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Dare to Believe: Movies to Motivate You for the Next Trail Blazers Game

Thursday, May 05, 2016

 

Watching the Portland Trail Blazers lose Game 2 to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night was about as demoralizing a loss as they come. For three quarters, the Blazers had the Warriors on the ropes, just 12 more minutes of solid basketball is all it would have taken to come away with a victory. And then it happened. Again. Another fourth quarter meltdown. Now, thanks to the longest and most cruel playoff schedule the league has ever developed, we have to wait until a month Saturday evening to completely put this game in the rear-view mirror.

With so much time to spare, popping in a good movie or two is an excellent way get your mind right again and hit the reset button for some positive vibes. Here are five movies I recommend to watch in order to raise your spirits and get you pumped up for Game 3. 

We Are Marshall

The proverbial “things could always be worse” movie to remind yourself that things could actually, really be a whole lot worse than losing a game. Like, your whole team could perish in a fiery plane crash worse. This movie also reminds you that no matter how bad things get, assuming you didn’t die in a fiery plane crash, when tragedy strikes you have to pick up the pieces and move on with life, or more importantly, sports. You have to move on with sports. As far as inspirational movies go where a plane full of teenagers die, this one ranks right up there. Enjoy!

Miracle on Ice

This is mother of all inspirational, underdog sports stories. The U.S. hockey team received a beat down by the Soviet Union before they were able to pull off one of the great upsets in sports history in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The Blazers gave the Warriors all they could in Game 2, but still came away with nothing to show for it except for another Warriors thrashing when all was said and done. Maybe the Blazers can pull off a miracle on the basketball court since that is exactly what it will take to beat Golden State at this point, especially if Stephen Curry makes his debut this weekend.

Hoosiers

This is required viewing for anyone looking to get motivated for any type of basketball game. For whatever reason, making a good, much less a classic, basketball movie is nearly impossible. But, Hoosiers is the gold standard for almost any sports movie. The central theme in Hoosiers seems all the more appropriate for the Blazers right now. A young, inexperienced Hickory (Blazers) team overcomes the long odds to take on the biggest baddies (Warriors) of high school basketball in Indiana (Portland) and (Spoiler Alert!) triumphantly win the whole damn thing, proving that team unity can overcome anything, even alcoholism. Perhaps Blazers assistant coach Jay Triano just needs get really drunk and stagger onto the court during Game 3, yelling obscenities at the ref to get Portland fired up 

From Dusk Till Dawn

Sometimes, a loss like Game 2 just makes you want to unleash holy hell and what better way to do that than to take out a whole gang of biker vampires while trapped inside a sleazy Mexican tavern. A movie of two completely different halves, the second half features an orgy of bloodshed, body parts, and an all-around slaughter of both homans and (mostly) vampires. And that’s just for the ladies! If you are a guy, just watch Salma Hayek’s snake-totin dance scene and you’ll feel all sorts of better. Until she chomps down on Quentin Tarantino’s neck that is, turning him into a human PEZ dispenser. But hey, life isn’t perfect.

Transformers: The Movie

Watch this movie if only for two songs, Stan Bush’s “The Touch” and “Dare”, both coming at you early in the film. These two songs are prime 1980s, inspirational rock anthems at their very best and worst. The electric guitars, the synthesizers, the repeated chorus; all of it put together is the stuff of 80s rock gold. Just listen to these words of wisdom and motivation.

“You're at your best, when the going gets rough! / You've been put to the test, but it's never enough! / You got the touch! / You got the power!” 

 “Dare, dare to believe you can survive/ You hold the future in your hand / Dare, dare to keep all of your dreams alive / It's time to take a stand / And you can win, if you dare!

If you can’t get inspired and amped up to lyrics like this, then you have simply given up on the Blazers and on life. The Warriors are the Unicron of the NBA, munching up and spitting out NBA teams to fuel their sadistic run at the NBA record books. Portland must find an answer to the Warriors or risk being swallowed up and swept in this series. But hey, even if that happens, things could always be worse.

 

Related Slideshow: 15 of The Greatest Sports Movies of All-Time

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15.

Glory Road 

Glory Road, released in 2006, is the true story of the 1966 Texas Western men's basketball team (now called UTEP) and their head coach Don Haskins, played by Josh Lucas. 

Haskins decided to build a team based on talent and not race which causes problems for the team throughout the movie and their season. 

The Miners would get to the National Championship game where they would take on Kentucky. Haskins would start and only play African American players in that game. 

The game and the team are as historically significant in college basketball as any other game ever played by anyone as it started to knock down some of the barriers. 

