Editorials > Reviewing Sports Gambling Movies


It’s now August and another summer is nearly gone. While sad that autumn is right around the corner, another kind of excitement continues to build thanks to the ESPN and their bombardment of training camp coverage – the forthcoming NFL football season! With football odds already available, one ritual I’ve maintained the passed few years right around this time is to place a small wager on who I anticipate will meet in the Super Bowl. I haven’t faired so well the passed few occasions but here’s hoping 2010 brings a better result.

Another tradition that started a few years back in honor of my love for the sport (and film) is to watch a football themed movie every night during the week leading up to the first preseason game. Passed choices have included the likes of Friday Night Lights, The Longest Yard, Rudy, and Remember the Titans. Jerry Maguire was never a title that made it to the group though. It might have been because it was unconventional for a sports movie, or the sentimentality of its non-football moments. For whatever reason, it was always overlooked – until now.

I hadn’t seen the film for probably ten years and forgot how wonderful it was. Naturally, the memorable lines and pop culture catch phrases it spawned immediately come to mind, but there was so much more. Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding have never been better than the performances they turned in. Cameron Crowe’s writing is as good as it gets (but only slightly better than Almost Famous) and the soundtrack is just perfect.

Crowe uses the fast paced, backhanded world of sports and their agents to tell a story of hope, love, friendship and redemption. If you’ve never seen Jerry Maguire, start your own ritual and make it a priority. You won’t be disappointed. Next up for me: Any Given Sunday and Leatherheads. Bring on the Hall of Fame game!

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