandlot
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 football drama directed by Cameron Crowe (Say Anything, Almost Famous) and stars Tom Cruise, Renee Zellwegger and Cuba Gooding Jr. It follows sports agent Jerry Maguire who grows a conscious and loses all of his clients except star wide receiver Rod Tidwell.
The Sandlot is a baseball family film from 1993 that is directed by David M. Evans (The Sandlot 2, First Kid) and stars some kids you have probably never heard of. It is set in the summer of 1962 and follows a bunch of kids and their rowdy baseball team.
Jerry Maguire features an average RT score of 81.5%, compared to The Sandlot which has an average RT score of 76.5%. One is a kinda cheesy romance movie that also features football, but actually balances the two things out fairly well. The other is a fun movie for the whole family and never takes itself too seriously.
There we have it, the latest round of matchups. Tomorrow will have the final matchups of the first round and I won’t spoil anything yet but we have some interesting second round matchups shaping up. So, as always, keep it locked on the Sportcodex Twitter account to keep track of the polls and vote, vote vote.
Until next time, PEACE!