The movie won an ESPY award for Best Sports Movie. 

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14.

A League of Their Own 

The 1992 movie stars Tom Hanks as the manger of a women's baseball team in a women's baseball league during World War II. 

The movie feature many memorable lines but the most memorable one and most often repeated is "there's no crying in baseball." 

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13.

Bill Durham 

The movie was released in 1988 and stars Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon. Costner plays the character of "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher brought in to teach rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, played by Tim Robbins, about the game and the preparation needed. 

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12.

The Longest Yard (The Original one) 

Released in 1974, The Longest yard, starring Burt Reynolds, as an evil prison warden who pits the guards against the inmates in a football game. 

The movie includes Green Bay Packers linebacker Ray Nitschke as well as other former football players. 

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11.

Seabiscuit 

Seabiscuit, released in 2003, is the story o the legendary race horse  who became a triple crown winner after a inauspicious start to his career. 

During the time of the great depression, the horse served as a symbol of hope to many Americans. 

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10.

The Natural 

Released in 1984, The Natural starring Robert Redford is about a baseball phenom Roy Hobbs who is shot in the abdomen on the way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs. 

Hobbs then returns to baseball after 16 years and becomes a star, though not without others being angry. 

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9.

Happy Gilmore 

Released in 1996, Happy Gilmore stars Adam Sandler and is the story of a hockey player turned golfer, however he is not your average golfer. 

The hilarious film features a fight with Bob Barker, a tee shot with a running start that just about everyone at any driving range across the country tries and much more that will keep you laughing and cheering. 

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8.

Remember the Titans 

Remember the Titans, released in 2000 and starring Denzel Washington is based on a true story of the integration of a high school football team in Virginia set in 1971.

The players battle adversity on their way to becoming a real, close knit football team despite the color of their skin. 

You will be inspired. 

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7.

Hoosiers 

Hoosiers, released in 1986, is the story of redemption of a coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) who has a questionable past but is given a second chance by a small town Indiana high school basketball team. 

The story is based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship. 

Hoosiers was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry but he Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." 

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6.

Major League 

Major League starring Charlie Sheen is the story of the Cleveland Indians and new owner Rachel Phelps who gets a good deal to move the team to Miami. However, before moving the team, she needs to get out of the lease with the city of Cleveland, which means ticket sales have to be really bad. 

So she goes on to bring in some of the worst baseball players that are available  in order for the team to lose. However, her evil tactics bring the team together and turn them into potential winners. 

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5.

Field of Dreams 

The film stars Kevin Costner who plays an Iowa farmer working in his corn field when he hears a mysterious voice saying "If you build it, he will come." 

After a journey to figure out what exactly needs to be built, Costner's character Ray destroys all his crops to build a baseball field. Shortly after it's build, baseball players, including "Shoeless" Joe Jackson begin emerging from the crops to play baseball. 

Field of Dreams was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. 

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4.

Slap Shot 

Released in 1977, Slap Shot is one of the funniest sports movies that you will ever see while acknowledging the craziness of old time hockey. 

The movie is the story of a minor league hockey team, led by the Hanson Brothers and coached by Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) who resorts to violent play in order to gain popularity. 

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3.

Rudy 

Released in 1993, Rudy is the story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger who dreamed of playing football at the University of Notre Dame but had significant obstacles, namely grades and money to go to the school. 

After attending Holy Cross College to improve his grades, Rudy gets into Notre Dame in the final semester of his transfer eligibility. 

The battle would then become to get on the field for the Irish. 

The movie was the first that Notre Dame administration allowed to be shot on campus since the Knute Rockne, All American in 1940. 

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2.

Rocky 

Rocky, released in 1976, starring Sylvester Stallone tells the story of a young boxer who goes from rags to riches by starting out as a small time club fighter before going on to get a shot at the world heavyweight championship. 

In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or anesthetically significant."

The film was made on a budget of a little over $1 million and it was shot in 28 days while turning Sylvester Stallone into a superstar. 

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1.

Miracle

Released in 2004, "Miracle" starring Kurt Russell is the story of the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team that won a gold medal after defeating the Soviet Union in a game known as "The Miracle on Ice."

The movie shows the drama and the hard work that led to a group of college kids pulling off arguably the greatest upset in sports history, defeating the Soviets, a hockey super power.

Interesting and fun facts about the movie include they did not have Al Michaels redo his famous call "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?... YES" Instead they used the actual call of the game and made sure the hockey matched up.

Another interesting fact is they did not cast actors and teach them to play hockey. They cast hockey players and taught them to act.

 
 

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